The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 8: From c. 1940 to c. 1975

THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF A F R I C A General Editors: J. D . F A G E a n d

ROLAND

OLIVER

Volume 8 from c. 1940 to c. 1975

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

THE CAMBRIDGE H I S T O R Y OF AFRICA Volume 8 from c. 1940 to c. 1975 edited by MICHAEL CROWDER

I CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PUBLISHED

BY THE

PRESS SYNDICATE

OF

THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

CAMBRIDGE

The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge C B 2 2RU, U K 4 0 West 20th Street, N e w York, N T 1 0 0 1 1 — 4 2 1 1 , USA 4 7 7 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, v i e 3 2 0 7 , Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 1 3 , 2 8 0 1 4 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8 0 0 1 , South Africa http://www. cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press 1 9 8 4 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1 9 8 4 Reprinted 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 9 ; , 1 9 9 9 , 2 0 0 0 ,

2003

Printed and bound in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Library of Congress catalogue card number:

76—2261

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data The Cambridge history of Africa Vol. 8: From c. 1 9 4 0 to c. 1 9 7 ; 1. Africa — History I. Crowder, Michael 960 DT20

ISBN 0 ;2i

2 2 4 0 9 8 (v.

8)

UP

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

CONTENTS

List of figures

page x

Preface

xiii

Introduction

i

b y M I C H A E L C R O W D E R , Professor of History, University of Botswana

The Second World War: prelude to decolonisation in Africa 8 by M I C H A E L

CROWDER

T h e course o f the w a r o n A f r i c a n soil T h e impact o f the Second W o r l d W a r o n the colonial powers T h e impact o f the Second W o r l d W a r o n Africans Colonial reforms Conclusion

15 20 29 40 47

Decolonisation and the problems of independence 5 2 b y t h e l a t e B I L L Y J . DUDLEY, formerly of Political Science, University of Ibadan Paths to independence T h e constitutional inheritance

Department

The bureaucracy and the e c o n o m y Social mobilisation T h e military a n d militarism Political leadership and political succession

Pan-Africanism since 1 9 4 0

54 64 70 75 87 93 95

b y I A N D U F F I E L D , Department of History, University of Edinburgh The

1945 P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s

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101

CONTENTS

T h e African diaspora and post-194 5 Pan-Africanism T h e road to the Organisation o f African Unity Nationalism, regionalism and African unity Pan-Africanism and the armed liberation struggles P a n - A f r i c a n i s m a n d w o r l d affairs Pan-Africanism and culture 4

Social and cultural change b y J. D . Y . P E E L , Professor of Sociology, University of Liverpool Patterns o f migration The growth o f towns C h a n g i n g bases o f identity Class formation State a n d society Cultural change

5

T h e economic evolution o f developing Africa

104 109 117 126 131 13 8 l

4

z

145 15 o 15 3 162 184 187 192

b y A D E B A Y O A D E D E J I , United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa T h e colonial e c o n o m y o n the e v e o f the Second

6

World War T h e performance o f the African e c o n o m y ,

193

1940-75 Structural and sectoral changes T h e search for e c o n o m i c integration Africa and the international e c o n o m y Conclusion

19 205 2 31 238 248

Southern Africa

6

251

b y F R A N C I S W I L S O N , Professor of Economics, University of Cape Town Industrial revolution in South Africa, 1 9 3 6 - 7 6

260

Politics 1936-60

277

South Africa's neighbours Maintaining the white republic, 1 9 6 1 - 7 6 T h e struggle for liberation, 1 9 6 1 - 7 7 Conclusion

294 301 310 328

vi Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

CONTENTS

7

English-speaking West Africa by D A V I D

8

9

T h e impact o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r Decolonisation T h e problems o f independence Social, cultural and educational

3 33 33 355

developments R e g i o n a l relations Economics Conclusion

37 375 377 3 81

8

1

East and Central Africa

383

b y C H E R R Y G E R T Z E L , School of Social Sciences, The Flinders University of South Australia Political and constitutional d e v e l o p m e n t Economic development Social change Education Inter-state and external relations

385 416 431 444 451

T h e Horn of Africa

45

by C H R I S T O P H E R

8

C L A P H A M , Department of

Politics, University of Lancaster T h e setting T h e restored Ethiopian empire, 1 9 4 1 - 5 2 T h e peripheral administrations P o l i t i c i s a t i o n a n d its o u t c o m e Political decay and revolution Regional and international relationships Social and e c o n o m i c change Urbanisation and education Economic development Agriculture Conclusion

10

3 31

WILLIAMS

Egypt, Libya and the Sudan

8

45 461 464 467 473 480 484 487 492 496 5 00

502

by H A N S - H E I N O K O P I E T Z , and

PAMELA A N N

SMITH

Decolonisation and independence International relations Social and cultural change vii Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

504 546 55

CONTENTS

Economic development Conclusion

11

12

55 5 5 61

T h e Maghrib

5 64

b y C L E M E N T H E N R Y M O O R E , Visiting Professor, American University of Beirut The struggle for independence The independent regimes Strategies o f d e v e l o p m e n t F o r e i g n affairs

5 66 5 5 94 604

French-speaking tropical Africa by R U T H

SCHACHTER

8

2

611

MORGENTHAU,

Department of Political Science, Brandeis University and L U C Y C R E E V E Y B E H R M A N ,

University of

Pennsylvania Formal political decolonisation Political parties a n d leaders, 1944-60 T h e difficulties o f n a t i o n - b u i l d i n g , 1 9 6 0 - 7 5

13

Social, e c o n o m i c and cultural change

649

International relations

663

Madagascar b y B O N A R A.

674 G o w

Political and constitutional history: pre-independence Political and constitutional history: post-independence Social and cultural change Educational development Economic development

14

615 625 636

Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi b y M . C R A W F O R D Y O U N G , Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison T h e rise o f n a t i o n a l i s m I n d e p e n d e n c e a n d crisis in Z a i r e Internationalisation o f the * C o n g o crisis' The N e w Regime, 1965-75 R w a n d a : consolidation o f the H u t u regime

viii Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

674 680 685 689 692

698

707 717 722 731 734

CONTENTS

Burundi: from monarchy to Tutsi republicanism, 1962-75 Economic change Social and cultural c h a n g e Educational development International relations 15

Portuguese-speaking Africa by B A S I L

73 5 739 743 749 751 755

DAVIDSON

Colonial continuity and expansion, 1945-60 T h e rise o f n a t i o n a l i s m D e v e l o p m e n t s in colonial policy, 1 9 6 1 - 7 5 T h e f i g h t f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e , 1961—75 T h e politics o f liberation: theory and practice Appendix: E q u a t o r i a l G u i n e a , c. 1 9 4 0 t o 1 9 7 5

758 764 772 780 798 806

Bibliographical essays

811

Bibliography

905

Index

963

ix

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

FIGURES

1 2 3 4

Africa, Africa, Africa, Africa:

1940 1975 1946 the path to independence, 1 9 5 6 - 6 6

page

5 Major vegetation zones 6 Primary commodities - export prices indices

3 6 19 55

194 202

7 D e v e l o p i n g Africa: structure o f gross domestic product, 1960-75 206 8 Staple and cash crops 210 9 Cash crops 211 10 F a c t o r y w o r k e r s as a p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n 2 1 7 11 T r a n s p o r t 222 12 R e g i o n a l a n d s u b - r e g i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s f o r c o ­ operation and integration 234 13 E x p o r t s a n d i m p o r t s i n d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a , 1 9 6 0 - 7 5 1 4 B a l a n c e o f p a y m e n t s d e f i c i t s in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a , 1960-75 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

T h e Republic o f South Africa, Swaziland and L e s o t h o Namibia and B o t s w a n a Ghana Nigeria, 1964 Sierra L e o n e and Liberia N i g e r i a : t h e 12 s t a t e s The Gambia Uganda, K e n y a and Tanzania Rhodesia, Z a m b i a and M a l a w i E t h i o p i a , S o m a l i a and the F r e n c h T e r r i t o r y o f the A f a r s a n d Issas Egypt T h e Sudan Libya T h e M a g h r i b c. 1 9 7 5 x

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

239 242 254 256 342 347 3 51 363 368 384 388 459 505 521 535 565

FIGURES

29 30 31 32 33 34

F r a n c o p h o n e tropical A f r i c a : the w e s t e r n states F r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a : t h e e a s t e r n states Madagascar Zaire, R w a n d a and Burundi A n g o l a : the risings o f 1961 G u i n e a - B i s s a u : l a u n c h i n g the w a r o f liberation.

612 613 676 699 771 780

35 N o r t h e r n M o z a m b i q u e after S e p t e m b e r 1 9 6 4 36 G u i n e a - B i s s a u : g e n e r a l p o s i t i o n in late 1968 a n d after

781 787

37 M o z a m b i q u e after l a t e 1 9 7 3 38 A n g o l a in 1 9 7 0 a n d after

791 792

xi

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Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PREFACE

In the English-speaking w o r l d , the C a m b r i d g e histories h a v e since the b e g i n n i n g o f the c e n t u r y set the pattern for m u l t i - v o l u m e w o r k s o f history, w i t h chapters written b y experts o n a particular t o p i c , a n d unified b y the g u i d i n g h a n d o f v o l u m e editors o f senior s t a n d i n g . The Cambridge Modern History, p l a n n e d b y L o r d A c t o n , appeared in sixteen v o l u m e s b e t w e e n 1902 a n d 1 9 1 2 . It w a s f o l l o w e d b y The Cambridge Ancient History, The Cambridge Medieval History, The Cambridge History of English Literature, a n d C a m b r i d g e Histories o f India, o f Poland, and o f the British E m p i r e . T h e o r i g i n a l Modern History h a s n o w b e e n r e p l a c e d b y The New Cambridge Modern History i n f o u r t e e n v o l u m e s , a n d The Cambridge Economic History of Europe is n o w c o m p l e t e . O t h e r C a m b r i d g e Histories recently undertaken include a history o f Islam, o f A r a b i c l i t e r a t u r e , o f t h e B i b l e t r e a t e d as a c e n t r a l d o c u m e n t o f a n d influence o n W e s t e r n civilisation, and o f Iran, C h i n a and Latin America. It w a s d u r i n g t h e l a t e r 1 9 5 0 s t h a t t h e S y n d i c s o f t h e C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s first b e g a n t o e x p l o r e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f e m b a r k i n g on a C a m b r i d g e History o f Africa. B u t they were then advised that the time w a s n o t y e t ripe. T h e serious appraisal o f the past o f Africa b y historians and archaeologists had hardly been u n d e r t a k e n b e f o r e 1 9 4 8 , t h e y e a r w h e n u n i v e r s i t i e s first b e g a n t o appear in increasing n u m b e r s in the vast reach o f the African continent south o f the Sahara and n o r t h o f the L i m p o p o , and the t i m e t o o w h e n u n i v e r s i t i e s o u t s i d e A f r i c a first b e g a n t o t a k e s o m e n o t i c e o f its h i s t o r y . I t w a s i m p r e s s e d u p o n t h e S y n d i c s t h a t t h e most urgent need o f such a y o u n g , b u t also very rapidly a d v a n c i n g branch o f historical studies, w a s a journal o f international standing t h r o u g h w h i c h the results o f o n g o i n g research m i g h t b e disseminated. In i960, therefore, the C a m b r i d g e University Press l a u n c h e d The Journal of African History, w h i c h g r a d u a l l y d e m o n ­ strated the a m o u n t o f w o r k b e i n g undertaken t o establish the past xiii

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PREFACE

o f A f r i c a as a n i n t e g r a t e d w h o l e r a t h e r t h a n - as it h a d u s u a l l y b e e n v i e w e d b e f o r e - as t h e s t o r y o f a s e r i e s o f i n c u r s i o n s i n t o the continent b y p e o p l e s c o m i n g f r o m outside, f r o m the M e d i ­ terranean basin, the N e a r East o r western E u r o p e . T h i s m o v e m e n t will o f course c o n t i n u e a n d d e v e l o p further, b u t the increasing facilities a v a i l a b l e f o r i t s p u b l i c a t i o n s o o n b e g a n t o d e m o n s t r a t e a n e e d t o a s s e s s b o t h w h a t h a d b e e n d o n e , a n d w h a t still n e e d e d to b e d o n e , in the light o f s o m e general historical perspective for the continent. T h e S y n d i c s therefore returned t o their original c h a r g e , a n d in 1 9 6 6 t h e f o u n d i n g e d i t o r s o f The Journal of African History accepted a commission to b e c o m e the general editors o f a Cambridge History of Africa. T h e y f o u n d it a d a u n t i n g t a s k t o d r a w up a plan for a co-operative w o r k c o v e r i n g a history w h i c h w a s in a c t i v e p r o c e s s o f e x p l o r a t i o n b y s c h o l a r s o f m a n y n a t i o n s , s c a t t e r e d o v e r a fair p a r t o f t h e g l o b e , a n d o f m a n y d i s c i p l i n e s linguists, anthropologists, geographers and botanists, for example, as w e l l as h i s t o r i a n s a n d a r c h a e o l o g i s t s . It w a s t h o u g h t t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t p r o b l e m s w e r e l i k e l y t o a r i s e w i t h the earliest a n d latest p e r i o d s : the earliest, b e c a u s e s o m u c h w o u l d d e p e n d o n the results o f l o n g - t e r m a r c h a e o l o g i c a l investi­ g a t i o n , a n d t h e latest, b e c a u s e o f the rapid c h a n g e s in historical p e r s p e c t i v e that w e r e o c c u r r i n g as a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e e n d i n g o f c o l o n i a l rule in Africa. T h e r e f o r e w h e n , in 1967, the general editors presented their s c h e m e t o the Press a n d notes w e r e prepared for contributors, only four v o l u m e s - c o v e r i n g the p e r i o d s 500 B.C. t o A . D . 1 0 5 0 , A . D . 1 0 5 0 t o 1 6 0 0 , 1600—1790, a n d 1 7 9 0 - 1 8 70 - h a d b e e n p l a n n e d i n a n y d e t a i l , a n d t h e s e w e r e p u b l i s h e d as v o l u m e s 2 - 5 o f t h e History b e t w e e n 1 9 7 5 a n d 1 9 7 8 . S o far as t h e p r e h i s t o r i c p e r i o d w a s c o n c e r n e d , t h e g e n e r a l editors w e r e clear f r o m the outset that the p r o p e r course w a s t o e n t r u s t t h e p l a n n i n g as w e l l as t h e a c t u a l e d i t i n g o f w h a t w a s necessary entirely t o a scholar w h o w a s fully e x p e r i e n c e d in the archaeology o f the African continent. In d u e course, in 1982, V o l u m e 1, ' F r o m t h e e a r l i e s t t i m e s t o c. 500 B . C . a p p e a r e d u n d e r t h e d i s t i n g u i s h e d e d i t o r s h i p o f P r o f e s s o r J. D e s m o n d C l a r k . A s f o r t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , it w a s e v i d e n t b y t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s t h a t t h i s w a s b e i n g r a p i d l y b r o u g h t t o i t s c l o s e , s o t h a t it b e c a m e p o s s i b l e t o p l a n t o c o m p l e t e t h e History i n t h r e e f u r t h e r v o l u m e s . T h e first, V o l u m e 6, is d e s i g n e d t o c o v e r t h e E u r o p e a n p a r t i t i o n o f t h e xiv

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PREFACE

continent, and the setting up o f the colonial structures b e t w e e n c. 1 8 7 0 a n d c. 1 9 0 5 ; t h e s e c o n d , V o l u m e 7, is d e v o t e d t o t h e ' c l a s s i c a l ' c o l o n i a l p e r i o d r u n n i n g f r o m c. 1905 t o c. 1 9 4 0 ; w h i l e t h e f o c u s o f t h e t h i r d , V o l u m e 8, is o n t h e p e r i o d o f r a p i d c h a n g e w h i c h led f r o m a b o u t the time o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r t o the e n d i n g o f f o r m a l c o n t r o l f r o m E u r o p e w i t h t h e d r a m a t i c final c o l l a p s e o f t h e P o r t u g u e s e e m p i r e in 1 9 7 5 . W h e n they started their w o r k , the g e n e r a l editors q u i c k l y c a m e to the c o n c l u s i o n that the m o s t practical plan for c o m p l e t i n g the History w i t h i n a r e a s o n a b l e p e r i o d o f t i m e w a s l i k e l y t o b e t h e simplest and most straightforward. E a c h v o l u m e w a s therefore entrusted to a v o l u m e editor w h o , in addition t o h a v i n g m a d e a substantial c o n t r i b u t i o n to the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the p e r i o d in question, w a s s o m e o n e w i t h w h o m the g e n e r a l editors w e r e in close t o u c h . W i t h i n a v o l u m e , the aim w a s to k e e p the n u m b e r o f contributors to a m i n i m u m . E a c h o f t h e m w a s asked to essay a b r o a d s u r v e y o f a particular area o r t h e m e w i t h w h i c h h e w a s familiar for the w h o l e o f the p e r i o d c o v e r e d b y the v o l u m e . In this s u r v e y , h i s p u r p o s e s h o u l d b e t o t a k e a c c o u n t n o t o n l y o f all r e l e v a n t r e s e a r c h d o n e , o r still i n p r o g r e s s , b u t a l s o o f t h e g a p s in k n o w l e d g e . T h e s e h e s h o u l d t r y t o fill b y n e w t h i n k i n g o f h i s o w n , w h e t h e r based o n n e w w o r k o n the available sources o r o n interpolations from c o n g r u e n t research. It s h o u l d b e r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h i s b a s i c p l a n w a s d e v i s e d n e a r l y t w e n t y y e a r s a g o , w h e n little o r n o r e s e a r c h h a d b e e n d o n e on many important topics, and before many o f today's y o u n g e r s c h o l a r s - n o t least t h o s e w h o n o w fill p o s t s i n t h e d e p a r t m e n t s o f history and a r c h a e o l o g y in the universities a n d research institutes in A f r i c a itself - h a d m a d e their o w n d e e p p e n e t r a t i o n s into s u c h areas o f i g n o r a n c e . T w o t h i n g s f o l l o w f r o m this. I f the general editors had d r a w n u p their plan in the 1970s rather than the 1960s, the shape m i g h t w e l l h a v e b e e n v e r y different, p e r h a p s with a larger n u m b e r o f m o r e specialised, shorter chapters, each centred o n a smaller area, p e r i o d o r t h e m e , t o the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f w h i c h the c o n t r i b u t o r w o u l d h a v e m a d e his o w n i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r i b u t i o n . T o s o m e e x t e n t , i n d e e d , it h a s b e e n p o s s i b l e t o adjust t h e s h a p e o f t h e last t h r e e v o l u m e s i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n . S e c o n d l y , the sheer v o l u m e o f n e w research that has b e e n published since m a n y contributors accepted their c o m m i s s i o n s has o f t e n l e d t h e m t o u n d e r t a k e v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l r e v i s i o n s i n t h e i r xv

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PREFACE

w o r k as it p r o g r e s s e d f r o m d r a f t t o d r a f t , t h u s p r o t r a c t i n g t h e length o f time originally e n v i s a g e d for the preparation o f these volumes. A t the time w h e n the plan for V o l u m e 8 w a s settled, 1975 s e e m e d an ideal c l o s i n g date. F o r the reason w h i c h has already b e e n m e n t i o n e d , it still is a v e r y s e n s i b l e d a t e . B u t h i s t o r y d o e s n o t s t o p at t h e p o i n t s w h e r e its r e c o r d e r s a n d i n t e r p r e t e r s c h o o s e to d r a w their lines and, in the n o t i n c o n s i d e r a b l e space o f time in w h i c h V o l u m e 8 w a s b e i n g w r i t t e n a n d p u t t o g e t h e r , it w a s inevitable that a n u m b e r o f events s h o u l d o c c u r w h i c h m i g h t be t h o u g h t w o r t h y o f m e n t i o n . S o m e o f t h e s e h a v e fitted n i c e l y i n t o the w a y s o m e c o n t r i b u t o r s c h o s e to organise their chapters ; s o m e h a v e not. Inevitably, therefore, the c o n c l u d i n g line o f the v o l u m e as a w h o l e h a s b e c o m e s o m e w h a t r a g g e d . S e c o n d l y , n o t all historians are w i l l i n g t o w r i t e s o c l o s e t o the c h r o n o l o g i c a l f r o n t i e r o f t h e i r d i s c i p l i n e as t h i s v o l u m e a i m s t o g o . Its e d i t o r has therefore perforce s o m e t i m e s had to seek c o n t r i b u t i o n s from s c h o l a r s w h o s e d i s c i p l i n e is less h i s t o r y t h a n p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e o r e c o n o m i c s . T h e discerning reader will therefore recognise s o m e differences o f a c a d e m i c a p p r o a c h b e t w e e n chapters. H o w e v e r , histories are m e a n t to b e read, a n d n o t t o b e c o m m e n t e d o n and analysed b y their general editors, and w e therefore present t o the reader this c o n c l u d i n g v o l u m e o f o u r enterprise. March 1984

J. D. F A G E ROLAND

OLIVER

M a n y p e o p l e h a v e assisted the E d i t o r in the p r o d u c t i o n o f this volume. Professor

He

would

particularly

Lalage Bown,

like to

Professor

express

Robert

his

Gavin,

Dr

Larson, Professor R o b i n H o r t o n , and D r Philip Shea.

xvi

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

debt

to

Lome

INTRODUCTION

W h e t h e r the Second W o r l d W a r marked a decisive stage in the colonial history o f Africa, unleashing forces that, w i t h hindsight, w e c a n see m a d e political d e c o l o n i s a t i o n b y e v e n the m o s t r e l u c t a n t o f E u r o p e a n p o w e r s i n e v i t a b l e , o r w h e t h e r it m e r e l y hastened a process that w a s already, if n o t v e r y o b v i o u s l y , u n d e r w a y , w i l l l o n g r e m a i n a m a t t e r f o r d e b a t e . T h e r e is m u c h t o b e said f o r b o t h v i e w s . W h a t is c l e a r is t h a t n e a r l y a l l w r i t e r s o n t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d o f A f r i c a ' s p a s t a c c e p t , o r a t least p a y l i p s e r v i c e to, the v i e w that for w h a t e v e r reason the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r represented a watershed in the history o f the continent. Y e t c u r i o u s l y f e w o f t h e m g i v e its c o u r s e o r i m p a c t detailed attention. It is as t h o u g h it w e r e a n i n t e r v a l b e t w e e n t h e t w o a c t s o f a p l a y in w h i c h t h e a u d i e n c e is a s k e d t o a c c e p t t h a t t h e r e h a s b e e n a p a s s a g e o f t i m e b u t is g i v e n o n l y t h e b a r e s t o u t l i n e o f w h a t h a s happened meanwhile. T h e r e are m a n y serious studies of, o n the o n e h a n d , the years 1 9 1 9 - 1 9 3 9 - the p e r i o d o f classic colonial r u l e - a n d , o n the other, the years immediately f o l l o w i n g the w a r - the period o f ' d e c o l o n i s a t i o n ' o r ' t h e transfer o f p o w e r ' . F e w historians h a v e interested t h e m s e l v e s in b o t h p e r i o d s , a n d the latter p e r i o d has m o s t l y b e e n left t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s . C o n v e r s e l y , few political scientists h a v e paid m u c h attention t o the years before 1945. T h e Second W o r l d W a r seems t o represent a b o u n d a r y b e t w e e n w h a t is r e g a r d e d as t h e p r o p e r t e r r i t o r y o f t h e h i s t o r i a n a n d w h a t is t h e p r o v i n c e o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t o r j o u r n a l i s t . M o s t h i s t o r i a n s a p p a r e n t l y feel r e l u c t a n t t o b r i n g t h e tools o f their trade t o bear o n a period in w h i c h the chief actors are still p r a c t i s i n g t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n , a n d f o r w h i c h t h e a r c h i v a l e v i d e n c e h a s , f o r t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f it, n o t y e t b e e n r e l e a s e d . T h e y prefer t o let political scientists h a z a r d j u d g e m e n t s w h i c h t h e y fear w i l l fail t h e test o f t i m e . S i n c e The Cambridge History of Africa sets o u t t o b e a n e n d u r i n g 1

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

INTRODUCTION

historical survey, there m i g h t , therefore, seem to be a case for a c c e p t i n g t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r as a t e r m i n a l e v e n t f o r t h e e n t e r p r i s e . A t least f o r m a n y o f t h e c o u n t r i e s t h a t o n c e r u l e d A f r i c a , t h e a r c h i v e s are o p e n f o r m o s t o f t h e p e r i o d t h a t p r e c e d e d t h a t w a r , t h o u g h s o m e still m a i n t a i n t h e 50-year r u l e . A s a r e s u l t it w i l l o n l y b e in 1 9 9 0 t h a t w e s h a l l l e a r n t h e i n n e r m o s t s e c r e t s o f s o m e o f the c o l o n i s e r s for the year 1940, the date w i t h w h i c h this p r e s e n t v o l u m e b e g i n s . Inevitably a v o l u m e that takes the history o f Africa u p to 1 9 7 5 , a n d t h e c h a p t e r s o f w h i c h w e r e in s o m e c a s e s w r i t t e n as e a r l y as 1977 by those martyrs o f collective enterprises - the p r o m p t deliverers - d o e s n o t h a v e the a d v a n t a g e o f p e r s p e c t i v e that e v e n t h e p r e c e d i n g v o l u m e , c o v e r i n g t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d f r o m 1905 till 1940, can h a v e . M u c h o f the e v i d e n c e m u s t o f necessity be s e c o n d a r y o r , w h e r e it is p r i m a r y , t h e r e s u l t o f t h e d i r e c t experience o f the contributor, using evidence assimilated from day to day in n e w s p a p e r s , c o n v e r s a t i o n o r i n t e r v i e w s . A m o r e cautious scheme for a history o f Africa w o u l d , then, h a v e h a d its last v o l u m e c o n c l u d e w i t h t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . B u t that w o u l d h a v e been to leave the story w i t h o u t an e n d i n g . T h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r m a y h a v e b e e n a w a t e r s h e d in A f r i c a n h i s t o r y , b u t it w a s m o r e in t h e n a t u r e o f a t u r n i n g p o i n t w i t h i n a p e r i o d than the e n d i n g o f o n e o r the b e g i n n i n g o f another. W h e t h e r t h e w a r is s e e n as h a v i n g u n l e a s h e d n e w f o r c e s o r m e r e l y as h a v i n g s t i m u l a t e d a n d g i v e n s c o p e t o f o r c e s a l r e a d y at p l a y ' , it d i d c h a n g e t h e s i t u a t i o n s o r a d i c a l l y i n A f r i c a t h a t t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f the c h a n g e has to be seen if the significance o f the w a r is t o b e u n d e r s t o o d . I n d e e d , o n e o f t h e G e n e r a l E d i t o r s o f The Cambridge History of Africa o n c e c r i t i c i s e d t h e w r i t e r f o r t e r m i n a t i n g h i s West Africa under Colonial Rule i n 1 9 4 5 , ' t h u s e x c l u d i n g the m o s t d e t e r m i n i n g part o f the colonial p e r i o d \ T h a t w a s o f c o u r s e the d i s m a n t l i n g o f the E u r o p e a n e m p i r e s in the g r e a t e r p a r t o f N o r t h a n d W e s t A f r i c a b y i 9 6 0 , a n d t h e rest o f t h e continent by 1975. 4

1

2

In 1940 the v a s t majority o f the inhabitants o f the c o n t i n e n t w e r e under one f o r m or another o f E u r o p e a n colonial rule. O f the three countries that w e r e n o m i n a l l y i n d e p e n d e n t , L i b e r i a w a s enfeoffed to the F i r e s t o n e R u b b e r C o m p a n y o f the U n i t e d States, E g y p t w a s s e v e r e l y l i m i t e d in t h e e x e r c i s e o f h e r s o v e r e i g n t y b y 1

See Chapter 8.

2

Roland Oliver in The Observer, n

August

2

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

1968.

INTRODUCTION

SPANISH

MOROCCO^

^FRENCHWEST AFRICA;

„J A N G L O y/' EGYPTIAN SUDAN

^GAÒBÌA^ |NÏGERÏA| SIERRA^ LEONE

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-RUANDAURUNDI • ' , * f ( B e l g i a n ,

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(Mandated to Union of South Africa)^

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SWAZILAND BASUTOLANO

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E • EÏÏ3

Belgian mandate Spanish

2000km IBoOrt

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i

Africa, 1940.

the terms o f the A n g l o - E g y p t i a n T r e a t y o f 1936, w h i l e indepen­ dence in the U n i o n o f S o u t h Africa w a s meaningful o n l y for the white minority w h i c h h a d already embarked o n a p r o g r a m m e o f stripping the non-white majority o f the f e w political a n d social r i g h t s it d i d p o s s e s s . I n d e e d , w h i l e m o s t o t h e r b l a c k A f r i c a n s d u r i n g o u r period w e r e t o i m p r o v e their political position, those 3

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

INTRODUCTION

o f S o u t h A f r i c a w e r e t o suffer a c o n c o m i t a n t d e t e r i o r a t i o n

in

theirs. O n the e v e o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r f e w , if any, E u r o p e a n s or Africans e n v i s a g e d that w i t h i n t w o decades well o v e r half o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e c o n t i n e n t w o u l d b e free f r o m c o l o n i a l tutelage. D e s p i t e the d e v o l u t i o n o f p o w e r in the major A s i a n d e p e n d e n c i e s , t h e B r i t i s h g o v e r n m e n t d i d n o t y e t t h i n k it n e c e s s a r y to a p p l y that e x p e r i e n c e t o A f r i c a . B y 1940 C e y l o n h a d for l o n g had internal s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t , w h i l e in India the British had already d e v o l v e d a great deal o f the business o f g o v e r n m e n t o n I n d i a n s , r e t a i n i n g e x c l u s i v e c o n t r o l o n l y o v e r e x t e r n a l affairs a n d defence. A l t h o u g h the British L a b o u r Party had independence for I n d i a o n its p r o g r a m m e , as far as t h e A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d it c o n s i d e r e d s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t , l e t a l o n e i n d e p e n d e n c e , a remote prospect. M a l c o l m M a c D o n a l d , L a b o u r Colonial Sec­ r e t a r y in t h e B r i t i s h N a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t , p u t t h e B r i t i s h v i e w o n political d e v e l o p m e n t in the A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s t o the H o u s e o f C o m m o n s o n 7 D e c e m b e r 1938: 'It may take generations, or e v e n centuries, for the p e o p l e s in s o m e parts o f the c o l o n i a l e m p i r e t o a c h i e v e s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . B u t it is a m a j o r p a r t o f o u r p o l i c y , e v e n a m o n g the m o s t b a c k w a r d peoples o f Africa, to teach t h e m a l w a y s t o b e a b l e t o s t a n d a little m o r e o n t h e i r o w n f e e t . ' T h e Popular Front g o v e r n m e n t o f France had been n o more daring in its t h i n k i n g a b o u t p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t i n A f r i c a , a n d t h e f e w r e f o r m s it h a d b e e n a b l e t o i n t r o d u c e w e r e b a s i c a l l y a s s i m i l a t i o n i s t in i n t e n t , w h i l e t h e B e l g i a n s , S p a n i s h , P o r t u g u e s e a n d I t a l i a n s d i d n o t g i v e the subject a passing t h o u g h t . Far from decolonisation b e i n g a theme o f these times, a n e w i m p e r i a l i s m w a s i n t h e E u r o p e a n air. I t a l y h a d j u s t i n v a d e d E t h i o p i a a n d i n c o r p o r a t e d it i n t o h e r E a s t A f r i c a n e m p i r e . T h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s , w h i c h had earlier v o t e d e c o n o m i c sanctions a g a i n s t I t a l y i n t h e h o p e o f h a l t i n g h e r i n v a s i o n , o n c e it w a s successful w i t h d r e w t h e m , t u r n i n g a d e a f if e m b a r r a s s e d ear t o the personal appeal by E m p e r o r Haile Selassie for i n t e r v e n t i o n o n h i s c o u n t r y ' s b e h a l f . G e r m a n y , still s m a r t i n g u n d e r t h e humiliation o f the T r e a t y o f Versailles w h i c h had stripped her o f her colonial empire, thrilled to Hitler's d e m a n d s that the c o u n t r y r e g a i n its ' r i g h t f u l p l a c e i n t h e t r o p i c a l s u n ' . E v e n in S p a i n t h e r e 1

1

Hansard^ 7 December 1938.

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INTRODUCTION

w e r e expansionists w h o d r e a m e d d u r i n g the w a r o f creating an e m p i r e taken from N i g e r i a and F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a . 1

N o t only was imperialism very m u c h alive, but few Europeans questioned their right to p o s s e s s i o n o f c o l o n i e s . C o n v e r s e l y , the majority o f Africans had c o m e to accept the E u r o p e a n presence, if o n l y passively. N o t a f e w o f the educated élite shared the v i e w o f Isaac D e l a n o w h o w r o t e in 1 9 3 7 : ' T h e p e o p l e o f N i g e r i a are very p r o u d o f the British E m p i r e to w h i c h they b e l o n g , and o f British statesmanship and equity. T h e y realise that they c a n n o t safely b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h e B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n t as t h i n g s are t o d a y i n t h e w o r l d . ' S o m e o f t h e w e s t e r n - e d u c a t e d m i n o r i t y had, h o w e v e r , b e g u n to articulate q u e s t i o n s c o u c h e d in terms o f western political t h o u g h t a b o u t the presence o f the E u r o p e a n s and their right to g o v e r n c o l o n i a l p e o p l e s in an autocratic fashion. T h u s for L a m i n e G u è y e , w h o f o u n d e d the Parti Socialiste S é n é g a l a i s i n 1 9 3 5 , it w a s i r o n i c t h a t t h e s a m e c o l o n i a l p o w e r w h i c h i m p o s e d t h e corvée o n its A f r i c a n s u b j e c t s p l a c e d i n t h e h a n d s o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n at s c h o o l b o o k s p r o c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e ' c o l o n i e s w e r e an i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e v e r y R e p u b l i c w h o s e founders had d i s c o v e r e d and t a u g h t that " m e n are b o r n and r e m a i n f r e e " a n d w h i c h h a d as its m o t t o " L i b e r t y - E q u a l i t y F r a t e r n i t y " \ W h i l e the majority o f the e d u c a t e d élite limited their d e m a n d s to s o m e f o r m o f participation in the institutions o f g o v e r n m e n t i m p o s e d o n t h e m b y their colonial masters, w i t h the v a r i o u s y o u t h m o v e m e n t s in W e s t A f r i c a d e m a n d i n g that this participation be g r a n t e d m o r e s p e e d i l y , a m i n o r i t y in F r e n c h N o r t h Africa w a s b e g i n n i n g to m a k e o v e r t d e m a n d s for an early and c o m p l e t e i n d e p e n d e n c e that w a s n o t tied to s o m e f o r m o f constitutional association w i t h F r a n c e . E v e n s o , in the year before the o u t b r e a k o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r the E u r o p e a n imperial p o w e r s had g o o d reason to be c o m p l a c e n t a b o u t their l o n g - t e r m p o s i t i o n in A f r i c a . Y e t w i t h i n t w o years o f the o p e n i n g o f h o s t i l i t i e s i n E u r o p e E t h i o p i a h a d r e g a i n e d its s o v e r e i g n t y , a n d a d e c a d e later L i b y a b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t . W i t h i n a n o t h e r 2 5 years t h e last m a j o r E u r o p e a n c o l o n y i n A f r i c a , A n g o l a , h a d g a i n e d its independence o n 11 N o v e m b e r 1 9 7 5 , and the dismantling o f the 2

3

1

René Pélissier, 'Equatorial Guinea: recent history', in Africa: 1977-78 ( L o n d o n , 1977), 301. I. O . Delano, The soul of Nigeria ( L o n d o n , 1937), 8. Lamine G u è y e , Itinéraire africaine (Paris, 1966), 79.

South of the Sahara,

2

3

5

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

INTRODUCTION

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Mauritius Û Reunion(Fr)

2000 km 10*00 miles

2

Africa, 1975.

6

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

INTRODUCTION

E u r o p e a n e m p i r e s in A f r i c a w a s c o m p l e t e e x c e p t for a f e w e x o t i c enclaves and offshore islands. T h e r e w e r e , o f course, three major t e r r i t o r i e s i n w h i c h A f r i c a n s w e r e still s u b j e c t t o c o n t r o l b y p e o p l e o f E u r o p e a n origin but w h i c h n o l o n g e r formed part o f any E u r o p e a n i m p e r i u m . T h e w h i t e m i n o r i t y in the R e p u b l i c o f S o u t h A f r i c a h a d g a i n e d v i r t u a l i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m B r i t a i n as l o n g a g o as 1 9 1 0 . T h e f o r m e r G e r m a n c o l o n y o f S o u t h W e s t A f r i c a h a d b e e n m a n d a t e d t o S o u t h A f r i c a after t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r . I n R h o d e s i a the w h i t e minority had unilaterally and effectively taken its i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m B r i t a i n i n 1965 s o as t o a v o i d a n y q u e s t i o n o f effective A f r i c a n p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the political p r o c e s s o f their c o u n t r y , let a l o n e s u b j e c t i o n t o A f r i c a n m a j o r i t y r u l e , w h i c h w a s a prerequisite o f the legal g r a n t i n g o f i n d e p e n d e n c e b y the m o t h e r country. T h e political, social and e c o n o m i c c o n s e q u e n c e s o f this rapid collapse o f the E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l e m p i r e s in A f r i c a b e t w e e n 1940 a n d 1 9 7 5 f o r m t h e c e n t r a l t h e m e o f t h i s v o l u m e . T h e first c h a p t e r will seek to assess the role o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r in that collapse.

7

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C H A P T E R

1

THE S E C O N D W O R L D WAR: T O D E C O L O N I S A T I O N IN

PRELUDE AFRICA

B y 1 9 3 9 t h e E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l p o w e r s w e r e as firmly i n c o n t r o l o f t h e i r A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s as t h e y e v e r w o u l d b e . D u r i n g t h e p r e c e d i n g ten years there had been f e w major challenges to their authority. Africans had c o m e to accept the n e w political order and to o b e y the rules laid d o w n b y the c o l o n i a l administration. T h e lesson had been learned that, a l t h o u g h the colonial administration w a s t h i n o n t h e g r o u n d , i n t h e last r e s o r t it h a d o v e r w h e l m i n g resources o f p o w e r . A t t e m p t s to take a d v a n t a g e o f the w e a k n e s s o f s o m e colonial administrations d u r i n g the First W o r l d W a r and to return to an i n d e p e n d e n c e based o n pre-colonial political structures, t h o u g h t e m p o r a r i l y successful, had failed. S u c h chal­ l e n g e s t o t h e c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s as d i d t a k e p l a c e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s w e r e m a d e w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f the c o l o n i a l state and w e r e b y and large limited to protest against o b n o x i o u s features o f the administration; such protest t o o k the f o r m o f riots against taxation o r strikes to obtain h i g h e r w a g e s or better conditions o f s e r v i c e in the small c o l o n i a l industrial sector. W i t h the n o t a b l e exception o f French N o r t h Africa, there w e r e few violent d e m o n ­ s t r a t i o n s o f a m o d e r n p o l i t i c a l c h a r a c t e r , t h a t i s , a i m e d at securing greater participation b y Africans, and m o r e specifically the small e d u c a t e d élite, in the g o v e r n m e n t a l processes o f the c o l o n i a l state. N e v e r t h e l e s s it w a s c l e a r t h a t i f t h e e d u c a t e d é l i t e a c c e p t e d t h e s t a t u s q u o it w a s a p a s s i v e n o t a n a c t i v e a c c e p t a n c e : t h e y h a n k e r e d after a n i n d e p e n d e n c e , b u t , l i k e t h e B r i t i s h , t h e y s a w it as a g o a l w h o s e r e a l i s a t i o n w a s d i s t a n t . Y e t w h e n t h e y s a w t h e o n e t r u l y i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e o f E t h i o p i a fall t o c o l o n i a l i s t forces in 1936, their reaction w a s o n e o f w i d e - s c a l e protest. B y 1 9 3 9 t h e i m p o s e d c o l o n i a l states h a d g a i n e d l e g i t i m a c y i n the eyes o f their inhabitants, particularly a m o n g the e d u c a t e d elites, w h o n o w identified their political and social a m b i t i o n s w i t h them. T h i s did not m e a n that they had a b a n d o n e d their pre-colonial identities ; yet that part o f the legacy o f colonial rule that w a s called 8

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less i n t o q u e s t i o n t h a n a n y o t h e r b y t h e n a t i o n a l i s t s w a s t h e f r a m e w o r k o f states s u p e r i m p o s e d o n t h e p r e - c o l o n i a l p o l i t i e s b y t h e i n v a d i n g E u r o p e a n p o w e r s at t h e e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . It w a s m o r e t h e c o u n t r y - f o l k , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e w h o s e lands had b e e n arbitrarily split b y the n e w E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l frontiers, w h o tended to operate socially and e v e n politically in terms o f their pre-colonial structures. O n t h e e v e o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , t h e n , t h e Pax Europaea w a s f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e d i n A f r i c a . A t o n e l e v e l it w a s a s e e m i n g l y very tenuous peace, dependent on a handful o f E u r o p e a n admini­ strators ruling o v e r vast and p o p u l o u s areas w i t h o n l y a handful o f A f r i c a n s o l d i e r s o r p a r a - m i l i t a r y p o l i c e at t h e i r d i s p o s a l . N i g e r i a , f o r e x a m p l e , h a d o n l y s o m e 4000 s o l d i e r s a n d 4000 p o l i c e in 1 9 3 0 , o f w h o m all b u t a b o u t 75 i n e a c h f o r c e w e r e b l a c k . J u s t h o w thin o n the g r o u n d the E u r o p e a n administrations w e r e can b e s e e n f r o m t h e fact t h a t i n N i g e r i a i n t h e l a t e 1 9 3 0 s t h e n u m b e r o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f o r a p o p u l a t i o n e s t i m a t e d at 20 m i l l i o n w a s o n l y 386, a r a t i o o f 1 : 5 4 0 0 0 , a n d t h a t i n c l u d e d t h o s e i n t h e s e c r e t a r i a t . In the B e l g i a n C o n g o the ratio w a s 1: 34800 and in F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a 1 : 2 7 500. It s h o u l d n o t b e f o r g o t t e n , t o o , t h a t i n p a r t s o f t h e E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l e m p i r e t h e c o l o n i a l i m p r i n t w a s still v e r y light. M a n y Africans had never personally seen a w h i t e man, w h i l e in M o z a m b i q u e p a r t s o f t h e t e r r i t o r y w e r e n o t e v e n a d m i n i s t e r e d b y the g o v e r n m e n t , b u t b y c o n c e s s i o n c o m p a n i e s . T h e Pax Europaea e s t a b l i s h e d b y t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 3 0 s w a s , o f course, vital to the successful and intensive exploitation o f the c o l o n i a l estate b y m e t r o p o l i t a n capital. A n d b y the 1930s the pre-colonial e c o n o m i c structure o f Africa had been remodelled i n t o a series o f c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i e s w h o s e c o m m o n characteristic, w h a t e v e r the nationality o f their administration, w a s that they w e r e p r o d u c e r s o f foodstuffs and raw materials for c o n s u m p t i o n o r p r o c e s s i n g b y t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n a n d r e l a t e d e c o n o m i e s ; in t u r n t h e y s e r v e d as m a r k e t s f o r t h e m a n u f a c t u r e d g o o d s o f E u r o p e a n industry, m a n y o f them, like soap, processed from r a w materials exported b y these v e r y colonial e c o n o m i e s . T h e infrastructural pattern o f the A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s reflected clearly this f u n c t i o n . R a i l w a y s and roads w e r e built primarily to link m i n e s o r areas o f e x p o r t - c r o p p r o d u c t i o n w i t h the coast; few w e r e built to link o n e centre o f p r o d u c t i o n o f crops o r g o o d s for internal c o n s u m p t i o n with another. T h e colonial administrations were handmaidens to 9

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this e x p l o i t a t i o n , differing o n l y in the d e g r e e o f a c t i v e assistance t h e y g a v e in t e r m s o f t a x a t i o n , f o r c e d l a b o u r o r c o m p u l s o r y c r o p cultivation, and the extent to w h i c h they tried to protect the interests o f their c o l o n i a l subjects. W h e r e p r i v a t e capital w a s u n w i l l i n g t o p r o v i d e t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l s e r v i c e s it s u p p l i e d in E u r o p e , s u c h as e l e c t r i c a l p o w e r , r a i l w a y s a n d p o r t s , t h e c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s raised the necessary funds for their establishment f r o m the c o l o n i a l b u d g e t either t h r o u g h taxation o r loans. In short, b y 1939 Africa had been integrated b y c o l o n i a l rule into the E u r o p e a n capitalistic s y s t e m and in turn had been i m p r e g n a t e d w i t h the capitalistic structure o f the m e t r o p o l e , and s u c h d e v e l ­ o p m e n t that t o o k place w a s m a i n l y in t h o s e sectors p r o d u c i n g for the e x p o r t and i m p o r t trade. A n y d e v e l o p m e n t o f the internal e x c h a n g e e c o n o m y that resulted w a s largely co-incidental. 1

T h e extent and intensity o f the incorporation o f the African e c o n o m y into the w o r l d capitalist system b y 1939 varied f r o m colony to c o l o n y and from region to region within individual c o l o n i e s . T h i s p r o c e s s h a d b e g u n as e a r l y as t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , b u t u n t i l t h e E u r o p e a n o c c u p a t i o n it affected p r i n c i p a l l y t h o s e areas o n the coast w i t h w h i c h trade h a d already b e e n o p e n e d u p . T h e r e s u l t o f c o l o n i a l o c c u p a t i o n w a s t o i n v o l v e all A f r i c a n s , h o w e v e r indirectly, in the w o r l d e c o n o m y . T h e directness o f their i n v o l v e m e n t w a s , o f course, determined b y the resources o f the locality they l i v e d in. B y the b e g i n n i n g o f o u r p e r i o d the m o s t in­ t e n s i v e l y i n v o l v e d w e r e t h e p r o d u c e r s o f c r o p s s u c h as g r o u n d ­ n u t s , p a l m - o i l , c o t t o n , c o c o a , cofTee a n d sisal f o r w h i c h t h e r e was a demand overseas. T h e s e crops had c o m e to be produced i n t h r e e d i s t i n c t w a y s w h i c h w e r e t o h a v e i m p o r t a n t effects o n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s m . T h e first, p r e d o m i n a n t in W e s t A f r i c a , b u t a l s o t o b e f o u n d i n t h e M a g h r i b , E g y p t and U g a n d a , w a s t h r o u g h the a g e n c y o f peasant farmers. T h e s e c o n d , p r e d o m i n a n t in E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a and in parts o f Central and southern Africa, w a s t h r o u g h c o m p a n y - o w n e d plantations using w a g e a n d / o r forced labour. T h e third w a s t h r o u g h farms run b y w h i t e settlers u s i n g A f r i c a n w a g e - l a b o u r . Irrespective o f nationality, the character o f individual colonial administrations w a s deeply influenced b y the m o d e s o f agricultural p r o d u c t i o n t o b e f o u n d in t h e i r t e r r i t o r i e s . T h u s B r i t i s h a d m i n 1

See the i n t r o d u c t i o n ' to Peter C . W . G u t k i n d and Immanuel Wallerstein (eds.), The political economy of contemporary Africa (Beverly Hills and L o n d o n , 1976), 1 1 - 1 2 . IO

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i s t r a t i o n in K e n y a w i t h its s e t t l e r - f a r m e r s , differed c o n s i d e r a b l y f r o m t h a t i n t h e G o l d C o a s t , w i t h its i n d i g e n o u s f a r m e r s . W h e r e the principal m e a n s o f agricultural p r o d u c t i o n w a s t h r o u g h w h i t e settler-farmers, their interests w e r e held p a r a m o u n t b y the c o l o n i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s , as i n L i b y a , A l g e r i a a n d S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a . I n colonies w h e r e settler-farmers a n d E u r o p e a n - c o n t r o l l e d plan­ t a t i o n s w e r e j o i n t l y c o n c e r n e d a s p r o d u c e r s o f e x p o r t c r o p s , as i n A n g o l a , M o z a m b i q u e a n d the B e l g i a n C o n g o , E u r o p e a n interests w e r e also held to b e paramount. In colonies w h e r e there w e r e substantial a n d influential settler g r o u p s w h o w e r e n o t , h o w e v e r , s e e n as t h e p r i n c i p a l o r e x c l u s i v e m e a n s o f p r o d u c t i o n o f e x p o r t c r o p s , A f r i c a n interests w e r e n e v e r entirely s u b o r d i n a t e d t o t h e m . M o r o c c o , Tunisia, the I v o r y Coast, Northern Rhodesia and K e n y a fit i n t o this c a t e g o r y . E v e n w i t h r e g a r d t o K e n y a , w h i c h i n t h e p o p u l a r B r i t i s h i m a g i n a t i o n w a s t h e w h i t e - s e t t l e r c o l o n y par excellence, as e a r l y as 1 9 2 3 a C o n s e r v a t i v e c o l o n i a l s e c r e t a r y , t h e D u k e o f D e v o n s h i r e , h a d laid d o w n t h a t : Primarily Kenya is an African territory, and His Majesty's Government thinks it necessary definitely to record their considered opinion that the interests of the African natives must be paramount and that if, and when, those interests and the interests of the European races should conflict, the former should p r e v a i l . . . In the administration of Kenya, His Majesty's Government regard themselves as exercising a trust on behalf of the African population, and they are unable to delegate or share this trust, the object of which may be defined as the protection and advancement of the native races.

1

In practice this o f c o u r s e o n l y m e a n t t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n f r o m the m o r e e x t r e m e f o r m s o f racial p r i v i l e g e exercised b y the E u r o p e a n settlers in A l g e r i a a n d S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , n o t f r o m its o v e r a l l s u b j e c t i o n t o t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e w o r l d capitalist e c o n o m y . N e v e r t h e l e s s , in T a n g a n y i k a , f o r e x a m p l e , s e t t l e r s w e r e g i v e n financial s u p p o r t a n d p r e f e r e n t i a l t r e a t m e n t e v e n w h e r e it w a s c l e a r f r o m t h e s t a t i s t i c s t h a t A f r i c a n farmers w e r e m o r e p r o d u c t i v e . W h e r e w h i t e settlers a n d c o n c e s s i o n c o m p a n i e s w e r e insigni­ ficant c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e A f r i c a n p e a s a n t f a r m e r a s a m e a n s o f production o f export crops, the political role o f local E u r o p e a n s w a s equally limited. It w a s in s u c h c o l o n i e s that d e c o l o n i s a t i o n o r d i s e n g a g e m e n t w a s m o s t e a s i l y a c h i e v e d , as t h e c a s e s o f t h e G o l d Coast, Nigeria, Upper Volta or Senegal witness. T h e most 1

Indians in Kenya, C o m m a n d paper N o . 1922 ( L o n d o n , 1923), 9.

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violent confrontations between Africans and colonial g o v e r n m e n t s t o o k p l a c e in t h o s e c o l o n i e s w h e r e settler or c o n c e s s i o n - c o m p a n y i n t e r e s t s w e r e m o s t d e e p l y e n t r e n c h e d , as i n A l g e r i a , S o u t h e r n Rhodesia or Mozambique. W h a t e v e r t h e a g e n c y o f p r o d u c t i o n in a c o l o n y - w h i t e s e t t l e r farmer, plantation c o m p a n y o r African farmer - those colonial d e p e n d e n c i e s m o s t i n v o l v e d in the w o r l d capitalist e c o n o m y and m o s t d i r e c t l y s u b j e c t t o its fluctuations w e r e t h o s e in w h i c h cultivation o f crops for export had been m o s t intensively developed. B y 1 9 3 9 , w h a t e v e r t h e i n t e n s i t y o f its p r o d u c t i o n f o r t h e e x p o r t market, three distinct zones o f e c o n o m i c activity c o u l d be d i s c e r n e d i n t h e c o n t i n e n t . T h e first, o f c o u r s e , w a s t h a t d e v o t e d to the p r o d u c t i o n o f c r o p s for e x p o r t b y w h a t e v e r means, w h e t h e r indigenous farming, forced-labour or wage-labour on European farms o r concessions. H e r e African labour had been diverted from p r o d u c t i o n o f f o o d for c o n s u m p t i o n for the h o m e m a r k e t to that for c o n s u m p t i o n overseas. A s e c o n d z o n e , therefore, had d e v e l o p e d in w h i c h a principal c o n c e r n w a s p r o d u c t i o n o f f o o d for c o n s u m p t i o n by the z o n e p r o d u c i n g f o o d for export. T h e third z o n e , w h i c h in o t h e r circumstances w o u l d h a v e c o n t i n u e d to concentrate o n agriculture for domestic c o n s u m p t i o n , not h a v i n g sufficient a g r i c u l t u r a l r e s o u r c e s t o p r o d u c e s u r p l u s f o o d s t u f f s f o r the e x p o r t or the internal market, had b e c o m e the source o f supply o f l a b o u r f o r t h e f a r m s o f t h e first t w o z o n e s . S u c h l a b o u r w a s f o r t h c o m i n g as a r e s u l t o f f o r c e d r e c r u i t m e n t , as in t h e P o r t u g u e s e c o l o n i e s , the n e e d t o earn a w a g e in o r d e r to p a y taxes, o r t h r o u g h the desire o f individuals w h o w i s h e d to take a d v a n t a g e o f the e c o n o m i c opportunities p r o v i d e d b y the colonial e c o n o m y . T h i s z o n e , o f w h i c h N i g e r and U p p e r V o l t a or, o n the other side o f the continent, N y a s a l a n d w e r e o b v i o u s e x a m p l e s , w a s also a principal supplier o f labour for mines, army, roads and railways. T h u s few Africans escaped the impact o f the colonial e c o n o m y , w h o s e m o s t i m p o r t a n t p o l i t i c a l effect o r b y - p r o d u c t w a s t h e increasing peasantisation and proletarianisation o f the erstwhile small-scale farmer. T h i s w a s to be o f crucial importance for the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the nationalist m o v e m e n t s w h i c h secured political i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m t h e c o l o n i a l r u l e r s . F o r it w a s f r o m a m o n g t h i s 1

' See Immanuel Wailerstein, 'Three stages of African involvement in the world e c o n o m y ' , in G u t k i n d and Wailerstein, Political economy, 30-57.

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class that an N k r u m a h f o u n d his ' v e r a n d a h b o y s ' o r a S a m o r a M a c h e l the recruits for the armies o f F R E L I M O . O f e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e , t h o u g h s o m e t i m e s d i s a s t r o u s i n t h e effects o n the w e l l - b e i n g o f those i n v o l v e d , w e r e the l o n g - t e r m c o n ­ s e q u e n c e s o f this m a s s i v e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f the e c o n o m i e s o f Africa into d e p e n d e n t e c o n o m i e s o f the w o r l d capitalist system. In m a n y cases this t r a n s f o r m a t i o n led t o an increase in p r o d u c t i o n o f c r o p s for the e x p o r t m a r k e t that w a s d e t r i m e n t a l , especially in t h e l o n g - t e r m , t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f sufficient c r o p s f o r d o m e s t i c c o n s u m p t i o n . A n o t o r i o u s e x a m p l e o f this d e v e l o p m e n t w a s the G a m b i a , w h e r e a ' h u n g r y s e a s o n ' resulted from o v e r concentration o f labour and land o n g r o u n d n u t s , the chief export c r o p , to the detriment o f rice, the main subsistence c r o p . 1

A s Vieira da Silva and de M o r a i s h a v e s h o w n for the H u a m b o D i s t r i c t in A n g o l a , t h e o v e r - c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n e x p o r t c r o p s l e d i n the l o n g - t e r m to ' a t r o p h y and d e c a y ' in the rural e c o n o m y since the surplus d e r i v e d f r o m the p r o d u c t i o n o f the cash c r o p , m a i z e , w a s n o t r e i n v e s t e d in the local e c o - s y s t e m , w h i l e soils that w e r e allowed shorter and shorter fallows for regeneration deteriorated. S u c h r u r a l areas b e c a m e less a n d less c a p a b l e o f s u p p o r t i n g a l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n t h a t w a s i n a n y c a s e i n c r e a s i n g as a r e s u l t o f i m p r o v e d and m o r e readily available m e d i c a l facilities, and their y o u n g m e n h a d i n c r e a s i n g l y t o m i g r a t e in s e a r c h o f w o r k . H u a m b o a n d t h e G a m b i a r e p r e s e n t e x t r e m e e x a m p l e s o f t h e effects o f a c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i c system w h o s e principal c o n c e r n w a s w i t h m e e t i n g the demands o f overseas markets for Africa's export crops, and w h i c h paid little, if any, attention t o p r o b l e m s c o n c e r n e d w i t h the production, distribution or i m p r o v e m e n t o f subsistence crops. 2

This concern with cash-crop production was generalised t h r o u g h o u t colonial Africa and reinforced b y the taxation and l a b o u r policies o f the colonial administrations, w h i c h c o m p e l l e d farmers to d e v o t e m o r e and m o r e e n e r g y , land and time to p r o d u c t i o n o f cash crops. T o g e t h e r these had important social c o n s e q u e n c e s . T h e y accelerated the g r o w t h o f a plantation sub-proletariat and w e r e a m a j o r factor in the m a s s i v e m i g r a t i o n 1

See Chapter 5, where it is shown that by 1975 a majority of African countries were finding it increasingly difficult to feed themselves even though their economies were still primarily agricultural. Jorge Vieira da Silva and Julio Artur de Morais, * Ecological conditions of social change in the central highlands of A n g o l a ' , in Franz-Wilhelm Heimer (ed.), Social change in Angola (Munich, 1973). 2

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to the t o w n s that t o o k place d u r i n g the p e r i o d c o v e r e d b y this v o l u m e and the c o n s e q u e n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f an u r b a n s u b p r o l e t a r i a t . T h e y affected t h e r e l a t i v e r o l e s o f m e n a n d w o m e n i n society: increasingly w o m e n were diverted from incomep r o d u c i n g agricultural p r o d u c t i o n to p r o d u c t i o n o f crops for domestic consumption. If the l o n g - t e r m c o n s e q u e n c e s o f the colonial e c o n o m i c s y s t e m w e r e the i m p o v e r i s h m e n t o f m a n y rural p o p u l a t i o n s d u r i n g o u r p e r i o d and the increasing d e p e n d e n c e o f the farmer o n c r o p s w h o s e p r i c e s w e r e s u b j e c t t o w i d e fluctuations, f o r s o m e s e c t o r s o f colonial African society alien rule had b r o u g h t p o s i t i v e benefits, in particular in the e x t e n s i o n o f e d u c a t i o n a n d ancillary social benefits. F o r w h i l e the m a i n business o f c o l o n i a l rule m a y h a v e been the e x p l o i t a t i o n o f the resources o f Africa for the benefit o f the m e t r o p o l i t a n e c o n o m i e s , the colonial administrations in A f r i c a w e r e c o n c e r n e d , in differing d e g r e e s , to i m p r o v e the lot o f t h e i r p o p u l a t i o n s . T h e y c e r t a i n l y d i d n o t p e r c e i v e , at t h e t i m e , the l o n g - t e r m c o n s e q u e n c e s o f the e c o n o m i c structures that had d e v e l o p e d b y 1940. I n d e e d increases in e x p o r t e a r n i n g s b y a c o l o n y s e e m e d t o a u g u r w e l l f o r it, s i n c e t h e d u t i e s i m p o s e d o n these and the imports they m a d e possible p r o v i d e d the w h e r e ­ withal to d e v e l o p roads, and build bridges, hospitals and schools. It w a s t h e s e b e n e f i t s as m u c h as a n y d i s t r e s s c a u s e d b y t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i c system that w e r e to b r i n g a b o u t the demise o f colonial rule. W h e r e the early o p p o n e n t s o f c o l o n i a l rule had b e e n those w h o w i s h e d to regain their pre-colonial independences, the n e w o p p o n e n t s w e r e those w h o had personally benefited m o s t from the c o l o n i a l s y s t e m , t h e e d u c a t e d é l i t e . T h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e pre-colonial polities - the chiefs - had n o w been a b s o r b e d into the c o l o n i a l h i e r a r c h y as its m o s t l o y a l c o l l a b o r a t o r s . T h e e d u c a t e d élite, in c h a l l e n g i n g t h e c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t , d i d n o t s e e k a r e t u r n to the pre-colonial structures o f Africa, but rather s o u g h t a share in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e n e w c o l o n y - s t a t e s . B y 1 9 4 0 f e w h a d g o n e as far as t o d e m a n d c o n t r o l o f t h e administration; i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s a w o r d n o t o p e n l y b a n d i e d a b o u t e x c e p t in the M a g h r i b and there o n l y w i t h caution. T h e w e s t e r n - e d u c a t e d élite, h a v i n g r e a c h e d , a n d in s o m e c a s e s s u r p a s s e d , t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l attainments o f their colonial administrators o n those administra­ t o r s ' o w n t e r m s , b e g a n t o d e m a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e a d m i n i ­ stration. T h e y w e r e primarily c o n c e r n e d w i t h the b e t t e r m e n t o f

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t h e i r p o s i t i o n as a c l a s s , a n d p a i d little a t t e n t i o n t o t h e w e l f a r e o f the rural masses, t h o u g h they w e r e t o harness the rural b y - p r o d u c t , t h e u r b a n i m m i g r a n t s , t o g o o d effect i n a g i t a t i o n against the colonial regime. T h e prevailing attitude o f the e d u c a t e d é l i t e i n t h e late 1 9 3 0 s is s u m m e d u p b y t h e y o u n g l a w y e r , O b a f e m i A w o l o w o , w h o w r o t e in 1946 that ' t h e articulate m i n o r i t y is d e s t i n e d t o r u l e t h e c o u n t r y . I t is t h e i r h e r i t a g e . I t is t h e y w h o m u s t b e t r a i n e d i n t h e a r t o f g o v e r n m e n t s o as t o e n a b l e t h e m t o t a k e o v e r c o m p l e t e c o n t r o l o f t h e affairs o f t h e i r c o u n t r y . ' I t is this a t t i t u d e t h a t e x p l a i n s t h e h o s t i l i t y o f t h e majority o f t h e e d u c a t e d élite t o t h e role o f t h e chiefs in g o v e r n m e n t , f o r t h e y s a w t h e m as r i v a l s f o r p o w e r , p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h o s e British c o l o n i e s , like N i g e r i a , w h e r e t h e s y s t e m o f indirect r u l e m a d e it e x p l i c i t t h a t d e v o l u t i o n o f c o l o n i a l p o w e r w o u l d b e to the native authorities rather than t o the e d u c a t e d élite. 1

Criticisms o f the colonial structure, then, b y 1940 had largely b e e n l i m i t e d t o p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t its c h a r a c t e r , n o t its e x i s t e n c e . T h e s e criticisms h a d been fuelled in part b y the depressed level o f the e c o n o m y and consequent diminution o f colonial services t h r o u g h o u t the 1930s. A t a time o f rising e x p e c t a t i o n s , based o n t h e p r o s p e r i t y o f t h e first t w o d e c a d e s o f t h e c e n t u r y w h e n t h e terms o f trade w e r e in A f r i c a ' s f a v o u r a n d peasant a n d trader h a d profited, the thirties, in w h i c h the terms o f trade w e r e dramatically reversed, b r o u g h t disillusion with the positive aspects o f colonial r u l e . T h i s d i s i l l u s i o n s e t i n b o t h a m o n g f a r m e r s w h o e a r n e d less a n d less f r o m t h e i r c r o p s a n d a m o n g t h e e d u c a t e d é l i t e w h o f o u n d fewer o p e n i n g s in the colonial system - w h e t h e r g o v e r n m e n t o r b u s i n e s s — as d i m i n i s h i n g r e v e n u e s f o r c e d it t o c u t b a c k its activities.

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T h e extent to w h i c h the Second W o r l d W a r represented a turning p o i n t in the liberation o f A f r i c a f r o m c o l o n i a l rule, o r m e r e l y acted as a n a c c e l e r a t o r t o a p r o c e s s t h a t w a s a l r e a d y u n d e r w a y , c a n n o t be assessed w i t h o u t an appreciation o f the impact o f that w a r o n t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t itself. N o t l o n g after t h e o u t b r e a k o f w a r i n E u r o p e , t h e fighting w a s e x t e n d e d t o A f r i c a , j u s t as it h a d b e e n i n t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r . 1

Obafemi A w o l o w o , Path to Nigerian freedom ( L o n d o n , 1947), 63.

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E v e n b e f o r e t h i s , s o m e 80000 A f r i c a n t r o o p s h a d b e e n s h i p p e d f r o m F r e n c h A f r i c a t o E u r o p e t o fight a g a i n s t t h e G e r m a n s . O n c e Italy h a d entered the w a r o n the side o f G e r m a n y in M a y 1940 t h e s e c u r i t y o f t h e S u e z r o u t e t o t h e F a r E a s t w a s p l a c e d in j e o p a r d y , w i t h I t a l i a n f o r c e s in L i b y a p o s i n g a t h r e a t t o E g y p t , a n d t h o s e in t h e H o r n o f A f r i c a t o K e n y a a n d t h e S u d a n . W i t h t h e fall o f F r a n c e in J u n e 1 9 4 0 t h e m i l i t a r y s i t u a t i o n i n A f r i c a b e c a m e e v e n m o r e w o r r y i n g t o t h e B r i t i s h , as t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s o f French N o r t h and W e s t Africa, Somali Coast and Madagascar o p t e d f o r t h e V i c h y r e g i m e , w h o s e i n t e n t i o n s as far as p r o ­ v i d i n g facilities f o r t h e G e r m a n n a v y in its c o a s t a l c o l o n i e s w e r e n o t at all c l e a r . T h e o n l y c o u t e r v a i l i n g e v e n t s w e r e t h e decision b y the black G u y a n e s e G o v e r n o r o f C h a d , Felix E b o u e , to b a c k G e n e r a l de G a u l l e and the F r e e F r e n c h , and his success in r a l l y i n g t h e rest o f E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a a n d C a m e r o u n t o t h e i r cause w i t h the assistance o f military intervention f r o m Free F r e n c h f o r c e s b a s e d in N i g e r i a . T h e o u t c o m e w a s t o s e c u r e a n o v e r l a n d a n d air r o u t e f o r B r i t a i n a n d h e r allies f r o m A c c r a a n d L a g o s to Sudan and E g y p t by w a y o f Chad. T h i s w a s to p r o v e v i t a l in t h e e x t e n d e d w a r in t h e L i b y a n d e s e r t . T h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e F r e n c h fleet o f f t h e c o a s t o f A l g e r i a at M e r s - e l - K e b i r , a n d t h e s h e l l i n g o f t h e F r e n c h b a t t l e s h i p Richelieu in D a k a r , r e l i e v e d s o m e o f Britain's anxieties that the G e r m a n s m i g h t use the F r e n c h fleet a n d i n c r e a s e t h e p r o b l e m s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h h e r colonies. H o w e v e r , the attempt b y British and Free F r e n c h forces to take D a k a r in S e p t e m b e r 1940 failed i g n o m i n i o u s l y a n d d i d m u c h t o r e d u c e d e G a u l l e ' s c u r r e n c y in t h e e y e s o f t h e A l l i e s , t h o u g h it d i d n o t , as f e a r e d , l e a d t o D a k a r b e i n g u s e d as a G e r m a n b a s e as c o n t e m p o r a r y p r o p a g a n d a w o u l d h a v e i t . N e v e r t h e l e s s t h e B r i t i s h in W e s t A f r i c a n e v e r felt s e c u r e o n t h e i r b o r d e r s u n t i l F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a d e c l a r e d f o r t h e F r e e F r e n c h in N o v e m b e r 1942. 1

I n t h e H o r n o f A f r i c a t h e I t a l i a n s justified B r i t a i n ' s fears a n d i n v a d e d B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d in A u g u s t 1 9 4 0 , a n d a l s o t o o k K a s s a l a in t h e A n g l o - E g y p t i a n S u d a n a n d M o y a l e in K e n y a . D e s p i t e t h e p a t h e t i c a l l y s m a l l B r i t i s h f o r c e s in t h i s s t r a t e g i c a r e a , t h e I t a l i a n s w e r e c a u t i o u s in t h e i r i n v a s i o n o f b o t h t h e S u d a n a n d K e n y a a n d did n o t p r o v e the threat to the security o f these c o l o n i e s that they 1

Michael C r o w d e r , ' V i c h y and Free France in West Africa during the Second World War', in Colonial West Africa ( L o n d o n , 1978), 274.

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m i g h t h a v e b e e n . T h e initial British r e s p o n s e , g i v e n their limited resources, w a s to order the recapture o f Kassala and t o g i v e a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e E t h i o p i a n p a t r i o t s w h o w e r e still r e s i s t i n g t h e recent Italian o c c u p a t i o n . K a s s a l a w a s taken in J a n u a r y 1 9 4 1 , a n d despite the four-to-one numerical superiority o f the Italian forces o v e r the British, the latter a d v a n c e d i n t o Italian E a s t A f r i c a a n d by 17 M a y they had effectively gained control o v e r the H o r n . A d d i s A b a b a , w h i c h w a s taken in early A p r i l , w a s the scene a m o n t h l a t e r o f t h e first a c t i n t h e d e c o l o n i s a t i o n o f t h e E u r o p e a n empires that w a s t o take place o v e r the next 3 5 years. O n 5 M a y , 1 9 4 1 , H a i l e S e l a s s i e r e t u r n e d t o h i s i m p e r i a l c a p i t a l , e x a c t l y five y e a r s t o t h e d a y after it h a d b e e n o c c u p i e d b y t h e I t a l i a n s . I t w a s , h o w e v e r , n o t uncharacteristic o f the w a y decolonisation unfolded that the British insisted o n retaining certain c o n t r o l s o v e r his g o v e r n m e n t , i n p a r t i c u l a r i n t h e O g a d e n r e g i o n . B u t it w a s a l s o significant that this act o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n w a s a c h i e v e d w i t h t h e assistance o f A f r i c a n soldiers f r o m b o t h E a s t a n d W e s t A f r i c a . T h e participation o f N i g e r i a n soldiers in this c a m p a i g n w a s celebrated by the Hausa poet Sa'adu Z u n g u r . The Nigerians cleaved through to the Somali corner without halting. The Ethiopians drank freely in city, in encampment and in village. Their enemy was knocked out. Ethiopia's troubles were over.

1

W i t h the e x p u l s i o n o f the Italians f r o m E a s t Africa, the m a i n theatre o f w a r b e c a m e N o r t h Africa. T h e r e the G e r m a n s a n d Italians c a m e c l o s e t o o c c u p y i n g E g y p t , a l m o s t r e a c h i n g A l e x a n ­ d r i a . T h e y w e r e e v e n t u a l l y d r i v e n b a c k after t h e b a t t l e o f E l A l a m e i n . Thereafter the w a r see-sawed back and forth in L i b y a , c a u s i n g i m m e n s e destruction in urban areas. T h e G e r m a n s a n d I t a l i a n s w e r e n o t finally e x p e l l e d u n t i l after t h e j o i n t A m e r i c a n British landings in N o r t h Africa in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 4 2 . W h i l e M o r o c c o and A l g e r i a w e r e q u i c k l y taken f r o m their V i c h y administrations b y the Allies, Tunisia, w h i c h for a short time w a s under G e r m a n administration, b e c a m e a battlefield suffering g r e a t d e v a s t a t i o n i n its c i t i e s a n d t o w n s . T h e last G e r m a n a n d I t a l i a n forces w e r e d r i v e n o u t o f N o r t h Africa in 1943, a n d the Italian c o l o n i s t s in L i b y a w e r e i n t e r n e d . Madagascar was invaded b y British forces and occupied b e t w e e n M a y and December 1942. T h e whole o f French Africa w a s 1

Sa'adu Z u n g u r , 'Welcome to the soldiers', in Dandatti Abdulkadir, The poetry, life and opinions of Sa*adu Zungur (Zatiz, 1974), 4 1 .

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e v e n t u a l l y placed u n d e r Free F r e n c h administration, t h o u g h in N o r t h A f r i c a d e G a u l l e r u l e d v e r y m u c h as a c l i e n t o f t h e A m e r i c a n s , a point n o t lost o n the nationalists. France w a s g i v e n the administration o f the Italian Saharan territory o f F e z z a n , w h i c h linked her Equatorial and N o r t h African colonies, while Britain administered the coastal territories o f Tripolitania a n d Cyrenaica. In contrast t o the First W o r l d W a r , the S e c o n d d i d n o t lead to any redrawing o f the m a p o f Africa. N o r did any o f the victors make long-term colonial acquisitions. H o w e v e r , during the w a r Britain d i d entertain ambitions w i t h regard t o the Italian c o l o n i e s w h i c h she had conquered and w h i c h she certainly did n o t want returned t o Italy o r g i v e n t o a n y p o w e r that m i g h t o n c e again threaten the security o f her imperial communications. B u t such ambitions w e r e thwarted b y A m e r i c a n hostility towards any expansion o f the British empire, o r the granting to her o f any o p e n - e n d e d t r u s t e e s h i p . A s it w a s , E t h i o p i a , as w e h a v e s e e n , regained an i n d e p e n d e n c e o n l y recently l o s t ; the Italian c o l o n y of Eritrea was placed under temporary British administration, and federated w i t h E t h i o p i a in 1952. S o m a l i a , administered b y the B r i t i s h f r o m 1 9 4 1 t o 1 9 5 0 , w a s g i v e n b a c k t o t h e I t a l i a n s as a U n i t e d N a t i o n s T r u s t T e r r i t o r y w i t h a specific o b l i g a t i o n t o p r e p a r e it f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h i n a d e c a d e ; t h e L i b y a n p r o v i n c e s o f Tripolitania and Cyrenaica w e r e administered b y Britain, and F e z z a n b y F r a n c e until 1951 w h e n , at t h e insistence o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s , t h e y b e c a m e t o g e t h e r i n d e p e n d e n t as t h e K i n g d o m o f Libya. 1

T h e majority o f the African colonies controlled b y Britain and France d i d n o t , o f course, b e c o m e directly i n v o l v e d in the hostilities. Y e t t h e y w e r e m u c h m o r e o b v i o u s l y affected b y t h e course o f the w a r than they had been during the First W o r l d W a r . A p a r t from the increased sophistication o f the t e c h n o l o g y available to the combatants, m o r e particularly in the form o f longer-range s u b m a r i n e s a n d aircraft that m a d e a n y territory potentially v u l ­ nerable, m a n y cities a n d t o w n s r e m o t e f r o m theatres o f w a r served as s t a g i n g p o s t s f o r s o l d i e r s a n d s u p p l i e s . I m p r o v e d m e a n s o f m a s s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n and the progress, albeit s l o w , o f western education b e t w e e n the w a r s , meant that a m u c h larger s e g m e n t 1

See William R o g e r Louis, Imperialism at bay: rp^i-i^^j: decolonisation of the British Empire (Oxford, 1977).

the United States and the

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/ERITREA I ¿NIGERIAS EMPIRE O F ETHIOPIA 1941

SIERRA« LEONE GOLD 'Fernando P COAST/ (?usteesf?ipj TOGOLAND SaoTome* &Principe# . Br &Fr trusteeship (Port) SPANISH^ GUINEA

BELGIAN ICONGOI

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', S O U T H í ¿WEST W ^ÎBEÇHUANA / L A N D ^ R , C

Portuguese | British

s

^UNION . DFSOUTH< ^AFRICA

British trusteeship French

SWAZILAND

-BASUTOLAND

French trusteeship Belgian Belgian Spanish 2000km

Date of independence Italian territories under temporary British administration

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o f the A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n w a s a w a r e o f the issues i n v o l v e d . In a m u c h m o r e real s e n s e t h a n i n t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r A f r i c a w a s integrated into the mainstream o f international politics b y the S e c o n d . T h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , it is t r u e , w a s as d i s r u p t i v e as t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r i n A f r i c a , i f n o t m o r e s o , a c c o m p a n i e d as it w a s b y w i d e - s c a l e r e v o l t s , particularly in F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a , a n d m i l l e n n i a l m o v e m e n t s s u c h as t h a t o f G a r r i c k B r a i d e i n t h e N i g e r Delta w h i c h s o u g h t to r e m o v e the colonial p o w e r . B u t these w e r e directed t o w a r d s a return to the status q u o ante. T h e forces stirred in A f r i c a b y t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w e r e a i m e d at s e c u r i n g c o n t r o l o f the h o u s e s the E u r o p e a n s had built.

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T h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r shattered the colonial calm o f Africa. W i t h i n a y e a r o f its o u t b r e a k B e l g i u m a n d F r a n c e h a d b e e n o v e r r u n b y t h e G e r m a n s . S o o n after, I t a l y w a s d i s p o s s e s s e d first o f h e r E a s t African empire and then o f her N o r t h African c o l o n y o f Libya. A l t h o u g h B r i t a i n d i d n o t suffer i n v a s i o n a n d t h e h u m i l i a t i o n o f o c c u p a t i o n b y h e r o p p o n e n t s as d i d F r a n c e , B e l g i u m a n d I t a l y , she k n e w the bitter taste o f defeat. L i k e that o f F r a n c e , her Far Eastern empire w a s seized b y Japan, a ' c o l o u r e d nation', w h o s e e a r l i e r s u c c e s s e s i n t h e field o f m o d e r n i s a t i o n h a d c o n t e m p t u o u s l y been attributed to skills o f imitation. F o r France and B e l g i u m , c o n t i n u e d e x i s t e n c e as i n d e p e n d e n t e n t i t i e s b r i e f l y r e s i d e d i n t h e i r o w n d e p e n d e n c i e s : F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a in the case o f F r a n c e , a n d t h e C o n g o in t h e c a s e o f B e l g i u m . P i e r r e R y c k m a n s , G o v e r n o r G e n e r a l o f B e l g i u m ' s C o n g o estate, w a s to declare w i t h apparently n o a p p r e c i a t i o n o f the true i r o n y o f his c o u n t r y ' s situation : ' T h e B e l g i a n C o n g o , i n t h e p r e s e n t w a r , is t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t a s s e t o f B e l g i u m . It is e n t i r e l y at t h e s e r v i c e o f t h e A l l i e s , a n d t h r o u g h t h e m t h e m o t h e r l a n d . I f s h e n e e d s m e n , it w i l l g i v e t h e m ; i f s h e n e e d s w o r k , it w i l l w o r k f o r h e r . W h i l e F r e n c h m e n w i t h v i s i o n s o f a F r a n c e o n c e m o r e free a n d i n d e p e n d e n t m a y h a v e b e e n a b l e t o h o l d t h e i r h e a d s h i g h i n t h e i r E q u a t o r i a l c o l o n i e s , i n t h e rest o f F r e n c h A f r i c a the A f r i c a n élite w a s t o w i t n e s s the spectacle o f a d i v i d e d c o l o n i a l class and see the r e c r i m i n a t i o n s and , f

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Pierre Ryckmans in June 1940, cited by George Martelli, Leopold to Lumumba: a

history of the Belgian Congo 1877-1960 (London, 1962), 201.

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retributions visited u p o n those w h o had m a d e the mistake o f b a c k i n g the V i c h y horse t o o o p e n l y . In D a k a r they w e r e to be told that the venerable Marshal Petain, w h o had led F r a n c e to ultimate v i c t o r y in the First W o r l d W a r w i t h the m a s s i v e assistance o f A f r i c a n c o n s c r i p t s , w a s n o w a fallen i d o l , w h i l e G e n e r a l d e G a u l l e , p r e s e n t e d as t h e i r l i b e r a t o r , h a d t o b e g i v e n s p e c i a l p r o t e c t i o n o n h i s first v i s i t t o D a k a r i n c a s e r e l a t i v e s o f those killed d u r i n g his a b o r t i v e raid o f 1940 s h o u l d seek vengeance. O f the E u r o p e a n imperial p o w e r s in A f r i c a o n l y S p a i n a n d P o r t u g a l e m e r g e d from the w a r relatively unscathed, w i t h the latter g a i n i n g s o m e profit f r o m the b o o m that the w a r g e n e r a t e d i n t h e d e m a n d f o r t h e p r o d u c t s o f its A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s . T h e o t h e r s , w h o s e s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e h a d a l r e a d y r e c e i v e d a b o d y - b l o w as a re­ s u l t o f t h e p r o l o n g e d d e p r e s s i o n o f t h e t h i r t i e s , h a d n o w suffered t h e h u m i l i a t i o n o f d e f e a t , a fact w h i c h t h e y k n e w d i d n o t e s c a p e t h e i r b e t t e r e d u c a t e d s u b j e c t s . S u b s e q u e n t v i c t o r i e s w e r e n o t suf­ ficient t o r e s t o r e r e s p e c t . T h e m y t h o f c o l o n i a l i n v i n c i b i l i t y w a s d e s t r o y e d , and the self-confidence o f the c o l o n i a l p o w e r s and administrators w h o sustained this m y t h dissipated. T h e c o l o n i a l e m p e r o r had n o clothes. T h i s w a s a truth that w a s to be realised b y t h e c o l o n i s e d A f r i c a n s o n l y d i m l y at first b u t w i t h i n c r e a s i n g c l a r i t y o v e r t h e n e x t t h i r t y y e a r s . It w a s , h o w e v e r , a t r u t h t h a t w a s n o t at all a p p a r e n t in t h e c o l o n i e s o f t h o s e t w o p o w e r s t h a t w e r e n o t directly i n v o l v e d in the w a r : P o r t u g a l and S p a i n . T h e i r subjects w e r e to remain insulated from the early w i n d s o f c h a n g e that w e r e b l o w i n g e l s e w h e r e in A f r i c a b y harshly repressive and economically backward regimes. T h e dependence o f the belligerent colonial p o w e r s o n their colonies for s u r v i v a l w a s n o t o n l y p s y c h o l o g i c a l and political, b u t m i l i t a r y a n d e c o n o m i c , as R y c k m a n s m a d e s o c l e a r . E v e n t h o u g h Britain retained her territorial integrity, her c o n t i n u e d existence and her struggle against the G e r m a n s and Japanese w e r e depen­ dent in s o m e m e a s u r e o n supplies o f p r o d u c e and t r o o p s f r o m her A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s . A f t e r t h e fall o f M a l a y a t o t h e J a p a n e s e t h e r a w materials o f her A f r i c a n colonies b e c a m e e v e n m o r e vital to her w a r effort. T h i s d e p e n d e n c e o n h e r c o l o n i a l e m p i r e w a s m a d e q u i t e explicit in the p r o m i s e s she m a d e t o the I n d i a n p e o p l e s o f i n d e p e n d e n t d o m i n i o n s t a t u s after t h e w a r i n r e t u r n f o r c o o p e r a t i o n d u r i n g it, a n d in t h e p r o p a g a n d a d e s i g n e d t o c o n v i n c e h e r A f r i c a n 21

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c o l o n i a l p o p u l a t i o n s t h a t s u p p o r t d u r i n g t h e w a r w o u l d r e a p its r e w a r d s i n s o c i a l , e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l r e f o r m s after it h a d b e e n w o n . I n d e e d , as w e s h a l l s e e , s o m e o f t h e s e r e f o r m s w e r e a c t u a l l y i n i t i a t e d d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h e w a r itself. F r a n c e a l s o w a s t o m a k e explicit her sense o f o b l i g a t i o n , o f a debt that h a d t o b e repaid, t o h e r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s at t h e B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e o f 1944, w h e r e a b o l d outline for e c o n o m i c , social, legal a n d political reform w a s approved b y the Free French administration. In the Belgian C o n g o , t o o , promises o f social and e c o n o m i c reform w e r e made, t h o u g h political change w a s n o t o n the agenda. T h e official e n u n c i a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e f u t u r e o f t h e c o l o n i a l empires in Africa in n o w a y q u e s t i o n e d the basis o f the c o l o n i a l relationship. W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l specifically stated that the clause in t h e A t l a n t i c C h a r t e r , w h i c h h e s i g n e d w i t h P r e s i d e n t R o o s e v e l t , a f f i r m i n g * t h e r i g h t o f all p e o p l e t o c h o o s e t h e f o r m o f g o v e r n m e n t in w h i c h t h e y l i v e ' a n d h o p i n g ' t o see s o v e r e i g n r i g h t s a n d self-government restored to those w h o have been forcibly deprived o f t h e m ' , d i d n o t a p p l y t o t h e A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s . H e a l s o m a d e it q u i t e clear that h e h a d n o t b e c o m e ' the K i n g ' s First M i n i s t e r in order to preside o v e r the liquidation o f the British E m p i r e ' . Similarly the F r e e F r e n c h stated c a t e g o r i c a l l y that the future o f France's A f r i c a n territories w a s n o t t o b e ' s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t ' , b u t rather greater political freedom within the f r a m e w o r k o f a ' g r e a t e r F r a n c e ' . Indeed the assurance o f the s u r v i v a l o f their colonial empires in the p o s t - w a r w o r l d formed a b o n d b e t w e e n C h u r c h i l l a n d d e G a u l l e , w h o s a w F r a n c e ' s e m p i r e as the g u a r a n t e e o f h e r c o n t i n u i n g s t a t u s as a w o r l d p o w e r . T h e r e w a s , h o w e v e r , a basic difference b e t w e e n the t w o c o l o n i a l p o w e r s in that Britain d i d accept that decolonisation o f her e m p i r e w a s i n e v i t a b l e , e v e n i f this w o u l d take place o n l y in s o m e v e r y distant f u t u r e as far as h e r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d . B r i t a i n a l s o had w i t h i n t h e w a l l s o f its C o l o n i a l Office a g r o u p o f ' r e f o r m e r s ' w h o w e r e determined t o b r i n g that future nearer. 1

Nevertheless both within the metropolitan countries themselves and increasingly in the U n i t e d States o f A m e r i c a , the w h o l e colonial relationship and the right o f o n e people t o dominate another e v e n in the short term w a s b e i n g questioned. I n Britain, the w a r g a v e an e d g e t o those w i t h i n the C o l o n i a l Office w h o f a v o u r e d r e f o r m a n d w h o , t h o u g h t h e y still b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e 1

Louis, Imperialism at bay 27. y

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African colonies needed a great deal m o r e social and e c o n o m i c development before they could be accorded even modest measures o f s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t , felt t h a t m o r e p o s i t i v e s t e p s s h o u l d b e t a k e n to prepare t h e m for political responsibility w i t h i n a foreseeable f u t u r e as d i s t i n c t f r o m o n e t h a t h a d b e e n m e r e l y n e b u l o u s . W i t h i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t itself, C l e m e n t A t t l e e , C h u r c h i l l ' s d e p u t y a n d t h e leader o f the L a b o u r Party, p r o t e s t e d against the h o l d i n g o f c o l o n i e s f o r t h e financial a d v a n t a g e w h i c h ' m a i n l y a c c r u e d t o a c a p i t a l i s t g r o u p ' . T h e W e s t I n d i a n r i o t s o f 19 3 8 h a d s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e h a n d o f t h o s e w h o a d v o c a t e d r e f o r m in t h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e and a former Indian State g o v e r n o r like Hailey had already per­ ceived w h a t m a n y o f the m e n o n the spot had n o t yet seen, that Africa w a s a continent o f ' rapid c h a n g e , and greater c h a n g e s im­ p e n d i n g ' . H e a l s o a s k e d t h e q u e s t i o n as t o w h e t h e r t h e c o l o n i a l authorities c o u l d ' b e sure o f the continuance o f that degree o f a c q u i e s c e n c e in o u r r u l e w h i c h is a n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p r o g r e s s ' . I n t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e c o l u m n s o f The Times, M a r g e r y P e r h a m r e g u l a r l y e x p r e s s e d t h e g r o w i n g u n e a s e that t h i n k i n g B r i t o n s c o n c e r n e d w i t h the c o l o n i a l e m p i r e w e r e b e g i n n i n g t o feel a b o u t t h e i r r e c o r d . T h i s u n e a s e w a s h e i g h t e n e d b y the o p e n attacks m a d e n o t o n l y o n that r e c o r d b u t o n the v e r y idea o f e m p i r e b y the A m e r i c a n s , e p i t o m i s e d b y the b r o a d c a s t o f W e n d e l l W i l k i e o n h i s v i s i t t o L o n d o n in N o v e m b e r 1 9 4 2 w h e n he s p o k e o f ' t h e necessity o f a b o l i s h i n g i m p e r i a l i s m ' . In this he w a s merely e c h o i n g the v i e w s o f President R o o s e v e l t and i m p o r ­ tant elements w i t h i n his administration w h o feared that the greatest d a n g e r to the stability o f the p o s t - w a r w o r l d w o u l d c o m e f r o m the re-establishment o f a p o w e r f u l British e m p i r e . T h e B r i t i s h , in t u r n , s u s p e c t e d t h a t t h e m o t i v a t i o n f o r A m e r i c a n a t t a c k s o n h e r e m p i r e c a m e f r o m a d e s i r e t o s e c u r e freer a c c e s s to her colonial markets. T h e r e w a s also the a n o m a l y that A m e r i c a did not consider that her overseas possessions o f H a w a i i , the Philippines and P u e r t o R i c o constituted an empire. 1

2

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T h e r e w a s a certain bitterness that s u c h attacks w e r e directed p r i m a r i l y at t h e B r i t i s h , w h i l e t h e F r e n c h s e e m e d t o e s c a p e u n s c a t h e d . B u t this w a s n o t i n fact t h e c a s e . I f a n y t h i n g , as W i l l i a m 1

Ibid., 33, citing minutes of ministerial meeting of n September 1942. Introductory chapter to Native administration and political development in British tropical Africa, confidentially printed, 1942, cited in John D . Hargreaves, The end of colonial rule in West Africa ( L o n d o n , 1978), 15. Margery Perham, Colonial sequence /930-1949 ( L o n d o n , 1967), 237. 2

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R o g e r L o u i s points out, R o o s e v e l t w a s m o r e hostile t o the French as a c o l o n i a l p o w e r t h a n t o t h e B r i t i s h . H e d i d n o t w a n t I n d o - C h i n a t o b e r e t u r n e d t o t h e F r e n c h after t h e J a p a n e s e h a d been defeated, s o p o o r a v i e w did he have o f France's colonial r e c o r d t h e r e . A t t h e v e r y l e a s t h e felt t h a t r e s t o r a t i o n o f I n d o - C h i n a to French administration should be conditional o n independence b e i n g m a d e the l o n g - t e r m g o a l o f policy there. A m e r i c a n criticisms o f French colonialism strengthened the position o f those Free French politicians and administrators w h o w a n t e d t o see i m ­ p r o v e m e n t s in their e c o n o m i c a n d social policies in the A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s , a n d it is s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e p r o m i s e s o f p o l i t i c a l , e c o n o m i c a n d social r e f o r m m a d e at t h e B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e o n the future o f France's A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s w e r e a major factor in persuading a reluctant R o o s e v e l t t o accept the legitimacy o f France's position in Indo-China. 1

I n B r i t a i n t h e official m i n d n e v e r q u i t e g o t o v e r t h e s h o c k o f t h e r e a l i s a t i o n t h a t t h e fate n o t o n l y o f t h e e m p i r e b u t a l s o o f t h e m e t r o p o l i s n o w h u n g m i l i t a r i l y a n d financially o n t h e w h i m o f t h e e x - c o l o n i a l a l l y . T h e fear i n W h i t e h a l l w a s t h a t t h e A m e r i c a n s might make liquidation o f the colonial empire a condition o f s u p p o r t . A n d w h i l e t h i s fear w a s n o t i n t h e e v e n t r e a l i s e d , t h e threat w a s always there that anti-colonialism in A m e r i c a m i g h t p u t pressure o n the colonial p o w e t s t o prepare their subjects for i n d e p e n d e n c e u n d e r international s u p e r v i s i o n . A n d as R o b i n s o n p o i n t s o u t , it w a s ' n o a c c i d e n t t h a t f r o m 1 9 4 3 t h e B r i t i s h b e g a n t o liberalise their arrangements in o r d e r t o appease A m e r i c a n anti-colonialism'. W h i l e in neither France n o r Britain w a s there any intention o f a b a n d o n i n g their A f r i c a n empires, an i m a g e that w a s s o c l e a r l y t a r n i s h e d i n t h e e y e s o f A m e r i c a n s as w e l l as o f d o m e s t i c critics o f e m p i r e w a s g i v e n a polish a n d n e w names a n d formulae w e r e p r o d u c e d t o emphasise a change in the colonial r e l a t i o n s h i p . I n t h e c a s e o f B r i t a i n it w a s t h e r e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e paternalistic c o n c e p t o f ' trusteeship' b y that o f * partnership' a n d in t h e case o f F r a n c e t h e n o m i n a l transformation o f t h e ' e m p i r e ' i n t o a ' u n i o n ' a n d o f ' c o l o n i e s ' i n t o 'territories d'outre mer\ a n d 'indigenes' i n t o 'autochtones'. 2

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Louis, Imperialism at bay, Chapter 2. Ronald Robinson, * Andrew Cohen and the transfer of power in Tropical Africa, 1 9 4 0 - 1 9 5 1 i n W. H. Morris-Jones and Georges Fischer (eds.), Decolonisation and after: the British and French experience (London, 1980), 53. Ibid., 54. 2

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W h i l s t the political relationship w a s in neither case fundamentally altered d u r i n g t h e w a r , political r e f o r m s w e r e initiated that, as w e s h a l l l a t e r s e e , c a n b e h e l d w i t h t h e a d v a n t a g e o f h i n d s i g h t to have led inevitably along the path to independence. A n d to p r o v e t o the A m e r i c a n s in particular that their empire really d i d have a n e w image, both France and Britain elaborated p r o g r a m m e s o f social a n d e c o n o m i c reform that m a r k e d a turning p o i n t in the history o f their colonial rule. F r a n c e i n t r o d u c e d the a m b i t i o u s F I D E S (Fonds d'Investissement et de D é v e l o p p e m e n t É c o n o m i q u e e t S o c i a l ) at B r a z z a v i l l e , e m p h a s i s i n g t h a t t h e ' o b j e c t o f our colonial policy must be the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the productive potential o f the o v e r s e a s territories a n d the g r o w t h o f their w e a l t h s o as t o a s s u r e t h e A f r i c a n s o f a b e t t e r life b y r a i s i n g t h e i r purchasing p o w e r and i m p r o v i n g standards o f l i v i n g . . . V while B r i t a i n ' s C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d W e l f a r e A c t o f 1 9 4 5, r e f l e c t i n g t h e i n c r e a s e d a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e i d e a s o f J. M . K e y n e s , s e t a s i d e £ 1 2 0 million for p o s t - w a r d e v e l o p m e n t and welfare in the colonies o v e r a ten-year period. T h i s greatly increased the £5 million a year set aside b y the 1940 C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d W e l f a r e A c t . H e r e is p e r h a p s t h e b e s t i l l u s t r a t i o n o f a s i t u a t i o n t h a t w a s a c c e l e r a t e d b y t h e w a r r a t h e r t h a n i n i t i a t e d b y it. A l t h o u g h in 1929 the British g o v e r n m e n t h a d m a d e available t h r o u g h t h e C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t A c t u p t o £1 m i l l i o n a y e a r in t h e f o r m o f l o a n s o r g r a n t s t o t h e w h o l e o f t h e d e p e n d e n t e m p i r e , this w a s p r i m a r i l y d e s i g n e d t o b o o s t the British e c o n o m y , a n d d i d n o t g r e a t l y affect t h e B r i t i s h p o l i c y t h a t t h e c o l o n i e s w e r e to b e e c o n o m i c a l l y self-supporting. It w a s the 1940 A c t that m a r k e d t h e real t u r n i n g p o i n t i n t h e e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n Britain a n d h e r c o l o n i e s . A n d that A c t o f c o u r s e h a d its roots in a pre-war situation and w a s b e i n g discussed within the C o l o n i a l Office before the o u t b r e a k o f w a r . N e v e r t h e l e s s , as R . D . P e a r c e p o i n t s o u t , it n e e d e d n o t o n l y t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f L o r d M o y n e in his report o n the W e s t Indian disturbances, b u t ' the ideological requirements o f a w a r against N a z i G e r m a n y , t o j o l t t h e T r e a s u r y f r o m its h a b i t u a l p a r s i m o n i o u s h a b i t s ' . A s M a l c o l m M a c D o n a l d told the cabinet w h e n presenting his proposals for colonial development and welfare: ' A continuation 2

1

Cited in J. D . Hargreaves (ed.), France and West Africa: an anthology of historical documents ( L o n d o n , 1969), 239. R. D . Pearce, The turning point in Africa: British colonial policy 19)8-1948 ( L o n d o n , 1982), 21. 2

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o f t h e p r e s e n t state o f affairs w o u l d b e w r o n g o n m e r i t a n d it p r o v i d e s o u r enemies and critics w i t h an admirable subject for propaganda... T h a t this A c t m a r k e d an e n d t o a relationship b e t w e e n Britain and her colonies that w a s largely an extractive o n e , a n d o n e in w h i c h colonies h a d t o p a y for t h e m s e l v e s , w a s m a d e c l e a r i n S i r B e r n a r d B o u r d i l l o n ' s s p e e c h as g o v e r n o r t o t h e Nigerian Legislative Council w h e n introducing the Colonial D e v e l o p m e n t a n d Welfare A c t in 1940. H e assured his c o u n c i l t h a t it w a s ' a d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e u t m o s t i m p o r t a n c e ' , i n d i c a t i n g that the doctrine o f the self-sufficiency o f i n d i v i d u a l c o l o n i e s w a s now 'dead'. F I D E S o n the other hand w a s m u c h more specifically a b y - p r o d u c t o f the w a r a n d A m e r i c a n pressures in p a r t i c u l a r , a n d r e p r e s e n t e d a real point de départ, f o r a l t h o u g h F r a n c e h a d initiated a p r o g r a m m e o f p u b l i c w o r k s in the c o l o n i e s in 1 9 3 1 , this w a s d o n e b y m e a n s o f a loan, n o t a grant. T h e B e l g i a n s , t o o , w e r e affected b y t h i s c o n c e r n t o r e f u r b i s h t h e i m a g e o f empire, and whilst they had n o intention o f m a k i n g political c o n c e s s i o n s in their C o n g o , they d i d initiate an a m b i t i o u s d e v e l ­ opment programme with a strong welfare content. 9 1

2

R u s s i a n c r i t i q u e s o f e m p i r e g a v e t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s less i m m e d i a t e c o n c e r n than those o f their A m e r i c a n allies. B e c a u s e o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m f r o m w h i c h t h e y e m a n a t e d , t h e y w e r e less m o r a l l y w o u n d i n g , t h o u g h t h e r e w a s t o b e m o r e c o n c e r n as t o t h e i r p o t e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l effect o n t h e c o l o n i a l s u b j e c t s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e British had already been n e r v o u s about the C o m m u n i s t c o n n e x i o n s o f I. T . A . W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n in Sierra L e o n e a n d h a d placed h i m under restricted residence d u r i n g the w a r . T h o u g h t h e F r e n c h a l l o w e d groupes d'études communistes t o b e f o r m e d f r e e l y i n t h e i r t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n e m p i r e i n t h e last y e a r s o f t h e w a r , o n c e t h e C o m m u n i s t s h a d left t h e F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t i n M a y 1 9 4 7 , c o n t i n u i n g affiliations b e t w e e n A f r i c a n p o l i t i c i a n s a n d t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w e r e t h e o c c a s i o n f o r official r e p r e s s i o n o f these politicians e v e n t h o u g h t h e party w a s as politically a s s i m i l a t i o n i s t as a n y o t h e r F r e n c h p a r t y . D u r i n g the w a r there w e r e w i d e s p r e a d calls f o r p l a c i n g the colonial empires under s o m e form o f international supervision. T h e s e w e r e stoutly resisted b y b o t h C h u r c h i l l a n d d e G a u l l e . S o m e A m e r i c a n s w e n t s o f a r as t o s u g g e s t t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f 1

Ibid., 21. Jeremy White, Central administration in Nigeria, 1914-1948 1981), 233. 2

(Dublin and L o n d o n ,

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i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r u s t e e s h i p s f o r all t h e c o l o n i a l d e p e n d e n c i e s . R o o s e v e l t felt t h a t at least t h o s e c o l o n i a l t e r r i t o r i e s l i b e r a t e d b y A m e r i c a n arms should be placed under trusteeship. T h e r e was d e b a t e as t o w h e t h e r this t r u s t e e s h i p s h o u l d c o n s i s t o f t h e supervision o f the administration o f the existing colonial p o w e r or the establishment o f international administrations o f w h i c h t h a t in T a n g i e r w a s c i t e d as b e i n g a n o t v e r y h a p p y e x a m p l e . It w a s n o t o n l y the A m e r i c a n s w h o a d v o c a t e d the e x t e n s i o n o f the i d e a o f t r u s t e e s h i p t o all c o l o n i a l d e p e n d e n c i e s ; s u p p o r t f o r s u c h a m o v e came from Australia, N e w Zealand, Russia, and Indian n a t i o n a l i s t s . A s it w a s t h e s e p l a n s n e v e r c a m e t o f r u i t i o n . T h e Y a l t a A g r e e m e n t specifically e x c l u d e d such a solution. E v e n m o v e s to put teeth into the e x i s t i n g mandates w e r e resisted b y C h u r c h i l l , a n d in p a r t i c u l a r J a n S m u t s , P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f S o u t h A f r i c a , w h o feared the c o n s e q u e n c e s for his o w n c o u n t r y ' s racial policies o f close s u p e r v i s i o n o f the S o u t h W e s t African mandate. N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e n e w U n i t e d N a t i o n s O r g a n i s a t i o n , as s u c c e s s o r t o t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s , w a s a b l e t o p u t s o m e b i t e i n t o its n e w system o f trusteeships w h i c h replaced the former mandates. W h e r e the P e r m a n e n t M a n d a t e s C o m m i s s i o n had had n o right o f inspection, the n e w T r u s t e e s h i p C o u n c i l had the right to send out V i s i t i n g M i s s i o n s to the T r u s t Territories. F u r t h e r m o r e , inhabitants o f these territories c o u l d appeal to the c o u n c i l o v e r t h e h e a d s o f t h e c o l o n i a l a d m i n i s t e r i n g a u t h o r i t y . A b o v e a l l , in r e n e w i n g t h e m a n d a t e as a t r u s t , t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s g a v e t h e administering p o w e r the specific o b l i g a t i o n o f ' the p r o g r e s s i v e d e v e l o p m e n t t o w a r d s i n d e p e n d e n c e ' o f its T r u s t T e r r i t o r y . O n l y S o u t h Africa refused to accept these i n n o v a t i o n s w i t h regard to its S o u t h W e s t A f r i c a n m a n d a t e . A s far as t h e c o l o n i a l e m p i r e s t h e m s e l v e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d , t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s c h a r t e r n o w h e r e s p e c i f i e d i n d e p e n d e n c e as a g o a l f o r t h e ' n o n - s e l f - g o v e r n i n g t e r r i t o r i e s ' , as t h e i m p e r i a l d e p e n ­ dencies w e r e described. Y e t the United N a t i o n s w a s to p r o v i d e a f o r u m in w h i c h the r e c o r d o f i n d i v i d u a l c o l o n i a l p o w e r s c o u l d be challenged o r c o n d e m n e d . B u t the sense o f international a c c o u n t a b i l i t y w i t h w h i c h at l e a s t B r i t a i n , F r a n c e , H o l l a n d a n d B e l g i u m e m e r g e d after t h e w a r w a s n o t s o m u c h a s t r u c t u r a l as a m o r a l o n e . W h e r e b e f o r e t h e w a r e m p i r e h a d still b e e n a m a t t e r f o r p r i d e , n o w it w a s i n c r e a s i n g l y s e e n as a n e m b a r r a s s m e n t , s o m e t h i n g w h i c h n e e d e d c o n s t a n t l y t o b e justified. T h e Second W o r l d War, then, saw a dramatic change not only *7

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in t h e s t a n d i n g o f t h e g r e a t c o l o n i a l p o w e r s in t h e w o r l d b u t a l s o in t h e i r a t t i t u d e s a b o u t t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o w a r d s t h e i r c o l o n i e s . Britain, France and B e l g i u m ended the w a r w i t h their e c o n o m i e s o n the v e r g e o f ruin. Britain alone had overseas debts o f o v e r £3500 million. A l l three w e r e d e p e n d e n t for their p o s t - w a r rehabilitation o n m a s s i v e aid f r o m A m e r i c a . Britain and F r a n c e h a d l o s t t h e i r p r e v i o u s p r e - e m i n e n c e i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l affairs t o t h e t w o n e w super-powers, A m e r i c a and Russia, both o f w h i c h , for different reasons, w e r e hostile to the c o n t i n u e d e x i s t e n c e o f the E u r o p e a n colonial empires. A n d while France and Britain c o n t i n u e d t o b e t r e a t e d as w o r l d p o w e r s , t h e y h a d i n r e a l i t y l o s t the strength to be s o . O f the E u r o p e a n imperial p o w e r s in A f r i c a , only Spain and Portugal e m e r g e d relatively unscathed, and unaffected b y the n e w and hostile international climate w i t h regard to imperialism. N o n e o f this, h o w e v e r , w a s immediately apparent. T h e imm e d i a t e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e w a r s a w a d e t e r m i n e d effort b y t h e successful belligerent g o v e r n m e n t s to r e n e w their colonial miss i o n s . T h e y w e r e d e t e r m i n e d t o b e t h e i r o w n t r u s t e e s as t o t h e future o f their c o l o n i a l e m p i r e s . I n d e e d in the British, F r e n c h a n d B e l g i a n c o l o n i e s i n A f r i c a t h e r e f o l l o w e d after t h e w a r w h a t m i g h t b e c a l l e d a s e c o n d c o l o n i s a t i o n o f A f r i c a as t e c h n i c i a n s a n d e x p e r t s flooded into the colonies to i m p l e m e n t ambitious d e v e l o p m e n t schemes designed b o t h to i m p r o v e the lot o f the colonial subjects and to help revitalise the metropolitan e c o n o m i e s . Catherine C o q u é r y - V i d r o v i t c h has described the p e r i o d f r o m 1946 to 1952 as ' t h e g r e a t y e a r s o f F r e n c h c o l o n i a l i m p e r i a l i s m ' . N e v e r t h e l e s s , while both Britain and France may have fought the w a r to p r e s e r v e t h e i r e m p i r e s a n d , at l e a s t at t h e g o v e r n m e n t l e v e l , c o n t i n u e d t o h a v e f a i t h i n t h e i m p e r i a l m i s s i o n after t h e w a r , t h o s e w h o d i d t h e a c t u a l fighting, as A . J. P . T a y l o r h a s w r i t t e n o f t h e British, ' had simpler aims. T h e y f o u g h t to liberate the peoples o f E u r o p e from G e r m a n y and those o f the Far East f r o m Japan. T h e British did not relinquish their E m p i r e b y accident. T h e y ceased t o b e l i e v e i n it. ' A n d t h e p o s t - w a r w o r l d p r o v e d t h i s p o i n t ; o n c e the will to maintain empire w a s lost, colonial dependencies w e r e either voluntarily c e d e d to their inhabitants o r the empire 1

2

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Catherine C o q u é r y - V i d r o v i t c h , * La Mise en dépendance de l'Afrique noire : essai de périodisation, 1 8 8 0 - 1 9 7 0 ' , Cahiers d'études africaines, 1976, 1 6 , 39. Cited in the preface to Louis, Imperialism at bay, x. 2

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c o l l a p s e d . T h i s latter w a s w h a t h a p p e n e d i n t h e B e l g i a n C o n g o and w a s perhaps epitomised in the P o r t u g u e s e African empire. T h e r e t h e v e r y s o l d i e r s s e n t t o d e f e n d it c e a s e d t o b e l i e v e t h a t it w a s either w o r t h defending o r e v e n possible t o defend. After the w a r , then, the question appeared m o r e a n d m o r e t o be h o w t o extricate oneself from empire w i t h o u t losing the i n v e s t m e n t o n e h a d m a d e in it, o r else h o w t o t r a n s f o r m that empire into a political entity that c o u l d b o t h withstand the critics o f e m p i r e a n d satisfy t h e e r s t w h i l e c o l o n i a l s u b j e c t s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e British chose the path o f independence within a largely sentimental C o m m o n w e a l t h , the F r e n c h that o f political transfor­ mation o f empire into a s o m e w h a t more structured c o m m u n i t y . T h e Italians h a d n o c h o i c e in t h e matter w h e n S o m a l i a w a s returned to them. T h e Belgians s t u b b o r n l y refused t o read the signs o f the times, w i t h disastrous consequences. Significantly P o r t u g a l a n d S p a i n , t h e t w o p o w e r s least affected b y t h e w a r , w e r e as y e t still i n s u l a t e d f r o m t h e s e c u r r e n t s , b o t h p o l i t i c a l p a r i a h s i n a democratic post-war w o r l d . Y e t in 1952 w h e n P o r t u g a l applied for m e m b e r s h i p o f the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , she reconstituted h e r c o l o n i e s as o v e r s e a s p r o v i n c e s i n o r d e r t h a t t h e y s h o u l d b e i m m u n i s e d f r o m U N d i s c u s s i o n as b e i n g p r o p e r l y d o m e s t i c c o n c e r n s . W h e n S p a i n w a s finally a d m i t t e d t o t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s on 14 D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 5 , in the same year that P o r t u g a l w a s admitted, she w a s already preparing to divest herself o f the m o s t important part o f her African empire, Spanish M o r o c c o , w h o s e independence she recognised the following April.

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C o l o n i a l h i s t o r i a n s , as C h e r r y G e r t z e l p o i n t s o u t , l i k e t o s e e t h e t r a n s f e r o f p o w e r as a p r o c e s s w h e r e b y E u r o p e a n s granted A f r i c a n s i n d e p e n d e n c e , w h i l e A f r i c a n h i s t o r i a n s s e e it as o n e i n w h i c h t h e n a t i o n a l i s t s took t h e i r f r e e d o m . T h e t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r i n m o s t c a s e s lies s o m e w h e r e i n b e t w e e n . I t i s , h o w e v e r , fair t o s a y t h a t while the Second W o r l d W a r b r o u g h t about demonstrable c h a n g e s in the attitudes o f the belligerent p o w e r s t o w a r d s the w a y in w h i c h they administered their A f r i c a n subjects a n d placed t h e m o n t h e d e f e n s i v e a b o u t e m p i r e , g e n e r a l l y it p r o d u c e d n o 1

1

See Chapter 7.

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c o r r e s p o n d i n g o v e r t c h a n g e in t h e attitudes o f t h e c o l o n i a l élites t o w a r d s their imperial masters. B y a n d large in Africa, the w a r w a s an occasion for declarations o f loyalty, c o u p l e d o f course w i t h the h o p e o f r e w a r d in the f o r m o f a quickening o f the pace o f constitutional reform. Habib B o u r g u i b a , w h o h a d b e e n i m p r i s o n e d b y t h e F r e n c h in 1938 for his nationalist activities, w h e n b r o u g h t b a c k t o T u n i s i a b y the G e r m a n s in the h o p e s o f p l a y i n g off his nationalism against the A l l i e s , m a d e the f o l l o w i n g appeal in M a y 1943 t o the T u n i s i a n people : Today you must close ranks behind F r a n c e . . . Without France there is no hope of salvation ; it is on her success that the future of our country depends. I am convinced that the French nation, once freed from the Nazi yoke, will not forget her true friends, those w h o stood by her in her hour of trial. What matters most now is to win the war.

1

B u t e v e n w h e r e i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s o n t h e n a t i o n a l i s t a g e n d a as in F r e n c h N o r t h A f r i c a , d e m a n d s f o r r e f o r m w e r e still a i m e d at advance within a parliamentary framework to be achieved b y negotiation rather than confrontation. E l s e w h e r e the achievement o f r e s p o n s i b l e g o v e r n m e n t a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e a s y e t still dimly perceived goals. Indeed the political reforms introduced d u r i n g a n d i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e w a r b y t h e B r i t i s h a n d F r e n c h w e r e g e n e r a l l y i n a d v a n c e o f t h o s e as y e t e n v i s a g e d b y t h e c o l o n i a l é l i t e s as a t t a i n a b l e . B u t n o s o o n e r h a d t h e s e r e f o r m s b e e n presented than they w e r e declared inadequate. Colonial g o v e r n ­ ments either h a d t o respond w i t h further concessions that hastened the p a c e o f constitutional a d v a n c e b e y o n d that p l a n n e d for, o r resort t o repression. T h e y usually o n l y t o o k the latter c o u r s e w h e r e s u c h c o n c e s s i o n s a p p e a r e d t o jeopardise settler interests. T h e solution to the c o n u n d r u m o f whether the imperial p o w e r s g a v e A f r i c a n s i n d e p e n d e n c e o r w h e t h e r A f r i c a n s t o o k it l i e s , p e r h a p s , h e r e i n t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . T h e r e is a c a s e t o b e m a d e that, u p until the c o n c l u s i o n o f that w a r , Britain a n d France (except in her N o r t h African territories) w e r e m a k i n g the r u n n i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y a n d t h a t t h e i r c o n c e s s i o n s h a d till t h a t t i m e b e e n sufficient t o a s s u a g e t h e a s y e t l i m i t e d d e m a n d s o f t h e c o l o n i a l é l i t e s . T h e r e a f t e r it w a s i n c r e a s i n g l y t h e n a t i o n a l i s t s w h o m a d e t h e running, forcing the hands o f the colonial g o v e r n m e n t s to 1

Cited in Henri Grimai, Decolonisation: the British, French, Dutch and Belgian empires, ryry-rpéj, trans. Stephen de V o s (London, 1977), 1 1 7 .

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r e s p o n d w i t h c o n c e s s i o n o r r e p r e s s i o n . T h e l a t t e r , as it t u r n e d o u t , in i t s e l f m e r e l y s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n w i t h w h i c h t h e s e nationalists and their supporters pressed their d e m a n d s . T h e w a r m a y b e s a i d t o h a v e m a t u r e d n a t i o n a l i s m . It e x p o s e d its p i o n e e r s t o a r a n g e o f i n f l u e n c e s m u c h b r o a d e r t h a n t h o s e t h a t had been able to penetrate the enclosed colonial w o r l d o f the 1930s. It c r e a t e d n e w s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h t h e nationalists w e r e able t o e x p l o i t in o r d e r t o p e r s u a d e the c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s that they had g r o w i n g s u p p o r t for their cause. In turn these n e w c o n d i t i o n s p u t pressure o n the nationalists to radicalise their p r o g r a m m e s and m a k e m o r e u r g e n t their d e m a n d s for social reform and constitutional a d v a n c e . T h o s e o n w h o m the w a r had the m o s t direct impact w e r e , o f course, those enlisted w i t h the armies o f the belligerent p o w e r s . A s in t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , A f r i c a n s o l d i e r s d r a w n f r o m e v e r y corner o f the c o n t i n e n t administered b y the A l l i e s p l a y e d a vital r o l e in t h e d e f e a t o f t h e I t a l i a n s a n d G e r m a n s . A s m a n y as 8 0 0 0 0 F r e n c h A f r i c a n s o l d i e r s h a d b e e n fighting o n t h e E u r o p e a n f r o n t w h e n F r a n c e fell t o t h e G e r m a n s . S o l d i e r s f r o m F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a , and later f r o m F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a and M a d a g a s c a r , w h e n t h e y r e j o i n e d t h e A l l i e d c a u s e , f o u g h t in t h e N o r t h A f r i c a n c a m p a i g n s and the M i d d l e E a s t . T h e British recruited h e a v i l y in all t h e i r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e i r m a n d a t e d t e r r i t o r y o f T a n g a n y i k a , for s e r v i c e in the E a s t A f r i c a n c a m p a i g n . R e c r u i t s w e r e r e q u i r e d b o t h as s o l d i e r s a n d as m i l i t a r y l a b o u r . A s d e m a n d for recruits rose, v o l u n t a r y enlistment w a s increasingly replaced b y s o m e m e a s u r e o f c o n s c r i p t i o n , in F r e n c h , B e l g i a n a n d B r i t i s h t e r r i t o r i e s . M a n y p o t e n t i a l d r a f t e e s fled r a t h e r t h a n f a c e t h e r i g o u r s o f military l a b o u r , s o v i v i d w e r e the m e m o r i e s in s o m e areas o f t h e h a r d s h i p s a n d m o r t a l i t i e s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e c o n s c r i p ­ tions o f the First W o r l d W a r . African troops w e r e also shipped by the British to India for service in the B u r m a c a m p a i g n , w h e r e t h e y w e r e u s e d b o t h as i n f a n t r y a n d c a r r i e r s , a n d p l a y e d a c o n s p i c u o u s p a r t in t h e d e f e a t o f t h e J a p a n e s e . I n a l l , a r o u n d a million troops and carriers, i n c l u d i n g s o m e n o n - w h i t e n o n c o m b a t a n t s f r o m S o u t h Africa, w e r e used in the w a r ; a l l o w i n g f o r c a s u a l t i e s this m e a n t t h a t a h u g e n u m b e r o f y o u n g m e n returned to their h o m e s w i t h v e r y m u c h w i d e n e d h o r i z o n s , h a v i n g in m a n y c a s e s l e a r n t t r a d e s a n d o t h e r s k i l l s , i n p a r t i c u l a r h o w t o read and w r i t e . T h e y returned w i t h h e i g h t e n e d e x p e c t a t i o n s , and 3i

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it is s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e A c c r a r i o t s o f 1 9 4 8 t h a t l e d i n e x o r a b l y t o the i n d e p e n d e n c e o f G h a n a w e r e triggered b y an e x - s e r v i c e m a n ' s demonstration against living conditions. T h e r e have been many testimonies t o the educative impact o f the w a r o n African soldiers, forced f r o m their villages b y o n e f o r m o f c o m p u l s i o n o r another few w e r e true volunteers e v e n in those British territories w h e r e allegedly all r e c r u i t m e n t w a s o n a v o l u n t e e r basis. J o y c e Cary, w h o had o b s e r v e d the impact o f the First W o r l d W a r o n remote Nigerian B o r g u , also w r o t e about the impact o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r o n A f r i c a n t r o o p s : But this war, far more than the last, must change Africa. T h e natives w h o now again come together belong to a new age and generation. Many more have the beginnings of education; nearly all have heard of cooperate and political action. Although as soldiers they may stand aside from revolutionary move­ ments, they are making comparisons between wages, conditions and hopes. T h e Cape half-caste driver meets the G o l d Coast farmer with free cooperatives and his independent status in a country without a colour-bar; the Nigerian Moslem sees, through the eyes of an Indian hillman, the fraternity of Islam; the C o n g o mechanic describes to some East Coast pagan the garden village built for him by the paternal despots of the 'Union Miniere B e l g i q u e V

T h e i r v i e w o f the colonial relationship w a s also altered b y their experiences in the w a r . A s N d a b a n i n g i Sithole w r o t e : World War I I . . . has had a great deal to do with the awakening of the peoples of Africa. During the war the African came in contact with practically all the peoples of the earth. He met them on a life and death struggle basis. He saw the so-called civilised and peaceful and orderly white people

mercilessly

butchering one another just as his so-called savage ancestors had done in tribal wars. He saw no difference between the primitive and civilised man. In short, he saw through European pretensions that only Africans were savages. This had a revolutionising psychological impact on the African.

2

T h e full i m p a c t o f t h e r e t u r n o f t h e e x - s e r v i c e m e n o n t h e nationalist m o v e m e n t in Africa has y e t t o b e assessed. T h o u g h comparatively f e w t o o k leading roles in the formation o f political parties, a n d w e r e in the case o f F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g Africa t o p r o v e a c o n s e r v a t i v e f o r c e p o l i t i c a l l y i n t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , t h e y d i d f u e l t h e social ferment in the urban centres, in w h i c h m a n y o f t h e m settled in preference t o r e t u r n i n g t o their villages. T h e s e u r b a n centres w e r e t o p r o v e t h e m o s t fertile r e c r u i t i n g g r o u n d f o r m a s s parties. W h e r e the colonial response t o nationalist demands w a s repression, 1

2

Joyce Cary, The case for African freedom and other writings ( L o n d o n , 1944), 1 5 2 - 3 . Ndabaningi Sithole, African nationalism ( L o n d o n , 1959), 19.

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a n d t h e r e a c t i o n w a s a r m e d u p r i s i n g , it is n o t c l e a r h o w far k n o w l e d g e o f m o d e r n w e a p o n s acquired d u r i n g the w a r w a s a significant factor. Perhaps the m o s t i m p o r t a n t result o f the w a r for these soldiers and carriers w a s the b r o a d e n i n g o f their e x p e r i e n c e , p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r t h o s e w h o h a d s e r v e d in E u r o p e a n d t h e F a r E a s t . N o t o n l y w e r e t h e y t o l d t h a t t h e y w e r e fighting t o p r e s e r v e f r e e d o m a n d d e m o c r a c y , b u t in I n d i a t h e y w i t n e s s e d f e l l o w c o l o n i a l subjects p r o t e s t i n g against Britain's o w n restric­ tions o n their political freedom. M a n y soldiers received rudimen­ tary literary o r technical e d u c a t i o n and a significant factor in the p o s t - w a r e n t h u s i a s m for e d u c a t i o n , particularly in areas that h a d h i t h e r t o b e e n i n d i f f e r e n t t o it, w a s t h e r e t u r n o f s o l d i e r s w h o s e e x p e r i e n c e s in t h e w o r l d o u t s i d e t h e i r v i l l a g e s h a d t a u g h t t h e m its v a l u e . A f r i c a c o n t r i b u t e d m a n p o w e r f o r t h e A l l i e d w a r effort n o t o n l y in the f o r m o f soldiers a n d military l a b o u r , b u t t h r o u g h the i n v o l v e m e n t o f m i l l i o n s o f m e n a n d w o m e n in the increased p r o d u c t i o n o f those c r o p s w h i c h w e r e n e e d e d t o feed the t r o o p s as w e l l as c i v i l i a n s i n E u r o p e . O n c e t h e J a p a n e s e h a d o v e r r u n t h e British and D u t c h c o l o n i e s in S o u t h E a s t A s i a , A f r i c a b e c a m e the o n l y s o u r c e o f palm-oil for the A l l i e s , w h i l e her tin, r u b b e r and sisal c a m e u n d e r i n c r e a s e d d e m a n d . E v e n t h e n e u t r a l P o r t u g u e s e t e r r i t o r i e s w e r e affected b y t h e b o o m i n d e m a n d f o r sisal. T h i s d e m a n d for Africa's r a w materials w a s secured not b y higher p r i c e s , b u t in m a n y c a s e s b y v a r i o u s f o r m s o f c o e r c i o n , i n c l u d i n g conscription o n to plantations or into the mines. N o m a d s w e r e f o r c e d t o sell c a t t l e . B u t o f c o u r s e t h e i n c r e a s e d d e m a n d s f o r agricultural p r o d u c t i o n conflicted w i t h the requirements o f the army, w h i c h s o u g h t the ablest-bodied y o u n g m e n w h o w o u l d n o r m a l l y h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d in a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . C o e r c i o n o f l a b o u r w a s j u s t i f i e d , w h e r e it w a s felt n e c e s s a r y t o d o s o , i n t h e n a m e o f A f r i c a ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e fight f o r f r e e d o m . A n o t h e r equally i m p o r t a n t f o r m o f ' c o e r c i o n ' w a s inflation. S e v e r e r e s t r i c t i o n s o n i m p o r t a n t g o o d s l e d t o s t e e p rises i n t h e i r prices, w h i l e prices paid to farmers for agricultural exports w e r e controlled. T h e result w a s that m e t r o p o l i t a n c o m p a n i e s and their local agents acquired cash crops cheaply and sold imported g o o d s at h i g h p r i c e s , w h i l e t h e f a r m e r h a d t o p r o d u c e m o r e i f h e w e r e t o b e able t o p u r c h a s e t h e m . I r o n i c a l l y the V i c h y r e g i m e in W e s t Africa, unable to e x p o r t because o f the A l l i e d n a v a l b l o c k a d e , w a s 33

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m u c h m o r e b e n i g n f r o m the p o i n t o f v i e w o f the A f r i c a n peasant t h a n its F r e e F r e n c h s u c c e s s o r , w h i c h w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o s e c u r e a F r e n c h s t a k e in v i c t o r y b y c o n t r i b u t i o n s f r o m its A f r i c a n territories, and did n o t hesitate to force peasants to p r o d u c e the c r o p s the A l l i e s n e e d e d . O n c e the Far Eastern colonies had been lost to the Allies, Africa became o f increased strategic and e c o n o m i c importance. F r e e t o w n , w i t h its d e e p - w a t e r p o r t , a n d later D a k a r , M o n r o v i a , A c c r a , L a g o s , Port Harcourt and inland t o w n s like K a n o and Fort L a m y p r o v i d e d s t a g i n g posts to the S u d a n and E g y p t for the c a m p a i g n s in N o r t h Africa. L a t e r the c a m p a i g n in the F a r E a s t i n v o l v e d c o n s i d e r a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t s t o t h e p o r t s o f D a r es S a l a a m a n d M o m b a s a , a n d D i e g o S u a r e z after t h e V i c h y r e g i m e i n Madagascar had been o v e r t h r o w n . T h e s e ports and other points s t r a t e g i c t o the A l l i e d w a r effort g r e w at a r a p i d r a t e w i t h l a r g e scale i m m i g r a t i o n f r o m t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . T h e p o p u l a t i o n o f L e o p o l d v i l l e , for instance, increased f r o m 40000 inhabitants in 1 9 3 9 t o 1 1 0 0 0 0 i n 1 9 4 5 . W o r k e r s r e q u i r e d in a i r p o r t a n d d o c k c o n s t r u c t i o n , a n d in t h e f a c t o r i e s t h a t p r o c e s s e d g o o d s t h a t c o u l d not be obtained f r o m E u r o p e because o f the submarine w a r , often l i v e d in i n t o l e r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s i n b i d o n v i l l e s f r o m C a s a b l a n c a t o L a g o s . In N o r t h Africa these c o n d i t i o n s w e r e exacerbated b y d i s a s t r o u s h a r v e s t s f r o m 1 9 4 2 t o 1 9 4 5 . T h e last w a s o n e - t h i r d o r less t h a n t h e p r e - w a r h a r v e s t . T h a t y e a r M o r o c c o l o s t h a l f its s h e e p and Algeria almost three-quarters. T h e increasing proletarianism a n d p e a s a n t i s a t i o n t h a t a c c o m p a n i e d t h e w a r effort, a n d in p a r t i c u l a r t h e o f t e n a p p a l l i n g c o n d i t i o n s in t h e c i t i e s , c r e a t e d a n unprecedented s o c i o - e c o n o m i c situation ripe for nationalists to exploit. A l t h o u g h t h e w a r b r o u g h t w i t h it h e i g h t e n e d e c o n o m i c a c t i v i t y , f r o m s o m e p e r s p e c t i v e s t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m y u n d e r w e n t little c h a n g e . T e r m s o f trade, effectively, remained u n f a v o u r a b l e to the A f r i c a n p r o d u c e r . I n s o m e p a r t s o f A f r i c a t h e effects o f t h e r e c e s s i o n o f t h e 1930s w e r e i n t e n s i f i e d b y t h e i m p e d i m e n t s t o i m p o r t i n g a n d e x p o r t i n g o c c a s i o n e d b y t h e w a r at sea. A n d w h e r e d e m a n d f o r A f r i c a n p r o d u c e r o s e it w a s n o t r e f l e c t e d i n rises in price. Prices w e r e strictly c o n t r o l l e d b y the colonial g o v e r n m e n t s w h o retained the difference b e t w e e n the price paid to the p r o d u c e r s a n d t h a t o b t a i n e d o n t h e w o r l d m a r k e t a n d u s e d it t o d e v e l o p r e s e r v e s t h a t h e l p e d t o f i n a n c e t h e w a r effort. T h i s w a s 34

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t o set a n i m p o r t a n t p r e c e d e n t f o r p o s t - w a r g o v e r n m e n t s , b o t h colonial and independent, w h i c h c o n t i n u e d to c o n t r o l the prices paid to farmers for their p r o d u c e , usually to the latter's disad­ v a n t a g e . T h e r e s e r v e s t h a t w e r e b u i l t u p i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e w a r w e r e used for d e v e l o p m e n t projects, m a n y o f t h e m not o f i m m e d i a t e benefit to farmers, and h e n c e f o r t h the latter carried an u n d u e share o f the tax b u r d e n in their c o u n t r i e s . In B e l g i a n and F r e n c h Africa m u c h o f the peasants' p r o d u c e w a s requisitioned. T h e o b n o x i o u s forms o f the p r e - w a r colonial e c o n o m y w e r e intensified. F o r c e d l a b o u r and c o m p u l s o r y c r o p c u l t i v a t i o n , all i m p o s e d i n t h e n a m e o f t h e w a r effort, m e a n t t h a t m a n y A f r i c a n p r o d u c e r s earned less t h a n e v e r for their l a b o u r . Furthermore the cost o f imported g o o d s rose higher and higher as a r e s u l t o f s h o r t a g e s . W h e r e p r i c e s f o r p r i m a r y p r o d u c t s a n d w a g e s did increase they o n l y s e r v e d t o reinforce an inflationary situation because o f these shortages. In o n e respect, h o w e v e r , s i g n i f i c a n t p e r m a n e n t c h a n g e s d i d t a k e p l a c e in t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m y . B e f o r e the w a r the p r o c e s s i n g o f r a w materials - mineral a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l - w a s c a r r i e d o u t a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y in E u r o p e . D u r i n g the w a r a substantial n u m b e r o f factories w a s established in t h e m a j o r A f r i c a n c i t i e s t o p r o c e s s l o c a l l y p r o d u c e d m a t e r i a l s t h a t h i t h e r t o h a d b e e n i m p o r t e d i n t h e i r finished s t a t e f r o m E u r o p e . T h e s e factories m a r k e d the b e g i n n i n g o f the industri­ a l i s a t i o n t h a t n a t i o n a l i s t s after t h e w a r b e c a m e s o a n x i o u s t o d e v e l o p as a w a y o f l e s s e n i n g d e p e n d e n c e o n t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n c o u n t r i e s . I n t u r n this i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t l e d t o t h e f o r m a t i o n in m a n y A f r i c a n c i t i e s o f a s i g n i f i c a n t w a g e - l a b o u r c l a s s w h i c h w a s t o p r o v i d e an i m p o r t a n t r e c r u i t i n g g r o u n d f o r t h e r i s i n g nationalist parties. T h e e x p a n s i o n o f the colonial e c o n o m i e s d u r i n g the w a r and the enlistment o f m a n y E u r o p e a n s o f w a r - s e r v i c e a g e into the a r m e d forces led to an u n p r e c e d e n t e d e x p a n s i o n o f business o p p o r t u n i t i e s for A f r i c a n s b o t h o n their o w n a c c o u n t and in the e m p l o y o f t h e e x p a t r i a t e c o m p a n i e s . T h e s e nouveaux bourgeois w e r e to join forces w i t h the nationalists and to p r o v i d e the finances n e e d e d f o r s u s t a i n i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t s t h a t e x p a n d e d in the w a k e o f the political r e f o r m s m a d e b y the F r e n c h and the B r i t i s h at t h e e n d o f t h e w a r . T h e aspirations o f the A f r i c a n political elites w e r e h e i g h t e n e d b y t h e w a r , b u t in s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a at least t h e s e w e r e still 35

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limited to reform o f the colonial political process and an increase in t h e l e v e l o f t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n it. T h e r e w e r e f e w d e m a n d s f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e m a d e b y A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s as a r e s u l t o f the defensive position belligerent colonial p o w e r s n o w f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s in. A s S y l v i a L e i t h - R o s s , w h o w a s s e n t o u t t o N i g e r i a d u r i n g t h e w a r as a n i n t e l l i g e n c e o f f i c e r , o b s e r v e d : ' T h e r e w e r e n o l o u d protestations o f loyalty to the British but equally n o flagrant advantage w a s taken o f o u r p l i g h t . ' In s o m e colonies A f r i c a n s a c t u a l l y m a d e financial c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o f u n d - r a i s i n g s c h e m e s d e s i g n e d t o assist t h e A l l i e d w a r effort. I n N o r t h A f r i c a the situation w a s m o r e delicate for the c o l o n i a l p o w e r s . T h e nationalist cause, fuelled b y P a n - A r a b i s m , w a s m u c h m o r e adv a n c e d t h a n in s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a and h a d already resulted in v i o l e n c e in all t h r e e F r e n c h t e r r i t o r i e s . I n d e p e n d e n c e as a g o a l , a l b e i t still a l o n g - t e r m o n e , w a s a l r e a d y o n t h e n a t i o n a l i s t a g e n d a . A l t h o u g h t h e initial r e a c t i o n o f t h e é l i t e s i n F r e n c h N o r t h A f r i c a t o t h e fall o f F r a n c e h a d b e e n o n e o f s h o c k , a n d a l t h o u g h t h e V i c h y regime had been well received because o f the prestige o f Marshal P é t a i n , r a t i o n i n g a n d rises in p r i c e s i n c r e a s e d d i s c o n t e n t w i t h t h e French authorities. T o the p r o p a g a n d a o f P a n - A r a b i s m w a s added t h a t o f G e r m a n y . T h e D e s t o u r P a r t y in T u n i s i a , as w e l l as t h e c o u n t r y ' s n e w B e y , M o n c e f , flirted w i t h t h e G e r m a n s . I n n o m i n a l l y i n d e p e n d e n t E g y p t a n u m b e r o f politicians s u p p o r t e d the A x i s p o w e r s as a m e a n s o f c o u n t e r i n g B r i t i s h p o l i t i c a l a n d m i l i t a r y c o n t r o l . O n c e the F r e e F r e n c h h a d t a k e n o v e r c o n t r o l in T u n i s i a as a r e s u l t o f t h e A l l i e d l a n d i n g s i n N o r t h A f r i c a , M o n c e f B e y w a s d e p o s e d . B u t as J e a n G a n i a g e h a s o b s e r v e d , p l u s q u e ses r e l a t i o n s a v e c l ' A l l e m a g n e , M o n c e f a v a i t p a y é d e sa d e s t i t u t i o n ses m a n i f e s t a t i o n s d ' i n d é p e n d e n c e à l ' é g a r d d e la F r a n c e ' . I n M o r o c c o S u l t a n M o h a m m e d b e n Y o u s s e f m e t w i t h P r e s i d e n t R o o s e v e l t as a f e l l o w h e a d o f s t a t e o n 22 J a n u a r y 1 9 4 3 , a n d t h e t e n o r o f t h e m e e t i n g w a s s u c h that the sultan f o r e s a w a n e w future for his c o u n t r y as a r e s u l t o f R o o s e v e l t ' s a n t i - c o l o n i a l a t t i t u d e s . A n e w party r e g r o u p i n g the hitherto d i v i d e d nationalists and w i t h discreet s u p p o r t f r o m the palace w a s f o u n d e d under the n a m e Istiqlal, the party o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . In A l g e r i a in 1943, Ferhat A b b a s issued the A l g e r i a n Manifesto calling for the creation o f 1

4

2

1

Sylvia Leith-Ross, Stepping-stones: memoirs of colonial Nigeria 1907-1960 ( L o n d o n , 1983), 110. Jean Ganiage, ' L ' A f r i q u e du nord', in Jean Ganiage, Hubert Deschamps and Odette Guitard, & Afrique au XX siècle (Paris, 1966), 162. 2

e

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an a u t o n o m o u s , d e m o c r a t i c A l g e r i a n s t a t e w h i c h w o u l d h a v e a f e d e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h F r a n c e . I n all t h r e e M a g h r i b t e r r i t o r i e s , A m e r i c a ' s c h a m p i o n i n g o f the cause o f subject peoples and the l o s s o f r e s p e c t f o r a fallen a n d d i v i d e d F r a n c e f a n n e d t h e flames o f discontent w i t h the c o l o n i a l situation. T h e s e rising d e m a n d s for i n d e p e n d e n c e in the M a g h r i b w e r e not e c h o e d s o u t h o f the Sahara d u r i n g the w a r . N e v e r t h e l e s s the w a r p r o v e d an a c c e l e r a t o r in a political situation in w h i c h the majority o f the e d u c a t e d élite h a d b e c o m e d i s e n c h a n t e d w i t h the colonial v i s i o n o f an association o f E u r o p e and Africa to their m u t u a l benefit. T w o d e c a d e s o f e c o n o m i c s t a g n a t i o n , the s l o w p a c e o f p o l i t i c a l a n d s o c i a l r e f o r m , as w e l l as t h e e x c e s s e s o f t h e colonial system, had seen to that. A n d n o w the colonial masters t h e m s e l v e s s e e m e d in t h e i r p r o p a g a n d a t o b e r e i n f o r c i n g t h e reservations e v e n the m o s t d e v o t e d o f African ' c o l l a b o r a t o r s ' had a b o u t t h e c o l o n i a l r e c o r d . T h e p r o p a g a n d a n o t o n l y t r i e d t o justify t h a t r e c o r d , b u t i n s i s t e d t h a t i n r e t u r n f o r collaboration t h a t r e c o r d w o u l d b e i m p r o v e d o n after t h e w a r . It w a s a l s o d e s i g n e d t o counter the barrage o f criticism o f the c o l o n i a l r e g i m e s m a d e b y the N a z i s . In the F r e n c h - c o n t r o l l e d areas, A f r i c a n s w e r e subject t o t w o r i v a l sets o f p r o p a g a n d a , d i r e c t e d n o t s o m u c h at s e c u r i n g the loyalty o f the A f r i c a n subjects to F r a n c e b u t p u s h i n g the claims o f one v i e w o f France against another. F o r the British-controlled areas, a C o l o n i a l F i l m U n i t w a s established w h o s e p u r p o s e * w a s t o e x p l a i n t h e w a r t o u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d c o l o n i a l a u d i e n c e s : t o tell t h e m w h y B r i t a i n w a s fighting a n d i n v i t e c o l o n i a l s u p p o r t ' . T h e w a r t i m e use o f p r o p a g a n d a in b o t h the F r e n c h a n d B r i t i s h colonies p r o v e d to be a precedent, for thereafter b o t h colonial p o w e r s c o n t i n u e d to i n f o r m their colonial subjects a b o u t their policies and plans t h r o u g h the printed w o r d , the radio and cinema. In the short run, the m o s t significant aspect o f this d e v e l o p m e n t w a s t h a t A f r i c a n s - at l e a s t t h o s e w h o w e r e e d u c a t e d - w e r e n o w b e i n g invited n o t f o r c e d o r o r d e r e d , t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s . A n d the r e w a r d w a s to be the g r a n t i n g o f s o m e o f the requests the political élite h a d b e e n m a k i n g b e f o r e the w a r , a p p a r e n t l y in v a i n : g r e a t e r political and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e i n v o l v e ­ m e n t b y the e d u c a t e d élite in the m a c h i n e r y o f g o v e r n m e n t ; and 1

1

P e g g y Medina G i l t r o w and D a v i d R. G i l t r o w , * Films of the Colonial Film U n i t ' , unpublished paper presented at the conference on ' T h e film as records of empire', 10 April 1981. I am grateful to A n d r e w Roberts for drawing my attention to this.

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i m p r o v e m e n t o f the social a n d e d u c a t i o n a l facilities a v a i l a b l e t o t h e c o l o n i a l s u b j e c t s . B r i t a i n w a s a b l e , as a s y m b o l o f g o o d faith, to m a k e s o m e o f these concessions d u r i n g the c o u r s e o f the w a r i t s e l f : t h u s in t h e G o l d C o a s t t h e first a p p o i n t m e n t s i n t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y o f A f r i c a n s t o t h e field a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d t h e first a p p o i n t m e n t s t o t h e e x e c u t i v e c o u n c i l s o f b o t h t h e G o l d Coast and N i g e r i a w e r e m a d e in 1 9 4 2 - 3 . T h e w a r t i m e British administration o f the W e s t A f r i c a n colonies i n v o l v e d itself in l a r g e - s c a l e p l a n n i n g f o r e d u c a t i o n a l a n d s o c i a l r e f o r m after t h e war. A n d if the Free F r e n c h and Belgians, denied access to their m e t r o p o l e s , w e r e less h a p p i l y p l a c e d t o i n t r o d u c e r e f o r m s d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h e w a r , t h e y d i d a t least e l a b o r a t e p l a n s f o r r e f o r m . T h e F r e e F r e n c h d i d s o at t h e B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e i n 1 9 4 4 . Pierre R y c k m a n s , w h o had attended the Brazzaville Conference, in h i s v a l e d i c t o r y s p e e c h as t h e g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l w h o h a d a d m i n ­ istered the B e l g i a n C o n g o d u r i n g the w a r , e n v i s a g e d a c h a n g e in t h e c o l o n i a l p o l i c y o f h i s c o u n t r y t h a t w o u l d i n v o l v e b r o a d e c o n o m i c and social reform and a controlled participation b y the élite in t h e p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s . T h e p o l i t i c a l é l i t e , t h e n , f o r t h e first t i m e f o u n d its c o l o n i a l masters t r y i n g t o justify their rule t o t h e m . F u r t h e r m o r e , they w e r e m a d e a w a r e that b o t h A m e r i c a and Russia w e r e d e e p l y critical o f the E u r o p e a n colonial empires a n d their record. T h e y w e r e thus o p e r a t i n g in a n e w i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l c l i m a t e i n w h i c h t h e i r o w n criticisms o f colonialism w e r e b e c o m i n g c o m m o n currency a n d in w h i c h t h e i r a s p i r a t i o n s s e e m e d t o b e l e g i t i m i s e d b y t h e Atlantic Charter, whatever reservations Churchill m a y have had. T h e declaration about self-determination in that charter w a s to be an inspiration t o educated Africans f r o m M o r o c c o t o Madagascar. B u t s u p p o r t for A f r i c a n ideas o f political a n d social reform leading one day to self-government and independence came not only from the anti-colonial p o w e r s like A m e r i c a and Russia, b u t from within the colonial p o w e r s themselves. In Britain, the L a b o u r Party, most explicitly t h r o u g h the Fabian Colonial B u r e a u , m a d e c l e a r its h o s t i l i t y t o t h e l o n g - t e r m c o n t i n u a t i o n o f empire, and African nationalists c o u l d c o u n t o n increasing support for their ideas from the L a b o u r m e m b e r s o f the w a r t i m e British g o v e r n m e n t . L i k e w i s e within the Free French g o v e r n m e n t , t h e C o m m u n i s t s w e r e a m a j o r f o r c e a n d groupes d'études communistes w e r e e s t a b l i s h e d i n a n u m b e r o f A f r i c a n c o l o n i a l 38 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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t o w n s . T h e y w e r e to h a v e a formative influence o n the d e v e l o p m e n t after t h e w a r o f F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g B l a c k A f r i c a ' s l a r g e s t radical party, the R a s s e m b l e m e n t D é m o c r a t i q u e A f r i c a i n . H e r e it m u s t b e s a i d t h a t t h e C o m m u n i s t s d i d n o t f a v o u r i n d e p e n d e n c e as a g o a l f o r t h e i r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s , b u t r a t h e r a s s o c i a t i o n o f t h e enfranchised A f r i c a n w o r k i n g classes w i t h the international class struggle. N o r did the Socialists, w h o a d v o c a t e d reform o f the colonial system, e n v i s a g e a future for the colonies independent o f a constitutional relationship w i t h France. T h e w a r b r o u g h t E u r o p e a n s a n d A m e r i c a n s o u t to A f r i c a in g r e a t e r n u m b e r s t h a n e v e r b e f o r e . W h a t is m o r e , m a n y o f t h e m c a m e f r o m v e r y different s o c i a l b a c k g r o u n d s f r o m t h o s e w i t h w h o m A f r i c a n s h a d h i t h e r t o g e n e r a l l y c o m e in c o n t a c t . T h e exigencies o f w a r , particularly the need to p r o v i s i o n the supply routes to the M i d d l e East and Far Eastern c a m p a i g n s , resulted in t h e s t a t i o n i n g in m a j o r A f r i c a n c i t i e s o f l a r g e n u m b e r s o f w h i t e s o l d i e r s a n d t r a d e s m e n , m a n y o f w h o m w e r e m u c h less w e l l e d u c a t e d than the m e m b e r s o f the g r o w i n g A f r i c a n m i d d l e class o f l a w y e r s , d o c t o r s , teachers and clerical officers. M o r e i m p o r t a n t still, t h e s e w h i t e s d i d n o t i d e n t i f y w i t h c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s b u t s a w t h e m as p a r t o f a c l a s s s t r u c t u r e a g a i n s t w h i c h t h e y v o t e d o v e r w h e l m i n g l y in t h e p o s t - w a r e l e c t i o n s in b o t h B r i t a i n a n d France. T h e m y t h o f w h i t e superiority, o f the separation o f A f r i c a n s a n d E u r o p e a n s e i t h e r i n f o r m a l l y , as i n t h e c a s e o f t h e B r i t i s h W e s t African and F r e n c h colonies, or by formal rules a p p r o x i m a t i n g t o a c o l o u r b a r as in t h e R h o d e s i a s a n d K e n y a , w e r e b r o k e n d o w n by these temporary immigrants. W h i l e African soldiers w h o had s e r v e d in F r a n c e d u r i n g t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r h a d , as a r e s u l t o f c o m i n g into contact w i t h the local p o p u l a t i o n , ' q u i c k l y c o m e to h a v e d o u b t s a b o u t the superiority o f the c o l o n i s e r ' , and w h i l e in E a s t A f r i c a A f r i c a n t r o o p s w h o h a d f o u g h t a l o n g s i d e w h i t e soldiers had e x p e r i e n c e d similar d o u b t s , this reaction w a s m u c h m o r e w i d e l y spread d u r i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r because o f the sheer n u m b e r s o f w o r k i n g - c l a s s w h i t e s w h o passed t h r o u g h the colonies. T h e educated Africans, particularly those w h o had never travelled a b r o a d , g a i n e d a v e r y different p e r c e p t i o n o f their E u r o p e a n r u l e r s as a r e s u l t o f t h i s w a r t i m e c o n t a c t . 1

Perhaps n o o n e p e r c e i v e d the i m p a c t o f the w a r o n the A f r i c a n s ' 1

Paul Catrice, 'L'emploi des troupes indigènes et leur séjour en France', Études: revue Catholique d'intérêt général, 20 N o v e m b e r 1931, 401.

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v i e w o f t h e E u r o p e a n s o a c u t e l y as S y l v i a L e i t h - R o s s , h e r s e l f v e r y m u c h a m e m b e r o f the colonial class, w h o had N i g e r i a in

1 9 0 7 . I t is w o r t h

q u o t i n g her o w n

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first

in

extenso: Till then, and in spite of the 1914 war which had never really come very close to Nigeria, the mass of the people still thought of the white race as one, united by colour, education, religion... They thought of the white men as being ' brothers \ with all the implications connoted in the African mind by that term, bound to assist each other and having the same aims and interests. All these white men were rich, and had come into the world with ready-made knowledge and skills. Therefore, for the time being, they dominated the A f r i c a n . . . Every time we indicted Germany or Vichy France, we indicted ourselves as well. Except for the travelled or highly educated few, Europeans had been a mass conception for so long that whatever cruelty or treachery or injustice we attributed to our enemies was seen as a possible attribute of ourselves... Further, outside and apart from our own propaganda directed against a section of fellow-Europeans, another and even more radical change, noted by few, was taking place in the black-white attitude of the masses. Perhaps for the first time, except in individual cases, an element of contempt had crept into their minds: these 'civilised' white men could nevertheless kill each other in great numbers, their rich towns could be destroyed, their expensive homes burnt down, they could be tortured and starved, they could cringe and beg for help and for money. And, a curious sidelight emerging from conversations with observant Africans who had been in contact with our troops or sailors, for the first time in their lives these Africans had met a number of Europeans less educated than themselves... They were careful to show no disdain, only sheer amazement that they should have been mistaken. Y o u could not help feeling that this discovery was perhaps the final insidious blow which shattered the crumbling edifice of white superiority. 1

COLONIAL

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T h e c o l o n i a l r e f o r m s initiated b y F r a n c e and B r i t a i n are to an

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the

unforeseen

speed

with

which

transfer o f p o w e r t o o k p l a c e in A f r i c a f o l l o w i n g the w a r . reforms,

which

as w e

have

seen

were

conceived

crucial the

These

l a r g e l y as

response to the c h a n g e d political climate b r o u g h t a b o u t b y

a

the

w a r , w e r e in t u r n t o e v o k e a r e s p o n s e b y the A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l class that w a s n o t o n e o f g r a t i t u d e for c o n c e s s i o n s - w h i c h in fact often surpassed their current expectations - but w a s rather a d e m a n d for yet larger

and

speedier

1

concessions.

It w a s as t h o u g h

Leith-Ross, Stepping-stones, 1 1 6 - 1 7 .

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reforms themselves c h a n g e d the political e n g i n e into a n e w gear t h a t w a s t o d r i v e it i n e x o r a b l y t o w a r d s i n d e p e n d e n c e , h o w e v e r hard the c o l o n i a l rulers tried t o a p p l y the b r a k e s , w h e t h e r for fear o f the c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t o o rapid a transition o r to protect w h i t e m i n o r i t y i n t e r e s t s . It is t h e j o u r n e y s m a d e b y t h i s m a c h i n e , t r a v e l l i n g v e r y different r o a d s i n different p a r t s o f A f r i c a , t h a t f o r m t h e c e n t r a l t h e m e o f t h e c h a p t e r s o f t h i s v o l u m e . Suffice it t o o u t l i n e h e r e t h e r e f o r m s t h a t w e r e i n t r o d u c e d as a r e s u l t o f t h e w a r , for they can b e p i c k e d u p in detail o n later p a g e s , w h e r e their c o n s e q u e n c e s a n d t h e r e s p o n s e s t o t h e m are e x a m i n e d b y r e g i o n a l specialists. N o t all t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s r e s p o n d e d in k i n d . S p a i n a n d P o r t u g a l , n e v e r directly i n v o l v e d in the w a r , m a d e n o m o d i f i c a ­ tions to their c o l o n i a l p o l i c y . T h e B e l g i a n s initiated i m p o r t a n t social and e c o n o m i c reforms designed to ameliorate the standard o f l i v i n g o f t h e i r C o n g o l e s e s u b j e c t s , b e l i e v i n g t h a t a full b e l l y w a s the best antidote to nationalism. S o m e attempt w a s m a d e to find a p l a c e i n t h e C o n g o ' s c o l o n i a l h i e r a r c h y f o r t h e m i n u s c u l e e d u c a t e d é l i t e , b u t p l a n s f o r e v e n t u a l p o l i t i c a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n at t h e g r a s s - r o o t s l e v e l w e r e y e a r s in p r e p a r a t i o n . T h e B e l g i a n s w e r e i n n o m o o d for eventual d i s b a n d m e n t o f their rich A f r i c a n empire, a n d i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e w a r t h e r e w a s n o t h o u g h t o f i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e f o r t h e i r C o n g o e v e n i n t h e far d i s t a n t f u t u r e . I d e a l l y t h e y w o u l d h a v e liked the w i t h d r a w a l o f the mandate o v e r R u a n d a U r u n d i a n d its i n c o r p o r a t i o n in t h e C o n g o as a s e v e n t h p r o v i n c e . T h e y particularly resented the specific o b l i g a t i o n entailed in their subsequent U N Trusteeship to p r o m o t e self-government and e v e n t u a l i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d in fact d i d little, a b o u t it. T h e F r e n c h a n d t h e B r i t i s h w e r e still as m u c h in t h e b u s i n e s s o f A f r i c a n e m p i r e as t h e B e l g i a n s . T h e F r e n c h m a d e it q u i t e c l e a r t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l r e f o r m s t h e y i n i t i a t e d at B r a z z a v i l l e i n n o w a y i n v o l v e d e v e n t u a l self-government — a n d t h e y d i d i n d e e d u s e t h e E n g l i s h expression for w a n t o f an appropriate F r e n c h o n e . Rather, t h e i n c r e a s e d p o l i t i c a l r i g h t s a c c o r d e d t h e A f r i c a n s , as a r e s u l t o f the B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e and the deliberations o f the t w o constituent assemblies, w e r e to be held w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f an indissoluble and indivisible u n i o n o f F r a n c e and her o v e r s e a s territories. T h u s w h i l e de G a u l l e and the F r e e F r e n c h leaders a c c e p t e d t h a t it w a s n e c e s s a r y t o i n i t i a t e c o l o n i a l r e f o r m s at Brazzaville - and de G a u l l e h i m s e l f w a s v e r y c o n s c i o u s o f the debt 41

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he o w e d Africans for their s u p p o r t d u r i n g the w a r - the main aim o f the conference w a s to make secure the links between the colonies and the metropolis. T h r o u g h a strengthened empire the grandeur o f France w o u l d b e re-established. A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t of, a n d c o n c e s s i o n s t o , l o c a l p o l i t i c a l i d e n t i t y w e r e s t r i c t l y w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f a G r e a t e r France. A c c o r d i n g l y the e x t e n s i o n o f citizenship to a limited n u m b e r o f A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s w i t h o u t c o m p r o m i s i n g t h e i r p e r s o n a l s t a t u s as far as t h e i r r e l i g i o n a n d private l a w were concerned and the provision for representation o f the colonies in the National A s s e m b l y w e r e designed t o bind the colonies m o r e closely t o France. T h e r e f o r m s o f t h e least p a l a t a b l e a s p e c t s o f F r e n c h c o l o n i a l policy - the suppression o f forced labour, the abolition o f the indigenat o r s u m m a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e j u s t i c e , t h e c h a n g e i n s t a t u s f r o m sujet t o citqyen, t h e l e g a l i s a t i o n o f t r a d e u n i o n s , w e r e intended t o g i v e t h e c o l o n i a l inhabitants r e n e w e d faith in the French mission. These reforms, t h o u g h an immediate by-product o f the war, had been mooted by the Popular Front government, w h i c h h a d permitted the formation o f trade unions a n d profes­ sional associations b y those w i t h primary education in 1937. E v e n the e x t e n s i o n o f citizenship t o A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s a l o n g t h e lines o f t h e Ordonnance o f 7 M a r c h 1 9 4 4 h a d b e e n p r o p o s e d b u t r e j e c t e d during the g o v e r n m e n t o f the Popular Front. B u t although B r a z z a v i l l e w a s n o t as i n n o v a t o r y as it h a s s o m e t i m e s b e e n c h a r a c t e r i s e d , it d i d i n i t i a t e a m a j o r i f u n i n t e n d e d c h a n g e i n France's relationship w i t h her colonies. A s D . Bruce Marshall has emphasised: In the end, the reforms of Brazzaville did indeed contribute both to the desire for independence within the colonies and to the creation of a political system that tended to legitimise the pursuit of that aim. Y e t nothing could have been further from the intentions of those responsible for Free French policy, especially Charles de Gaulle.

1

A l t h o u g h self-government w a s a stock phrase in the British colonial vocabulary, and indeed had been accorded to India and C e y l o n , t h e r e w a s still n o i n t e n t i o n i n 1 9 4 6 , w h e n t h e B u r n s c o n s t i t u t i o n w a s i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e G o l d C o a s t , o f g r a n t i n g it t o that o r a n y o t h e r A f r i c a n c o l o n y e x c e p t in t h e distant future. T h e 1

D . Bruce Marshall, 'Free France in Africa: Gaullism and colonialism', in Prosser Gifford and William Roger Louis (eds.), France and Britain in Africa: imperial rivalry and colonial rule ( N e w Haven and L o n d o n , 1971), 748.

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one country for w h i c h the British g o v e r n m e n t appeared t o perceive independence o n the visible horizon w a s the Sudan, w h i c h in itself w a s a special t y p e o f c o l o n y administered b y Britain as a c o n d o m i n i u m w i t h E g y p t . P r e s s u r e s b y n a t i o n a l i s t s w h o desired independence a n d those w h o s a w their c o u n t r y ' s future in an i n d e p e n d e n t u n i o n w i t h E g y p t h a d l e d t h e B r i t i s h C o D o m i n u s t o d e c l a r e i n A p r i l 1 9 4 6 t h a t i t w a s a i m i n g a t a free a n d i n d e p e n d e n t S u d a n w h i c h w i l l b e a b l e as s o o n as i n d e p e n d e n c e is a c h i e v e d t o d e f i n e f o r i t s e l f its r e l a t i o n s w i t h G r e a t B r i t a i n a n d Egypt'. 4

1

T h e S u d a n m a y n o t h a v e b e e n s o e x c e p t i o n a l as it s e e m s . F o r in the C o l o n i a l Office, a c c o r d i n g t o R o n a l d R o b i n s o n , the thinking in 1947 w a s that w i t h i n a generation m o s t o f the major British African colonies w o u l d b e c o m e self-governing within the C o m m o n w e a l t h . B u t public pronouncements indicated a m u c h l o n g e r t i m e t a b l e . T h e E l l i o t C o m m i s s i o n , w h i c h in 1945 r e c o m ­ m e n d e d the establishment o f university colleges in the G o l d C o a s t a n d N i g e r i a , h a d s e e n t h e m as t r a i n i n g g r o u n d s f o r a n i n ­ d e p e n d e n c e t h a t m i g h t b e fifty o r m o r e y e a r s a w a y . B e f o r e 1 9 4 7 f e w c o l o n i a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s i n t h e field e n v i s a g e d r e f o r m s as leading t o a n y t h i n g m o r e than increased representation. B u t in t h a t y e a r , w i t h I n d i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e i n e v i t a b i l i t y o f selfg o v e r n m e n t for the A f r i c a n territories b e c a m e evident. 2

O n l y for Italy, t o w h o m the administration o f h e r c o l o n y o f S o m a l i a w a s restored as a U n i t e d N a t i o n s T r u s t e e s h i p , w a s in­ d e p e n d e n c e an o b j e c t i v e w i t h a specific t e r m f o r its a c c o m p l i s h ­ ment. T h e U N , in a g r e e i n g in 1950 that Italy s h o u l d c o n t i n u e to administer Somalia, did s o o n the condition that she prepare it f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h i n t e n y e a r s . T h u s a c o l o n i a l p o w e r , f o r t h e first t i m e , h a d t o w o r k t o w a r d s a fixed d a t e f o r t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e o f o n e o f its c o l o n i e s . T h e case o f L i b y a w a s s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t . I t a c h i e v e d i n d e p e n d e n c e o n 24 D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 1 , w i t h o u t b e i n g f o r m a l l y r e s t o r e d t o I t a l y o r a c c e p t e d as t h e d o m a i n o f the British o r F r e n c h w h o w e r e a d m i n i s t e r i n g it, b e c a u s e o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l w r a n g l i n g o v e r its f u t u r e . In taking o v e r the M a n d a t e s

o f t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s as

1

P. M . Holt and M . W . D a l y , The history of the Sudan, from the coming of Islam to the present day, 3rd ed. ( L o n d o n , 1979), 1 5 1 . Ronald Robinson, ' C o n c l u s i o n i n A . H . M . K i r k - G r e e n e (ed.), Africa in the colonial period: the transfer of power: the colonial administrator in the age of decolonisation ( O x f o r d , 1979), 179. 1

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T r u s t e e s h i p s the U n i t e d N a t i o n s i n t r o d u c e d an i m p o r t a n t e x ­ traneous element into the political calculations o f those colonial p o w e r s administering t h e m in Africa. T h e s e p o w e r s - Britain, France and B e l g i u m - w e r e subject to inspection and criticism o f their administration o f these trusts and w e r e o b l i g a t e d to d e v e l o p t h e m t o w a r d s s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t t h o u g h n o t after a n y s p e c i f i c l e n g t h o f t i m e as i n t h e c a s e o f S o m a l i a . T h e y w e r e t h u s t o b e held internationally a c c o u n t a b l e for their s t e w a r d s h i p in w a y s they had not been under the L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s M a n d a t e s , and colonial g r i e v a n c e s c o u l d in the case o f these T r u s t e e s h i p s b e b r o u g h t before the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , an organisation b y and large hostile to colonialism. O n l y S o u t h Africa refused to a c k n o w l e d g e the U N as s u c c e s s o r t o t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s as far as its a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of South West Africa was concerned. In retrospect, the political advances m a d e b y the F r e n c h and B r i t i s h c o l o n i e s at t h e e n d o f t h e w a r , t h o u g h p e r c e i v e d as g e n e r o u s by the d o n o r s , w e r e considered paltry b y the recipients, a n d o f c o u r s e s e e m s o n o w . T h e y d i d , h o w e v e r , r e p r e s e n t t h e first hesitant steps in w h a t w a s to p r o v e a v e r y rapid d e c o l o n i s a t i o n o f the A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t . In the case o f the F r e n c h , initial decolonisation w a s to be not w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f eventual i n d e p e n d e n c e ; r a t h e r it c o n s i s t e d o f t h e g r e a t e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n b y w h a t w e r e n o w s t y l e d ' o v e r s e a s t e r r i t o r i e s ' in t h e F r e n c h p o l i t i c a l process. In the case o f the British c o l o n i e s , the a i m w a s to prepare their inhabitants b y g r a d u a l stages for an e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g m e a s u r e o f participation in their o w n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n until they c o u l d be g r a n t e d i n t e r n a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t as a p r e l u d e t o i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h i n the British C o m m o n w e a l t h . I n 1 9 4 6 t h e G o l d C o a s t , c o n s i d e r e d at t h a t t i m e t o b e t h e m o s t politically a d v a n c e d o f Britain's A f r i c a n territories, g a i n e d an e l e c t e d A f r i c a n m a j o r i t y in its L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l - t h e first s u c h i n c o l o n i a l A f r i c a . B u t o n l y five o f t h e e i g h t e e n m e m b e r s w e r e d i r e c t l y e l e c t e d b y t h e p e o p l e , t h e rest b e i n g e l e c t e d b y c h i e f s . In N i g e r i a , reflecting the colonial administration's c o n t i n u i n g c o m m i t m e n t to indirect rule, the n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n i n t r o d u c e d in 1 9 4 6 p r o v i d e d f o r a m a j o r i t y o f A f r i c a n u n o f f i c i a l m e m b e r s , all but four o f w h o m w e r e n o m i n a t e d from the N a t i v e A u t h o r i t i e s . O n l y intervention o f the colonial secretary had forced Sir A r t h u r R i c h a r d s , t h e G o v e r n o r , t o retain t h e t h r e e e l e c t e d m e m b e r s f r o m L a g o s and the o n e f r o m Calabar p r o v i d e d for in the 1922 44

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COLONIAL

REFORMS

c o n s t i t u t i o n . I n K e n y a , t h e first A f r i c a n m e m b e r o f t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l w a s o n l y a p p o i n t e d in 1 9 4 4 . I n T a n g a n y i k a , t h e first African m e m b e r w a s n o t a p p o i n t e d until 1948. T h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e m a y h a v e h a d as its g o a l in 1 9 4 7 t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f its m a j o r African colonies w i t h i n a generation for s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t based o n t h e e d u c a t e d A f r i c a n é l i t e , o n c e it h a d b e e n s u f f i c i e n t l y c o n v i n c e d t h a t this é l i t e h a d g r a s s - r o o t s s u p p o r t ; b u t t h i s w a s n o t m a n i f e s t i n its first e x p e r i m e n t s i n d e v o l u t i o n o f p o w e r w h e r e the traditional élite w a s p r e d o m i n a n t in the legislatures o f N i g e r i a and the G o l d Coast. A s w e h a v e s e e n , p o l i t i c a l a d v a n c e s in t h e F r e n c h B l a c k A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s w e r e d i r e c t e d at c l o s e r p o l i t i c a l i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h F r a n c e . B u t e v e n h e r e , t h o u g h all A f r i c a n s w e r e n o w g r a n t e d c i t i z e n s h i p , their actual status w a s that o f s e c o n d - and e v e n third-class citizens. T h e m a j o r i t y still d i d n o t h a v e t h e v o t e , a n d o f t h o s e t h a t d i d , a majority had to v o t e o n a separate roll from that for the E u r o p e a n s resident in the c o l o n i e s , w i t h the result that their v o t e s w e r e e f f e c t i v e l y w o r t h m u c h less t h a n t h o s e o f E u r o p e a n s . F u r t h e r m o r e , their n e w territorial assemblies w e r e o n l y a d v i s o r y . T h e s e provisions also applied to M a d a g a s c a r w h o s e deputies to the S e c o n d C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y had unsuccessfully d e m a n d e d independence. T h e case o f F r a n c e ' s N o r t h A f r i c a n territories w a s different f r o m t h a t o f h e r B l a c k A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s . A l g e r i a w a s t r e a t e d as a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f F r a n c e , w h i l e M o r o c c o a n d T u n i s i a w e r e p r o t e c t o r a t e s w h e r e t h e s u l t a n a n d b e y w e r e at least n o m i ­ nally s o v e r e i g n . In Tunisia, because o f the activities o f M o n c e f B e y d u r i n g t h e w a r , t h e F r e n c h in fact i m p o s e d f u r t h e r c o n ­ trol o v e r the b e y ' s administration, t h o u g h the T u n i s i a n s w e r e g i v e n s o m e i n c r e a s e s in e l e c t o r a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . D e m a n d s f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e m a d e in M o r o c c o w e r e c o u n t e r e d n o t w i t h liber­ alisation o f the political r e g i m e , b u t w i t h m o d e s t e c o n o m i c r e f o r m s . I n A l g e r i a all M u s l i m s b e c a m e n o m i n a l l y c i t i z e n s b u t , as i n B l a c k A f r i c a , n o t all o f t h e m h a d t h e v o t e , s o t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y r e m a i n e d s e c o n d - c l a s s F r e n c h m e n in this N o r t h A f r i c a n ' F r a n c e ' . T h e failure to c o n c e d e a n y t h i n g b u t the m o s t m o d e s t o f political reforms in N o r t h A f r i c a n territories w a s to be grist to the mill o f t h e n a t i o n a l i s t c a u s e i n M o r o c c o a n d T u n i s i a , a n d t o e n d all h o p e that A l g e r i a c o u l d e v e r really be assimilated into France. I f a n y p a t t e r n e m e r g e s i n t h e s e first t e n t a t i v e s t e p s t o w a r d s p o l i t i c a l d e c o l o n i s a t i o n , it is t h a t t h e y w e r e m o r e a d v e n t u r o u s i n 45

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TO D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

those F r e n c h a n d British c o l o n i e s w h e r e settler interests w e r e n o t dominant. W h e r e they were dominant, both countries had to confront a g r o w i n g white nationalism, w h i c h w a s vociferously o p p o s e d to political concessions to the African majorities. M u c h m o r e important than these measures o f political liberal­ i s a t i o n i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g a n d i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e w a r w e r e t h e broad e c o n o m i c and social reforms made b y the British, French a n d B e l g i a n s . W h i l e s o m e r e f o r m s w e r e a l t r u i s t i c , m a n y w e r e as m u c h d e s i g n e d t o assist i n t h e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f t h e m o t h e r l a n d as w i t h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o l o n i e s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e B e l g i a n s actually p r o m u l g a t e d a ten-year plan that c o v e r e d b o t h the m o t h e r l a n d a n d h e r A f r i c a n estate, w h i l e a m b i t i o u s s c h e m e s like the T a n g a n y i k a g r o u n d n u t s c h e m e and the G a m b i a e g g project w e r e as m u c h d e s i g n e d t o a l l e v i a t e t h e e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n in B r i t a i n as t o p r o m o t e real d e v e l o p m e n t i n A f r i c a . I n d e e d d u r i n g the p o s t w a r b o o m in agricultural prices, the surpluses earned b y the c o l o n i e s w e r e held in m e t r o p o l i t a n b a n k s a n d thus h e l p e d finance t h e r e c o v e r y o f t h e m o t h e r l a n d s as t h e y h a d h e l p e d finance t h e w a r itself. T h e B e l g i a n s w e r e q u i t e e x p l i c i t a b o u t t h e C o n g o ' s role in assisting the m o t h e r l a n d ' s p o s t - w a r r e c o v e r y . T h u s the essential colonial e c o n o m i c relationship w a s n o t c h a n g e d ; b u t as far as t h e F r e n c h , B r i t i s h a n d B e l g i a n t e r r i t o r i e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d t h e r e w e r e i m p o r t a n t m o d i f i c a t i o n s t o it. I n t h e first p l a c e all t h r e e p o w e r s i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e w a r i n t r o d u c e d the idea o f p l a n n i n g the e c o n o m i e s o f their c o l o n i e s . M o n e y w a s to be spent n o t only o n aspects o f the e c o n o m y immediately b e n e f i c i a l t o t h e i m p o r t — e x p o r t t r a d e , s u c h as n e w r o a d s a n d r a i l w a y s , b u t o n s o c i a l w e l f a r e a n d e d u c a t i o n as w e l l . T h e c o n c e p t o f t h e s t a t e ' s r o l e as a g e n t f o r t h e p r o m o t i o n o f t h e w e l f a r e o f its i n h a b i t a n t s w a s i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e c o l o n i e s w i t h i n c r e a s e d e d u c a t i o n a l a n d m e d i c a l s e r v i c e s as a m a j o r f e a t u r e o f t h e B r i t i s h , French and Belgian d e v e l o p m e n t plans. T h e concept o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t w a s s o n e w t h a t C a p t a i n J. R . M a c k i e , t h e D i r e c t o r o f A g r i c u l t u r e , w a s later t o c o m m e n t that Sir B e r n a r d B o u r d i l l o n ' s statement o n g o v e r n m e n t policy for e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t in N i g e r i a f o l l o w i n g the passing o f the 1940 C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d W e l f a r e A c t w a s t h e first t h a t h a d * e v e r b e e n m a d e p u b l i c l y ' in t h e c o u n t r y , a n d t h a t i n a l m o s t t w e n t y y e a r s o f s e r v i c e i n N i g e r i a he had * n e v e r seen such a statement o f p o l i c y e v e n in official p a p e r s ' . 1

1

White, Central administration in Nigeria, 234.

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COLONIAL REFORMS

T h e Colonial D e v e l o p m e n t and Welfare A c t can o f course be s e e n as a s e l f - i n t e r e s t e d m e a s u r e , f o r it h a d b e e n b o r n o u t o f t h e belated realisation, b r o u g h t a b o u t b y the C a r i b b e a n riots o f 1938, t h a t c o l o n i a l n e g l e c t l e d t o c o l o n i a l d i s a s t e r . F u r t h e r m o r e , it c a m e to

be p e r c e i v e d that e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t

schemes

would

b e n e f i t t h e m e t r o p o l e as m u c h as t h e c o l o n i e s i n v o l v e d , f o r t h e y increased the surplus that c o u l d b e extracted from the colonial e c o n o m i e s and w o u l d also enlarge the market for manufactured e x p o r t s . B u t it w o u l d b e c a v a l i e r t o d e n y t h a t t h e l a r g e - s c a l e s o c i a l welfare schemes introduced b y France under F I D E S , for instance, w e r e n o t in part an a t t e m p t t o repay a d e b t that, j u d g i n g f r o m t h e r e c o r d a n d t h e p u b l i c p r o n o u n c e m e n t s o f h e r officials a n d m i n i s t e r s , F r a n c e s i n c e r e l y felt s h e o w e d h e r c o l o n i a l s u b j e c t s f o r their w a r t i m e support. F u r t h e r m o r e , m a n y o f the administrators a p p o i n t e d t o t h e c o l o n i a l s e r v i c e s o f F r a n c e a n d B r i t a i n after t h e w a r w e r e n o t i m b u e d w i t h the innate sense o f superiority o f their pre-war colleagues, and espoused radical v i e w s a b o u t the colonial relationship. T h e r e w a s a g r o w i n g sense o f accountability t o the a d m i n i s t e r e d as w e l l as a n i n c r e a s i n g q u e s t i o n i n g o f t h e m o r a l i t y o f the colonial relationship. A n d e v e n if independence w a s a distant g o a l for the British, a n d w a s e x c l u d e d b y the F r e n c h in favour o f greater eventual participation b y Africans in the politics o f a greater France, the c o n s e n s u s w a s that the foundations for this i n c r e a s e d i n v o l v e m e n t o f A f r i c a n s i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d administration improved

o f their countries h a d t o b e

educational,

social,

medical

and

firmly

s u n k in an

economic

infra­

structure. CONCLUSION

T h e w a r , as W a l t e r R o d n e y p u t it, ' c a l l e d f o r t h n e w r e s p o n s e s from

every section o f the African population,

minorities, from

colonial regimes and from

capitalist class w h i c h h a d a stake in A f r i c a ' .

1

the

from

resident

metropolitan

F o r all these reasons,

the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w a s a t u r n i n g point, if n o t a w a t e r s h e d , in A f r i c a ' s c o l o n i a l h i s t o r y . In the t w e n t y years that f o l l o w e d the p r o m u l g a t i o n o f the political reforms

promised

b y Britain and France during

the

S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , the great majority o f African colonial subjects g a i n e d their political f r e e d o m a n d the British, F r e n c h a n d Italian 1

Walter Rodney, World War II and the Tan^anian economy, Cornell African Studies Centre M o n o g r a p h no. 3, 1976, 1.

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P R E L U D E TO

DECOLONISATION

colonial empires effectively ceased to exist. T h e Spanish, w h o had the smallest e m p i r e in A f r i c a , r e v e r s e d their p r e v i o u s p o l i c y o f i n t e g r a t i o n a n d a s s i m i l a t i o n w h e n , in 1 9 6 2 , t h e y b e g a n t h e political decolonisation o f F e r n a n d o P o and R i o M u n i w h i c h t o g e t h e r b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t as E q u a t o r i a l G u i n e a i n 1 9 6 8 . T h e future o f the Spanish Sahara w a s m o r e p r o b l e m a t i c , b e i n g m o r e t h a n h a l f t h e s i z e o f S p a i n itself, b u t w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n a c c o r d i n g to the i960 census o f o n l y 2 3 7 9 3 . In 1 9 7 5 , under pressure from K i n g H a s s a n o f M o r o c c o , S p a i n a g r e e d t o d i v i d e it b e t w e e n h i s country and Mauritania. O n l y the P o r t u g u e s e held steadfastly to their d e t e r m i n a t i o n to i n c o r p o r a t e their A f r i c a n d e p e n d e n c i e s in a perpetual u n i o n w i t h the m o t h e r country. Significantly their t w o major c o l o n i e s , A n g o l a and M o z a m b i q u e , w e r e b o t h settler colonies, for o n the path to independence the greatest v i o l e n c e w a s e x p e r i e n c e d in t h o s e t e r r i t o r i e s w h e r e w h i t e - m i n o r i t y i n t e r e s t s o p p o s e d concessions to the d e m a n d s o f A f r i c a n nationalists, and w h e r e the m e t r o p o l i t a n g o v e r n m e n t either s u p p o r t e d these settler interests, or delayed or modified the c o n c e s s i o n s they w e r e p r e p a r e d to m a k e to A f r i c a n nationalists in non-settler territories in t h e h o p e s o f r e c o n c i l i n g t h e t w o n a t i o n a l i s m s . Y e t e v e n in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , w h e r e the w h i t e nationalists, w h o had already had legal s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t since 1923, w e r e able to declare their o w n u n r e c o g n i s e d i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1 9 6 5 , the A f r i c a n nationalists w e r e e v e n t u a l l y t o t r i u m p h i n 1980 as t h e y h a d in t h e f o r m e r P o r t u g u e s e territories. W e m a y pause, then, to ask w h y the E u r o p e a n e m p i r e s in A f r i c a c o l l a p s e d so q u i c k l y a n d g e n e r a l l y so e a s i l y in t h e q u a r t e r c e n t u r y after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , a n d t o p o n d e r h o w far t h e w a r w a s t h e d o m i n a n t f a c t o r in this c o l l a p s e . W e h a v e a r g u e d that the w a r created a n e w international climate in w h i c h t h e l e a d i n g c o l o n i a l p o w e r s w e r e p u t o n t h e d e f e n s i v e a n d in w h i c h t h e y felt o b l i g e d t o i n t r o d u c e p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as social and e c o n o m i c reforms, h o w e v e r tentative these m a y n o w appear to have been. Therefore, African nationalists, w h o had had l i m i t e d g o a l s b e f o r e t h e w a r , a n d h a d b e e n u n s u c c e s s f u l in g a i n i n g any major c o n c e s s i o n s f r o m the c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s , f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s o p e r a t i n g in a n e w p o l i t i c a l c l i m a t e . T h e i r i d e a s a n d a s p i r a t i o n s n o w f o u n d s u p p o r t n o t o n l y in p o l i t i c a l c i r c l e s w i t h i n t h e r e l e v a n t m e t r o p o l i s b u t in s i g n i f i c a n t s e c t i o n s o f t h e i n t e r ­ n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y . W h a t is m o r e , t h e w a r h a d s o c h a n g e d t h e e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n in m a n y o f t h e i r c o u n t r i e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r b y 48

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CONCLUSION

s w e l l i n g the n u m b e r o f i m m i g r a n t s to the t o w n s , that the nationalists n o w had larger constituencies to call u p o n . A n d b y c o n c e d i n g reforms w h i c h i n v o l v e d the establishment and signi­ ficant e x t e n s i o n o f t h e f r a n c h i s e t o A f r i c a n s , e i t h e r t h r o u g h d i r e c t or indirect elections, the colonial g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e also, consciously or u n c o n s c i o u s l y , a c c e p t i n g that they were responsible to their c o l o n i a l subjects. T h e l o g i c o f g r a n t i n g suffrage t o A f r i c a n s , h o w e v e r l i m i t e d a n d n o m a t t e r w h a t t h e c r i t e r i a m i g h t b e , w a s t h a t it m u s t l a t e r b e e x t e n d e d . F o r e i t h e r m o r e p e o p l e b e c a m e qualified under the terms o f the existing f r a n c h i s e , o r e l s e A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t s p r o t e s t e d t h a t it w a s arbitrarily restrictive and that a F r a n c e and Britain w h i c h held that universal suffrage w a s f u n d a m e n t a l t o g o o d g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d n o t j u s t i f y l i m i t i n g it i n t h e i r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s . W h e r e l i m i t a t i o n s o n the suffrage w e r e d e s i g n e d t o p r o t e c t the interests o f a w h i t e minority, they easily b e c a m e an issue that nationalists c o u l d use to rouse popular protest. O f c o u r s e u n t i l i 9 6 0 it w a s o n l y B r i t a i n a n d F r a n c e t h a t m a d e such concessions and then o n l y w h e n w h i t e - m i n o r i t y interests did not h a v e to be protected. A n d e v e n there they w e r e c a u g h t in the dilemma, w h e n e n g a g i n g in the defence o f w h i t e - m i n o r i t y interests as i n K e n y a o r A l g e r i a , t h a t t h e i r p r a c t i c e w a s n o t c o n s i s t e n t . B u t w h a t o f the colonial p o w e r s like P o r t u g a l and Spain w h i c h w e r e n o t d i r e c t l y affected b y t h e w a r , w h o s e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i e s stagnated by c o m p a r i s o n w i t h those o f the F r e n c h and British t e r r i t o r i e s ? H e r e t h e e x a m p l e s set b y t h e F r e n c h a n d B r i t i s h i n decolonising m a d e their o w n determination to h o l d o n to their colonies i n v i d i o u s . H o w e v e r m u c h they desired to retain c o n t r o l o f them, h o w e v e r hard they tried to isolate t h e m f r o m the w i n d s o f c h a n g e t a k i n g place in o t h e r parts o f the continent, they w e r e ultimately unable, in an a g e o f mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n , t o insulate their A f r i c a n subjects f r o m the ideas for i n d e p e n d e n c e that g a i n e d c u r r e n c y after t h e w a r . E v e n i n F r e n c h B l a c k A f r i c a , w h e r e f o r a t i m e it s e e m e d A f r i c a n s w o u l d s e t t l e f o r a p o l i t i c a l f r e e d o m w i t h i n a F r a n c o - A f r i c a n C o m m u n i t y a n d e s c h e w i n d e p e n d e n c e as such, the e x a m p l e o f G h a n a and the special status o f T o g o and C a m e r o u n w h i c h , as T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s , d i d n o t fit i n t o t h e grandiose plans for a F r a n c o - A f r i c a n C o m m u n i t y , had m u c h to d o w i t h the d e c i s i o n b y F r a n c e in i960 t o g r a n t i n d e p e n d e n c e t o all its B l a c k A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s . T h e c o l l a p s e o f B e l g i a n a u t h o r i t y 49

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PRELUDE TO

DECOLONISATION

in t h e C o n g o , w h i l s t in p a r t d u e t o l o s s o f w i l l b y t h e c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s , w a s a l s o a r e s u l t o f t h e i n f l u e n c e s o f a n d e x a m p l e s set b y o t h e r A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s , in p a r t i c u l a r t h e e x a m p l e o f G h a n a and o f n e i g h b o u r i n g Brazzaville, w h i c h enjoyed a great deal o f political a u t o n o m y w i t h i n the F r e n c h C o m m u n i t y and w a s o n l y half-an-hour's ferry ride f r o m L e o p o l d v i l l e . W h e r e before the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r African leaders c o n t e m p l a t i n g political c o n ­ c e s s i o n s w e r e o p e r a t i n g in a w o r l d t h a t a c c e p t e d t h e fact o f c o l o n i a l i s m , after it t h e y w e r e t o p r e s s t h e i r c a s e i n a w o r l d w h e r e the c o l o n i a l d e p e n d e n c i e s w e r e g a i n i n g i n d e p e n d e n c e by n e g o t i a t i o n o r v i o l e n c e in s u c c e s s i o n like the p r o v e r b i a l d o m i n o e s . A n d e v e n w h e r e t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s t r i e d t o resist t h e s e i n f l u e n c e s , as in V i e t n a m a n d I n d o n e s i a , a n d l a t e r in A l g e r i a , it w a s d e m o n s t r a t e d that their forces w e r e n o l o n g e r sufficient to maintain a control that had been apparently so easily retained before the war. Until then, the colonial p o w e r s had been able to k e e p c o n t r o l o f their large p o p u l a t i o n s w i t h m i n i m u m force just b e c a u s e the latter a c c e p t e d the c o l o n i a l p r e s e n c e , e v e n if o n l y p a s s i v e l y . B u t after t h e w a r , n a t i o n a l i s t s w e r e a b l e t o h a r n e s s n o t o n l y the frustrations o f the urban masses but also rural discontent to d e m a n d political c o n c e s s i o n s . W h e r e these w e r e resisted b y the colonial p o w e r s , nationalists w e r e able to mobilise armed resistance n o t o n l y in the t o w n s b u t in the c o u n t r y s i d e , w h e r e n o t e v e n m a s s i v e m i l i t a r y f o r c e as u s e d in A l g e r i a a n d t h e P o r t u g u e s e c o l o n i e s c o u l d s u b d u e p e o p l e fighting o n t h e i r o w n g r o u n d . T h e s i t u a t i o n w a s m a d e t h e m o r e difficult f o r t h e i n t r a n s i g e n t c o l o n i a l p o w e r s once countries like M o r o c c o and Tunisia had gained i n d e p e n d e n c e and c o u l d s u p p o r t an A l g e r i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e m o v e m e n t , o r as l a t e r T a n z a n i a c o u l d s u p p o r t M o z a m b i q u e . T h a t t h e c o l o n i a l e m p i r e s w o u l d b e d i s b a n d e d w i t h i n less t h a n t w o g e n e r a t i o n s - an e v e n t u a l i t y t h a t s e e m e d s o u n l i k e l y in 1 9 3 9 - is c o m p r e h e n s i b l e in t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r b o t h as a r e s u l t o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e c o n t i n e n t t h a t it s p e e d e d u p a n d t h e n e w e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s it set in m o t i o n . R e t r o s p e c t i v e l y , t o o , w e c a n s e e t h a t t h e g r a d u a l loss o f will for e m p i r e o n the part o f the colonial p o w e r s w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y a r e a l i s a t i o n t h a t A f r i c a n s , in s e e k i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l k i n g d o m , h a d l o s t s i g h t o f t h e e c o n o m i c k i n g d o m . T h u s it s u i t e d the colonial p o w e r s , especially w h e r e they w e r e not embarrassed by, or c o m m i t t e d to, a rival w h i t e nationalism, to c o n c e d e the 50

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CONCLUSION

p o l i t i c a l k i n g d o m w h i l s t r e t a i n i n g as m u c h c o n t r o l as p o s s i b l e o f t h e i r e c o n o m i c e m p i r e . F o r b y a n d l a r g e , o f c o u r s e , it w a s t h e e d u c a t e d e l i t e t h a t i n h e r i t e d t h e c o l o n i a l k i n g d o m , s o t h a t i n real t e r m s t h e l o t o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f i n h a b i t a n t s c h a n g e d v e r y little w i t h the c h a n g e f r o m w h i t e to black c o n t r o l . T h e w o r l d capitalist system had deeply i m p r e g n a t e d the colonial structures b y the e v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e and the elites w h o g a i n e d i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e loath to f o r g o the v e r y o b v i o u s personal benefits that these structures immediately b r o u g h t them. Indeed u p until the end o f our period very few African countries had s o u g h t alternatives to the e c o n o m i c structures they had inherited, h o w e v e r m u c h socialist o r M a r x i s t w i n d o w - d r e s s i n g they m a y h a v e displayed. T h e drama o f the s t r u g g l e for i n d e p e n d e n c e and the p r o b l e m s o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t l e a d e r s after it, as t h e n e x t c h a p t e r s h o w s , is t h a t the independence the Africans t o o k , and the i n d e p e n d e n c e the c o l o n i a l i s t s g a v e , w a s i n effect a q u a l i f i e d i n d e p e n d e n c e , f o r t h e r e a l i t y o f p o w e r , c o n t r o l o f t h e e c o n o m y , w a s still t o b e f o u n d overseas.

5i

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C H A P T E R

2

DECOLONISATION AND THE PROBLEMS OF I N D E P E N D E N C E

F o r m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e s in A f r i c a - a n d t h o s e w i t h liberal incli­ nations outside Africa - t w o decades o f independence

brought

little b u t d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t . F o r the A f r i c a n s , the nationalist agita­ tions o f the 1930s d o w n t o the m i d - 1 9 5 0 s p r o m i s e d a n e w era o f political

self-assertion

and

freedom

from

foreign

imperialist

domination. T h e vision o f what was to c o m e was well put by K w a m e N k r u m a h o f G h a n a w h e n he said: ' S e e k ye

first

the

political k i n g d o m and e v e r y t h i n g else shall b e a d d e d u n t o y o u / I n d e p e n d e n c e w a s t o b e the m i l l e n n i u m w h e n the A f r i c a n , after decades o f b e i n g e x p l o i t e d and o p p r e s s e d , w a s t o c o m e i n t o his o w n ' i n h e r i t a n c e ' . T o the liberals o f E u r o p e and N o r t h A m e r i c a , the nationalist rhetoric o f f r e e d o m and equality w a s a reassertion o f t h e i d e a l s t h e y h a d c h e r i s h e d a n d p r o c l a i m e d . B u t after t w o decades o f i n d e p e n d e n c e these h o p e s and ideals w e r e replaced b y d e s p a i r as p l u r a l i s t i n s t i t u t i o n s w e r e s u p p l a n t e d b y m i l i t a r y r u l e in m a n y states a n d the p r o m i s e o f p l e n t y g a v e w a y , i f n o t t o the increasing i m p o v e r i s h m e n t o f the masses, then m o s t certainly to r e l a t i v e s t a g n a t i o n . F o r e x a m p l e , it h a s b e e n e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e a v e r a g e A f r i c a n s t a t e g r e w l e s s f o o d p e r c a p i t a i n 1 9 6 8 t h a n it h a d d o n e in 1956, w h i l e the per capita g r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t

at

m a r k e t p r i c e s s t o o d i n 1 9 7 0 at $200, a figure w h i c h h a d c h a n g e d l i t t l e f r o m w h a t it h a d b e e n a d e c a d e e a r l i e r .

1

A t t e m p t s at e x p l a i n i n g t h e ' A f r i c a n p r e d i c a m e n t '

2

have been

m a n y and v a r i e d b u t p e r h a p s the m o s t p e r c e p t i v e are t h o s e o f the 'structural analysts' o r dependence theorists. A s put by O s v a l d o S u n k e l , d e p e n d e n c e is t h a t s y s t e m w h i c h l i n k s e x t e r n a l p r e s s u r e s and

constraints,

financial,

often

operating

through

'hidden

or

economic, technical and cultural' mechanisms,

1

subtle with

' W o r l d hunger: causes and remedies', report by the Transnational Institute (Washington D C , 1974). Stanislao Andreski, The African predicament ( L o n d o n , 1968). 2

5*

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DECOLONISATION AND INDEPENDENCE

i n t e r n a l p r o c e s s e s o f u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y t h e ' selfreinforcing accumulations o f p r i v i l e g e ' o n the o n e hand and the existence o f a ' m a r g i n a l class' o n the other.

1

T h o u g h there are

different f o r m u l a t i o n s o f d e p e n d e n c y t h e o r y , c o m m o n t o a l l t h e t h e o r i s t s is t h e p o s t u l a t i o n o f a p a t t e r n o f u n e q u a l , a s y m m e t r i c exchange relationships w h i c h consistently and persistently operate to the a d v a n t a g e o f the o n e partner and to the d i s a d v a n t a g e o f t h e o t h e r . T h e r e s u l t is t h e e m e r g e n c e w i t h i n t h e

international

system o f d o m i n a n t and d e p e n d e n t actors, or, in the l a n g u a g e o f Galtung,

o f a conflict b e t w e e n

'centre'

and

'periphery'

or

b e t w e e n ' m e t r o p o l i s ' and 'satellite' to use G u n d e r F r a n k ' s and Samir

Amin's terminology.

2

T h e net

outcome

of

dependent

relationships 'is e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t for the centre and e c o ­ n o m i c u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t for the p e r i p h e r y ; military ascendancy, highly developed means o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n and cultural expansion on the one hand, and military inferiority, primitive means

of

3

c o m m u n i c a t i o n and cultural e m u l a t i o n o n the o t h e r ' . A s G u s t a v o L a g o s h a s p u t it, t h e d e p e n d e n t a c t o r suffers f r o m a b s o l u t e or extreme deprivation.

4

atimia

W h i l e t h i s b r o a d c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n is n o

d o u b t i l l u m i n a t i n g , it d o e s n o t c o v e r a d e q u a t e l y t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s and peculiarities o f specific situations w i t h i n the A f r i c a n predica­ ment.

W e e x a m i n e this

predicament

first

b y l o o k i n g at

the

different w a y s i n w h i c h A f r i c a n s t a t e s o b t a i n e d t h e i r i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d s e c o n d l y b y e x a m i n i n g t h e i r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l e g a c y . T h i s is f o l l o w e d b y a discussion o f s o m e specific p r o b l e m s : those o f the bureaucracy and

the e c o n o m y , the related

problem

o f social

m o b i l i s a t i o n , t h e m i l i t a r y a n d m i l i t a r i s m a n d , finally, t h e p r o b l e m o f political leadership and political succession. T h e c h o i c e o f issues m a y s e e m arbitrary g i v e n the o f p r o b l e m s c o n f r o n t i n g A f r i c a n states b e f o r e a n d

multitude

particularly

s i n c e i n d e p e n d e n c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , it h a s s o m e r a t i o n a l e . B a s i c a l l y , w e c o u l d d i c h o t o m i s e t h e set o f p r o b l e m s i n t o t w o s u b - s e t s . T h e first c o n s i s t s o f i s s u e s i n h e r e n t i n t h e n a t u r e o f A f r i c a n s o c i a l a n d O s v a l d o S u n k e l , ' Big business and " dependencia " F o r e i g n Affairs, 50, April 1972, 519. Q u o t e d in Joseph A . Camilleri, Civilisation in crisis (Cambridge, 1977), 7 1 - 2 . A . G u n d e r Frank, ' L u m p e n bourgeoisie and lumpen development', trans. Marian D . Berdecio ( N U Monthly R e v i e w Press, 1972); J. G a l t u n g , ' A structural theory o f 1

2

imperialism', Journal of Peace Research, 1971, 8, 2; Samir A m i n , Neo-colonialism in West Africa, trans. Francis M c D o n a g h ( L o n d o n , 1976). 3

4

Camilleri, Civilisation in crisis, 72. G u s t a v o Lagos, International stratification and underdeveloped countries (North Carolina,

1963).

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DECOLONISATION AND

INDEPENDENCE

political systems antecedent to the i m p o s i t i o n o f colonial rule, for e x a m p l e , the h e t e r o g e n e i t y o f these systems, their socio-structural v a r i e t y a n d t h e p r o b l e m s w h i c h t h e s e in t u r n c r e a t e d f o r s t a t e f o r m a t i o n . T h e s e c o n d s u b - s e t is c o m p o s e d o f d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h c o u l d b e said t o h a v e arisen f r o m , and b e intimately b o u n d u p w i t h , the dialectical l o g i c o f the colonial situation and the nature o f the independence settlement, for e x a m p l e , bureaucratic style and leadership, and the f r a m e w o r k o f political contestation. E m p i r i c a l l y , the sub-sets are c l o s e l y interrelated, the o n e i m ­ p i n g i n g o n and s h a p i n g the other. A n a l y t i c a l l y , h o w e v e r , the pre-colonial and colonial d i c h o t o m y can be made w i t h a degree o f v a l i d i t y , and the c h o i c e o f p r o b l e m s has b e e n dictated b y that dichotomy. A s outlined a b o v e , the basic p r o b l e m c o n f r o n t i n g the A f r i c a n states - a n d t h i r d - w o r l d c o u n t r i e s i n g e n e r a l - is t h a t o f p o v e r t y , w h i c h i n i t s e l f is t o b e e x p l a i n e d i n t e r m s o f a d e p e n d e n c y r e l a t i o n s h i p , w h i c h is a f u n c t i o n o f s p e c i f i c s t r u c t u r a l a n d b e ­ h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s . A f r i c a n s t a t e s , it is c o n t e n d e d , c a n n o t e x p e c t to escape from the d e g r a d a t i o n o f p o v e r t y unless they break the d e p e n d e n c y relationship w h i c h binds t h e m to the d e v e l o p e d , industrial nations in an e x p l o i t a t i v e n e x u s . A b r e a k w o u l d require n o t o n l y r a d i c a l c h a n g e s in t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e s e states b u t a l s o a t t i t u d i n a l c h a n g e s o n t h e p a r t o f t h e élite - the b u r e a u c r a t i c - m a n a g e r i a l a n d political élite, the military and the intelligentsia. T h u s , far f r o m b e i n g a r b i t r a r y , t h e r e a r e c o g e n t h i s t o r i c a l a n d theoretical warrants for the choice o f p r o b l e m s for examination. O u r analysis f o c u s e s o n the p r o b l e m s that A f r i c a n states h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d s i n c e g a i n i n g t h e i r i n d e p e n d e n c e ; b u t , as w e h a v e already s u g g e s t e d , these cannot be u n d e r s t o o d w i t h o u t reference to the p r o c e s s w h e r e b y this i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s g a i n e d .

PATHS TO

INDEPENDENCE

T h e year i960 has been described, n o t w i t h o u t s o m e justification, as ' t h e y e a r o f A f r i c a ' . S o m e 16 states - C a m e r o u n , t h e C e n t r a l African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville (now C o n g o ) , C o n g o L é o p o l d v i l l e ( n o w Zaire), D a h o m e y ( n o w Benin), G a b o n , the Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, T o g o a n d U p p e r V o l t a - b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t , s o v e r e i g n states 54

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PATHS

TO

INDEPENDENCE

Eüi] 1 9 6 1 - 6 6 r

~l Not independent in 1966 R

Ruanda

4

0

B Burundi

ß

A f r i c a : the p a t h t o i n d e p e n d e n c e ,

{

'

2 0 0 0 km KX)0 miles

1956-66.

in t h a t y e a r . O t h e r states f o l l o w e d i n q u i c k s u c c e s s i o n : S i e r r a L e o n e a n d T a n g a n y i k a in 1 9 6 1 , B u r u n d i , R w a n d a a n d U g a n d a in 1962, K e n y a in 1963, N y a s a l a n d a n d N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a in 1964, t h e G a m b i a i n 1965 a n d B e c h u a n a l a n d a n d B a s u t o l a n d i n 1 9 6 6 . T h e first c o l o n y t o b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t i n A f r i c a w a s L i b e r i a , in 1 8 4 7 . I t b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t s o o n after it w a s s e t t l e d w i t h s l a v e s r e p a t r i a t e d f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . O v e r t h e n e x t 60 y e a r s t h e rest 55

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

DECOLONISATION AND

INDEPENDENCE

o f the continent w a s o c c u p i e d b y the E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l p o w e r s in o n e f o r m o r a n o t h e r a n d o n l y E t h i o p i a r e m a i n e d effectively i n d e p e n d e n t . A n d e v e n s h e w a s i n v a d e d b y I t a l y i n 1935 a n d i n c o r p o r a t e d into the Italian E a s t A f r i c a n e m p i r e until her liberation b y A l l i e d forces in 1941 d u r i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . If w e except E g y p t , w h o s e exercise o f sovereignty continued to be constrained b y the presence o f British troops o n the S u e z Canal u n t i l 1 9 5 6 , t h e first E u r o p e a n c o l o n y t o g a i n i n d e p e n d e n c e after L i b e r i a w a s L i b y a i n 1 9 5 1 . O v e r t h e n e x t 26 y e a r s i m p e r i a l r u l e in A f r i c a w a s d i s m a n t l e d , t h e F r e n c h T e r r i t o r y o f t h e A f a r s a n d I s s a s g a i n i n g i n d e p e n d e n c e as t h e R e p u b l i c o f D j i b o u t i i n 1 9 7 7 . R h o d e s i a , S o u t h A f r i c a a n d its d e p e n d e n c y , S o u t h W e s t A f r i c a ( N a m i b i a ) , still r e m a i n e d as w h i t e - d o m i n a t e d t e r r i t o r i e s b u t independent o f imperial control from E u r o p e . 1

I n d e p e n d e n c e c a m e t o the different A f r i c a n states in a v a r i e t y o f w a y s , t h e p r o c e s s o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n d e p e n d i n g , i n t h e m a i n , first o n the colonising p o w e r , and second o n the nature o f the c o l o n y itself, in p a r t i c u l a r w h e t h e r o r n o t it h a d a s i z e a b l e w h i t e - s e t t l e r element. In W e s t Africa — the stretch o f territories e x t e n d i n g f r o m Senegal to Z a i r e - the c o l o n i s i n g p o w e r s w e r e Britain, France, B e l g i u m , Spain and Portugal. In n o n e o f these w a s there a significant white-settler element. W h i l e Britain, B e l g i u m and S p a i n a d m i n i s t e r e d t h e i r t e r r i t o r i e s as s e p a r a t e p o l i t i c a l a n d administrative units, the F r e n c h territories, other than those under U n i t e d N a t i o n s T r u s t e e s h i p , w e r e g o v e r n e d as t w o * f e d e r a t i o n s ' o f states, A f r i q u e O c c i d e n t a l e Française ( A O F ) and A f r i q u e Equatoriale Française ( A E F ) . W h e r e Britain had f o l l o w e d a policy a i m e d at t h e u l t i m a t e a t t a i n m e n t o f c o m p l e t e i n d e p e n d e n c e b y each o f her colonies, France, B e l g i u m , P o r t u g a l and Spain had maintained a s y s t e m o f * D i r e c t R u l e ', the l o n g - t e r m a i m o f w h i c h was to turn Africans into French, Belgian, Portuguese or Spanish ' c i t i z e n s ' as t h e c a s e m i g h t b e . F o r the British territories in W e s t A f r i c a and e l s e w h e r e o n the c o n t i n e n t w h e r e there w e r e n o sizeable settler e l e m e n t s , the process o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n b e c a m e a g r a d u a t e d transfer o f p o w e r to an e m e r g e n t ' m i d d l e class ' o f l a w y e r s , teachers, d o c t o r s and journalists, w h o spearheaded the v a r i o u s nationalist m o v e m e n t s w h i c h h a d g r o w n u p in the s e c o n d and third d e c a d e s o f the 1

T h i s does not of course take account of white-settler colonies ; the O r a n g e Free State gained independence in 1854 and the U n i o n of South Africa in 1910.

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INDEPENDENCE

twentieth century. T h e pattern w a s n o t unlike that w h i c h had o c c u r r e d earlier in places like India and C e y l o n . First, there w a s the creation o f legislative institutions w i t h limited p o w e r s , w h i c h w a s usually a c c o m p a n i e d b y the g r a n t i n g o f a restricted franchise. T h i s almost invariably e n c o u r a g e d the formation o f political parties. T h e s e c o n d stage f o l l o w e d w i t h the e x t e n s i o n o f the area o f discretion a l l o w e d to the legislative assemblies and a b r o a d e n i n g o f the franchise. T h i s w a s succeeded b y the third stage, the granting o f internal s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h led, often w i t h i n a y e a r o r t w o , t o t h e final s t a g e o f full i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d s o v e r e i g n status. B e c a u s e the British-administered territories in w e s t e r n A f r i c a w e r e g o v e r n e d as s e p a r a t e e n t i t i e s , t h e p r o c e s s o f t h e t r a n s f e r o f p o w e r i n v o l v e d m i n i m u m d i s r u p t i o n . A n d h e r e i n lies t h e m a i n contrast w i t h the F r e n c h territories. France had c o n c e i v e d o f A O F (French West Africa) and A E F (French Equatorial A f r i c a G a b o n , C h a d , t h e C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c , a n d C o n g o ) as * federations' to be united w i t h France. F o r F r a n c e , the future o f h e r A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s w a s n o t t o b e full s o v e r e i g n t y b u t a u t o n o m y w i t h i n a g r e a t e r F r e n c h U n i o n , o r F r a n c o - A f r i c a n C o m m u n i t y as it l a t e r c a m e t o b e c a l l e d . N o t u n e x p e c t e d l y , t h i s p o l i c y m e t w i t h o p p o s i t i o n f r o m t w o m a i n s o u r c e s : first f r o m t h e ' r a d i c a l ' politicians w h o rejected any idea o f a ' q u a l i f i e d ' i n d e p e n d e n c e ; a n d s e c o n d l y , f r o m ' c o n s e r v a t i v e ' a n d rich states like the I v o r y C o a s t and G a b o n w h o s e leaders t h o u g h t that they s t o o d to gain m o r e b y b e i n g d i r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h F r a n c e t h a n i n d i r e c t l y as m e m b e r s o f a federation. In A O F , the I v o r y C o a s t had p r o v i d e d the major part o f the ' s u r p l u s ' w i t h w h i c h the ' f e d e r a t i o n ' w a s m a i n t a i n e d , w h i l e G a b o n w a s in the s a m e p o s i t i o n w i t h respect to A E F . T h e radical leaders o f the p o o r e r states w a n t e d i n d e ­ pendence w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f the federations, seeing the proposal to d e v o l v e political p o w e r o n the constituent territories r a t h e r t h a n t h e g r o u p as a w h o l e as o n e a i m e d at d e l i b e r a t e 'balkanisation'. T h e t u r n i n g p o i n t in F r e n c h p o l i c y in b o t h A O F and A E F c a m e i n 1958 w h e n G e n e r a l C h a r l e s d e G a u l l e b e c a m e P r e s i d e n t o f F r a n c e . H e offered the c o n s t i t u e n t territories o f b o t h these f e d e r a t i o n s , as d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e f e d e r a t i o n s t h e m s e l v e s , t h e c h o i c e of autonomy within a Franco-African C o m m u n i t y or indepen­ d e n c e w i t h all its c o n s e q u e n c e s , w h i c h i n effect m e a n t t h e 57

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DECOLONISATION AND INDEPENDENCE

Table 2.1.

Economic profile offormer AOF states less Mauritania c. 1961. Index of agric. production

State Dahomey Guinea Ivory Coast Mali Niger Senegal Upper Volta Source-.

GDP 1961 in Per capita $ US million GDP 1963 160 190 470 250 170

111 122 201 116 148

70 96 188 66 77 183

5 3° 180

Morrison et a/.,

1960-1 (1954 = 100)

Black Africa

1.1 -7 4.8

i-3 -1.6 -1.4 0.1

^3

(New York,

1972),

1961-8

2

140

45

Growth rate GDP per capita

50-3.

s e v e r a n c e o f all F r e n c h a i d . G u i n e a a l o n e o p t e d f o r t h e s e c o n d alternative, and F r a n c e p u l l e d o u t , l e a v i n g in her w a k e a nearcollapsing country.

G u i n e a ' s fate at

first

s e r v e d as a

terrible

w a r n i n g to those w h o had v o t e d to stay w i t h F r a n c e and c o n t i n u e to enjoy her considerable aid. A t the same time her i n d e p e n d e n c e , and

the f o r t h c o m i n g

independence

o f the F r e n c h

UN

Trust

T e r r i t o r i e s o f T o g o a n d C a m e r o u n as w e l l as t h a t o f n e i g h b o u r i n g B r i t i s h states p r o v e d irresistibly attractive a n d e a c h C o m m u n i t y state n e g o t i a t e d an i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h F r a n c e that w o u l d e n s u r e it c o n t i n u e d t o r e c e i v e F r e n c h a i d . If the m o v e t o w a r d s i n d e p e n d e n c e in the British W e s t A f r i c a n states, A O F , A E F a n d the British E a s t A f r i c a n states o f U g a n d a and T a n g a n y i k a had b e e n relatively peaceful, that in the B e l g i a n t e r r i t o r i e s w a s far f r o m b e i n g s o . I n n e i t h e r its T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s o f R w a n d a a n d B u r u n d i , n o r its h u g e C o n g o e s t a t e , d i d B e l g i u m , unlike Britain and France, attempt to create any national political institutions b e f o r e 1 9 5 9 . A n d then, in the B e l g i a n C o n g o ,

the

p r o p o s e d constitutional reforms a l l o w e d only for direct elections at t h e l o c a l - g o v e r n m e n t l e v e l , t h o u g h t h e s e h a d b e e n i n t r o d u c e d in 1 9 5 6 i n b o t h R w a n d a a n d B u r u n d i . W h i l e t h e s e t w o c o u n t r i e s h a d h a d s o m e e x p o s u r e t o t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d as a r e s u l t o f t h e i r s t a t u s as U N T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s , t h e C o n g o w a s f o r all p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s i s o l a t e d f r o m it b y B e l g i u m . W i t h t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e o f 58

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PATHS TO

INDEPENDENCE

G h a n a in 19 5 7 a n d t h e g r u d g i n g offer b y d e G a u l l e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e to the f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n states, B e l g i a n administration o f the C o n g o c a m e to be seriously questioned b y the handful o f A f r i c a n nationalists, principal a m o n g s t w h o m w a s Patrice L u m u m b a , w h o h a d e m e r g e d as p o t e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s . A f e w d a y s after L u m u m b a r e t u r n e d f r o m t h e P a n - A f r i c a n C o n f e r e n c e h e l d in A c c r a in D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 8 , r i o t i n g b r o k e o u t in L e o p o l d v i l l e . T h e Belgian governor-general, w h o had advocated establishing a parliament for the C o n g o b y the end o f i960 - an indication o f t h e p o l i t i c a l v a c u u m in t h e c o u n t r y - a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e b y 1963 ( a l t e r e d at t h e e n d o f 1 9 5 9 t o i n d e p e n d e n c e i n i 9 6 0 ) , w a s f o r c e d b y c o n s e r v a t i v e protests to r e s i g n in 1 9 5 9 . T h e r e a f t e r there w a s e f f e c t i v e l y a v o l t e - f a c e b y t h e B e l g i a n g o v e r n m e n t a n d at t h e f a m o u s T a b l e R o n d e h e l d i n B e l g i u m i n J a n u a r y i 9 6 0 it w a s agreed to accede to C o n g o l e s e d e m a n d s for political freedom and grant i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h i n six m o n t h s , a l t h o u g h A f r i c a n delegates h a d t a l k e d in t e r m s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h i n f o u r y e a r s . I n J u n e i960, w i t h the political institutions o f s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t barely established, the B e l g i a n s m o v e d o u t o f the C o n g o , o n l y to return t e m p o r a r i l y a m o n t h l a t e r t o p r o t e c t B e l g i a n c i v i l i a n s still l i v i n g there. T h e t o o - h a s t y w i t h d r a w a l o f B e l g i u m w a s t h e s i g n a l f o r all h e l l t o b r e a k l o o s e in t h e n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t c o u n t r y . T h e F o r c e P u b l i q u e , w h i c h p a s s e d as t h e C o n g o l e s e a r m y , m u t i n i e d a n d K a t a n g a , the richest r e g i o n o f the C o n g o , seceded under M o i s e T s h o m b e o n 11 J u l y . I n t h e c a p i t a l , L e o p o l d v i l l e ( n o w K i n s h a s a ) , a g a m e o f musical chairs for the leadership b e g a n , w h i l e there w e r e threats o f further secession. T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s , in r e s p o n s e t o a p p e a l s b y t h e P r e s i d e n t , J o s e p h K a s a v u b u , and the P r i m e Minister, Patrice L u m u m b a , ' t o protect the national territory o f the C o n g o against the present e x t e r n a l a g g r e s s i o n w h i c h is a t h r e a t t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l p e a c e ' , s e n t a m i s s i o n t o t h e C o n g o o n 1 4 J u l y i 9 6 0 . W i t h its a r r i v a l b e g a n i n c r e a s e d g r e a t - p o w e r i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e affairs o f t h e C o n g o , a n i n v o l v e m e n t w h i c h w a s to lead to the death o f the U N SecretaryGeneral, D a g H a m m a r s k j o l d , o n 17 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 6 1 . T h e c o n f u s e d state o f C o n g o l e s e p o l i t i c s is d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l in C h a p t e r 1 4 . H e r e , it is s u f f i c i e n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e U N S e c u r i t y F o r c e s , w a l k i n g t h e t i g h t - r o p e o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s , finally s u c c e e d e d in e a r l y 1963 in r e u n i t i n g K a t a n g a w i t h t h e r e s t o f t h e 59

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DECOLONISATION

A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

c o u n t r y a n d t h e m s e l v e s p u l l i n g o u t o f the C o n g o in 1964. T h u s , t h o u g h i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s p r o c l a i m e d in J u n e i960, the s e m b l a n c e o f a state did n o t b e g i n t o e m e r g e in the C o n g o until f o u r years later. T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f the C o n g o thus m a r k s an e x t r e m e case o f o n e approach to independence by an African state. Portugal, unlike Britain, B e l g i u m and

France

1

(except

with

r e s p e c t t o A l g e r i a ) s a w h e r A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s as a n e x t e n s i o n o f P o r t u g a l itself. A n g o l a , M o z a m b i q u e , C a p e V e r d e a n d G u i n e a Bissau were not

just c o l o n i e s , t h e y

w e r e part and

parcel

of

P o r t u g a l , or so they w e r e regarded b y the P o r t u g u e s e g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r Salazar, w h e t h e r o r n o t they had n e g l i g i b l e settler p o p u ­ l a t i o n s as i n C a p e V e r d e a n d G u i n e a - B i s s a u , o r l a r g e o n e s as in the case o f A n g o l a and M o z a m b i q u e . F r o m the P o r t u g u e s e point o f v i e w there c o u l d be n o question o f independence for territories.

That

would

be

like talking

these

o f independence

for

Portugal, w h i c h w o u l d be meaningless. But Portugal could hardly e x p e c t t o k e e p its t e r r i t o r i e s i s o l a t e d f r o m t h e p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e s t a k i n g p l a c e all o v e r A f r i c a . W i t h P o r t u g a l u n w i l l i n g a n d

unpre­

pared to make any concessions, there w a s but one option

open

t o the nationalist leaders - a r m e d s t r u g g l e . B y the sixties, this had t a k e n t h e f o r m o f o r g a n i s e d g u e r r i l l a w a r f a r e , w h i c h is d i s c u s s e d in detail in C h a p t e r

1 5 . W i t h i n ten years, the cost o f counter­

revolutionary warfare was b e c o m i n g unbearable

for

Portugal,

w h i c h w a s t h e n s p e n d i n g as m u c h as 4 2 p e r c e n t o f its b u d g e t o n m a i n t a i n i n g its a r m e d p e r s o n n e l i n t h e s e t e r r i t o r i e s . was

fighting

a l o s i n g b a t t l e a n d in 1 9 7 4 w a s

finally

Portugal

d e f e a t e d in

G u i n e a - B i s s a u , M o z a m b i q u e a n d A n g o l a , in m u c h t h e s a m e w a y t h a t t h e F r e n c h h a d b e e n in I n d o - C h i n a t w o d e c a d e s e a r l i e r . A n g o l a p r e s e n t e d a different situation f r o m M o z a m b i q u e and G u i n e a - B i s s a u . F i r s t , it is m o r e r i c h l y e n d o w e d b y n a t u r e , a n d l i k e the C o n g o w a s therefore e x p e c t e d to attract international

interest.

S e c o n d , b e c a u s e o f its h e t e r o g e n e o u s p o p u l a t i o n , it w a s u n a b l e to p r o d u c e a political leadership acceptable t o all, w i t h the result that

the

factions:

liberation the

movement

Movimento

splintered

Popular

de

into

three

Liberta9áo

de

warring Angola

( M P L A ) ; the Frente N a c i o n a l de L i b e r t a d o de A n g o l a ( F N L A ) ; and the U n i á o N a c i o n a l para a Independencia T o t a l de A n g o l a ( U N I T A - initially a b r e a k a w a y f r o m the F N L A ) . T h e s t r u g g l e 1

See the classic study by Crawford Y o u n g , Politics in the Congo (Princeton, 1965).

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TO

INDEPENDENCE

for liberation thus b e c a m e c o m p o u n d e d b y an internal civil w a r and w a s the signal for external, g r e a t - p o w e r i n v o l v e m e n t , w i t h the S o v i e t U n i o n , C u b a a n d a n u m b e r o f A f r i c a n states ( N i g e r i a w a s o n e ) s u p p o r t i n g t h e M P L A ; t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , its A f r i c a n p r o t e g e , Z a i r e ( w h i c h had ambitions t o w a r d s the oil-rich e n c l a v e o f Cabinda) and, interestingly, the P e o p l e s ' R e p u b l i c o f C h i n a s u p p o r t i n g the F N L A ; and U N I T A appealing to S o u t h Africa for m i l i t a r y s u p p o r t . C u b a n s o l d i e r s , o v e r 4000 o f t h e m , a n d S o v i e t and Y u g o s l a v w e a p o n s ultimately w o n the day for the M P L A and A n g o l a b e c a m e a n i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e in 1 9 7 5 , t h u s e n d i n g 400 years o f colonial rule b y P o r t u g a l in Africa. In those territories that w e r e politically d o m i n a t e d b y w h i t e s e t t l e r s , u n l i k e t h e a r e a s d i s c u s s e d s o far, t h e d i a l e c t i c s o f liberation had i n v o l v e d n o t just the c o l o n i s e r and the c o l o n i s e d but also the white-settler element. In these territories, therefore, rather than a binary relationship, w e are c o n f r o n t e d b y a triad. T h e classic case here w a s A l g e r i a , w h i c h the F r e n c h started o c c u p y i n g in 1 8 3 4 after it h a d b e e n o c c u p i e d b y a v a r i e t y o f c o n q u e r i n g rulers in the p r e c e d i n g centuries. T h o u g h largely M u s l i m A r a b and B e r b e r in p o p u l a t i o n , A l g e r i a rapidly attracted n o n - M u s l i m E u r o p e a n settlers. W i t h i n a d e c a d e o f F r e n c h c o l ­ o n i s a t i o n , this e l e m e n t h a d g r o w n t o a b o u t 4 6 0 0 0 . B y 1880 t h e figure w a s s o m e 2 7 6 0 0 0 , r i s i n g i n 1 9 1 2 t o 7 8 1 0 0 0 a n d t o o v e r a million b y i960. W i t h the influx o f w h i t e settlers there f o l l o w e d t h e f o r c e f u l a c q u i s i t i o n o f l a n d a n d b y 1868 t h e n u m b e r s d i s p o s ­ sessed o f land h a d g r o w n so l a r g e that, in a n a t i o n - w i d e famine w h i c h b r o k e o u t t h a t y e a r , s o m e 500000 M u s l i m s w e r e f e a r e d t o h a v e died. B y 1 9 5 5 , A l g e r i a ' s settler element, w h i c h f o r m e d 11 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n , o w n e d m o r e t h a n 25 p e r c e n t o f the arable land and earned o v e r 5 o per cent o f the i n c o m e d e r i v e d f r o m a g r i c u l t u r e a n d s o m e 90 p e r c e n t o f t h a t f r o m e x p o r t s . T h e F r e n c h , b e c a u s e o f A l g e r i a ' s p r o x i m i t y a n d t h e s i z e o f its s e t t l e r p o p u l a t i o n , r e g a r d e d it as p a r t o f F r a n c e a n d a d m i n i s t e r e d it as s u c h . A s in t h e B e l g i a n a n d P o r t u g u e s e t e r r i t o r i e s , l i t t l e i f any attempt w a s made to e v o l v e or d e v e l o p local political institutions, w h i l e d e m a n d s for these w e r e met w i t h brutal r e p r e s s i o n , as i n t h e p r o t e s t m a r c h i n S e t i f i n 1 9 4 5 , a f o r e t a s t e o f revolt. A l t h o u g h the A l g e r i a n Statute o f 1947 created a local a s s e m b l y in w h i c h h a l f t h e seats w e r e h e l d b y M u s l i m s , a n d

61

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DECOLONISATION

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

p r o v i d e d for M u s l i m representation in the F r e n c h N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y , settler interests ensured that nationalists d i d n o t profit f r o m it (see C h a p t e r n ) . D e m a n d s b y n a t i o n a l i s t s f o r e f f e c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the g o v e r n m e n t o f their c o u n t r y w e r e c o n s i s t e n t l y b l o c k e d b y the w h i t e - s e t t l e r p o p u l a t i o n a n d w h e n t h e y finally resorted t o arms to press their case the settlers w e r e b a c k e d b y the F r e n c h a r m y in A l g e r i a , w h i c h b e c a m e a l a w u n t o itself and w a s prepared to defy the metropolitan g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d the latter a t t e m p t a n y r e f o r m . T h e w e a k n e s s e s and d i v i s i o n s o f the g o v e r n m e n t s o f the F o u r t h F r e n c h R e p u b l i c did n o t i m p r o v e m a t t e r s , a n d t h e A l g e r i a n r e b e l l i o n w h e n it b e g a n l e d , i n effect, t o t h e c o l l a p s e o f t h a t R e p u b l i c . R e b e l l i o n finally b r o k e o u t i n 1 9 5 4 and w a s led b y y o u n g A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s w h o had acquired s o m e measure o f cosmopolitanism and a k n o w l e d g e o f Marxist revolutionary techniques. T h e y formed the F r o n t de Liberation N a t i o n a l e ( F L N ) , w h i c h h a d as its m i l i t a r y a r m t h e A r m e e Nationale de Liberation. T h e i r rebellion spread rapidly and by 1957 had g r o w n into a full-scale w a r b e t w e e n the A l g e r i a n w h i t e s and the M u s l i m p o p u l a t i o n . A t t e m p t s b y different p r i m e ministers o f t h e F o u r t h R e p u b l i c t o find a s o l u t i o n t o t h e A l g e r i a n w a r m e t w i t h little s u c c e s s . A t t h e e n d o f M a y 1 9 5 8 , t w o w e e k s b e f o r e t h e r e s i g n a t i o n o f P r e m i e r P i e r r e P f l i m l i n , t h e last P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f t h e R e p u b l i c , A l g e r i a n s e t t l e r s h a d i n fact r e b e l l e d a g a i n s t P a r i s and there w a s a plan to take o v e r the Paris g o v e r n m e n t t h r o u g h a c o u p to be led b y c o m m a n d e r s o f the A l g e r i a n army. T h a t the c o u p did not materialise can be attributed to G e n e r a l de G a u l l e , w h o w a s i n v i t e d to take p o w e r in F r a n c e w h e n the F o u r t h R e p u b l i c c o l l a p s e d . It w a s h e w h o b y c a r e f u l m a n o e u v r i n g s u c c e e d e d in i s o l a t i n g the rebel g e n e r a l s a n d b y skilful n e g o t i a t i o n s b r o u g h t the w a r t o an e n d . D e G a u l l e ' s first m o v e w a s t o offer A l g e r i a i n 1 9 5 9 a c h o i c e between independence, integration w i t h France or association w i t h F r a n c e , w h i c h c h o i c e w a s t o b e m a d e f o u r y e a r s after t h e e n d o f hostilities. T h i s p r o n o u n c e m e n t precipitated a r e v o l t in January i960 b y the E u r o p e a n c o m m u n i t y , w h i c h rejected any t a l k o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e r e v o l t f a i l e d a n d its l e a d e r s w e r e s u b s e q u e n t l y a r r e s t e d , b u t it w a s t o b e f o l l o w e d b y a n o t h e r i n A p r i l 1 9 6 1 . O u t o f the collapse o f a third r e v o l t e m e r g e d the Organisation de T A r m e e Secrete ( O A S ) , w h i c h resorted to t e r r o r i s m a n d , c r e a t i n g fears o f r e p r i s a l s a m o n g s t t h e E u r o p e a n 62

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PATHS

TO

INDEPENDENCE

p o p u l a t i o n , forced an e x o d u s o f the settler c o m m u n i t y f r o m A l g e r i a . T h e l i q u i d a t i o n o f t h e O A S finally o p e n e d t h e w a y t o n e g o t i a t i o n s w h i c h l e d in J u l y 1 9 6 2 t o t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e o f Algeria. D i a l e c t i c a l l y , p e r h a p s o n e s h o u l d see t h e d i l e m m a o f w h i t e m i n o r i t y r u l e in A f r i c a as a p l a y in t h r e e a c t s , t h e first a c t h a v i n g b e e n p l a y e d in K e n y a w i t h t h e r e v o l t o f t h e K i k u y u ( t h e M a u - M a u r e b e l l i o n o f 1 9 5 2 - 6 ) . A s in A l g e r i a , E u r o p e a n - s e t t l e r e x p r o p r i ­ ation o f g o o d arable land w a s met w i t h m o u n t i n g resentment, especially b y the dispossessed K i k u y u , a resentment w h i c h led to t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e K e n y a A f r i c a n U n i o n in t h e late f o r t i e s u n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f J o m o K e n y a t t a (later t o b e c o m e p r i m e m i n i s t e r a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y p r e s i d e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n t K e n y a ) . W i t h little o p p o r t u n i t y o f r e d r e s s , w h a t s t a r t e d as an o r d i n a r y p o l i t i c a l p a r t y soon g r e w into a revolutionary m o v e m e n t w h i c h w a s f o l l o w e d b y o p e n r e b e l l i o n a n d t h e p r o c l a m a t i o n o f a state o f e m e r g e n c y w h i c h lasted until 1956. E v e n then c o u n t r y - w i d e political a c t i v i t y w a s n o t a l l o w e d u n t i l i 9 6 0 , a r e s t r i c t i o n w h i c h w a s later t o i n f l u e n c e , in n o s m a l l w a y , t h e p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p a t t e r n o f p o l i t i c s . I f K e n y a c a n t h e n b e t a k e n as t h e first a c t in t h e d i a l e c t i c s o f w h i t e - s e t t l e r - A f r i c a n r e l a t i o n s , A l g e r i a m a y b e s e e n as t h e m i d d l e act, w i t h w h i t e - d o m i n a t e d s o u t h e r n A f r i c a p r o v i d i n g the last a c t - after w h i c h t h e e p i t a p h f o r w h i t e r u l e i n A f r i c a m a y perhaps be written. B e f o r e the end o f o u r period, the curtain had r i s e n o n t h a t last a c t . P a r t o f t h e s c e n a r i o f o r A l g e r i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e h a d a c l o s e p a r a l l e l in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a w h e n in 1965 t h e w h i t e - m i n o r i t y s e t t l e r g r o u p r e b e l l e d a g a i n s t L o n d o n ' s efforts t o pressure them to m a k e concessions to African demands for p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e c o u n t r y ' s g o v e r n m e n t . T h e y p r o c l a i m e d t h e i r c o u n t r y i n d e p e n d e n t as ' R h o d e s i a ' , a n d t h o u g h t h e i r s t a t e w a s n e v e r r e c o g n i s e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y t h e y h a d t h e financial a n d m i l i t a r y r e s o u r c e s t o d e f y L o n d o n f o r 15 y e a r s . I n d e e d it w a s t h e s u c c e s s o f the A f r i c a n guerrilla w a r against the forces o f the illegal R h o d e s i a n r e g i m e t h a t finally b r o u g h t it t o t h e c o n f e r e n c e t a b l e a n d f o r c e d it t o a c c e p t t h e t r a n s f e r o f p o w e r f r o m t h e w h i t e minority to the black majority under Britain's supervision. B u t i n 1 9 7 5 , at t h e c l o s e o f o u r p e r i o d , it s e e m e d t h a t L o n d o n w o u l d n e v e r r e - e s t a b l i s h its a u t h o r i t y a n d t h a t t h e A l g e r i a n t r a g e d y w o u l d b e r e - e n a c t e d t h e r e . A s it w a s , d e s p i t e m u c h b l o o d s h e d o n b o t h sides, albeit o n a p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y m u c h smaller scale than 63

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

in A l g e r i a , a n d d e s p i t e t h e e x o d u s o f s o m e s e t t l e r s , t h e minority

remained

in

independent

Zimbabwe

under

white black-

majority rule w i t h entrenched political rights and a c o n t i n u i n g e c o n o m i c role. The

process

through

the

by

which

'peaceful'

independence

handing

over

was

won -

of power

whether

or

through

r e v o l u t i o n a r y insurrectionist s t r u g g l e - n o t o n l y p r o f o u n d l y influ­ e n c e d p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e e v e n t s , it a l s o e n g e n d e r e d s o m e o f t h e p r o b l e m s w h i c h the i n d e p e n d e n t states w e r e t o c o n f r o n t . T h u s , one cannot b e g i n to understand the nature o f ethnic conflicts and the w a y t h e y influenced the conflict b e t w e e n states o v e r territorial boundaries, the p r o b l e m o f military intervention and rule, and the fragility

o f political leadership

unless o n e

fits

them

into

the

c o n t e x t o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e s e t t l e m e n t . M u c h o f t h i s is d i s c u s s e d below. THE

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L

T h e constitutional inheritance

1

I N H E R I T A N C E

o f independence was not uniform

b u t v a r i e d f r o m o n e state t o the other, the differences b e i n g d u e to the format o f the decolonisation process, the nature o f the political

leadership

inheritors - and

to

the

which

character

power of

the

was

transferred -

nationalist

the

movements

( w h i c h in m o s t cases c o n v e r t e d t h e m s e l v e s into political parties) at t h e t i m e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n t h e m a i n , t h r e e b r o a d t y p e s o f constitutional

settlement

can be distinguished:

representative-parliamentary

inheritance;

2

states

states w i t h with

a

radical-

r e v o l u t i o n a r y r e g i m e s ; a n d states w i t h a c o n s e r v a t i v e - m o n a r c h i c a l settlement. The

states that e n t e r e d o n i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h

representative

parliamentary institutions w e r e , in the main, those o f a n g l o p h o n e and

francophone

East,

West

and

Central

Africa.

Relative

modernisation — o n e o f the consequences o f colonisation -

had

led t o the e m e r g e n c e in these states o f a ' n e w c l a s s ' , an e d u c a t e d elite w h o , either b e c a u s e they f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s d e n i e d

oppor­

tunities to w h i c h they t h o u g h t themselves entitled b e c a m e o p p o s e d to the colonial r e g i m e , o r because o f their e x p o s u r e to n e w ideas 1

O n the notion o f an 'inheritance* see Peter Nettl and R. Robertson, International

systems and the modernisation of societies (London, 1968). 2

T h e categorisation is quite arbitrary. For other categorisations, see, e.g., James S.

Coleman and Carl G . Rosberg (eds.), Political parties and national integration in tropical Africa (Berkeley, 1964).

64

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THE

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L

I N H E R I T A N C E

( m a n y h a d b e e n e d u c a t e d in B r i t a i n , F r a n c e o r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ) r e j e c t e d t h e w h o l e n o t i o n o f c o l o n i a l i s m itself. T h e y w e r e , i n essence, m a r g i n a l m e n w h o , e m b r a c i n g the n e w , liberal ideas they had acquired from the v a r i o u s educational institutions they had attended abroad, had b e c o m e alienated f r o m their o w n society. S e e i n g t h e m s e l v e s as p r o s p e c t i v e i n h e r i t o r s o f t h e c o l o n i a l m a n t l e , w i t h all t h e p o m p a n d p r i v i l e g e t h a t w e n t w i t h it, t h e y s p e a r h e a d e d the early nationalist m o v e m e n t s and b e c a m e the leaders o f the parties that e m e r g e d w i t h the g r a d u a l liberalisation o f the c o l o n i a l regime, the granting o f the franchise and the introduction o f representative institutions in the d e c a d e f o l l o w i n g the e n d o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . Generally, their orientation to politics w a s c o n s e r v a t i v e a n d g r a d u a l i s t , a n o r i e n t a t i o n w h i c h fitted t h e predisposition o f the colonial administrations. T w o m o d e l s w e r e in the m a i n transferred. In the f r a n c o p h o n e territories, the m o d e l w a s , m o r e often than n o t , the presidential parliamentarianism o f the Fifth F r e n c h R e p u b l i c , w h i l e in the a n g l o p h o n e states it w a s t h e ' W e s t m i n s t e r m o d e l \ I n n o c a s e w a s a n y a t t e m p t m a d e at a c h i e v i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a u t o c h t h o n y i n t h e m a n n e r o f I n d i a . B u t in e v e r y i n s t a n c e , n o s o o n e r h a d i n d e p e n ­ dence been w o n than constitutional and other changes w e r e i n t r o d u c e d w h i c h h a d t h e effect o f r a d i c a l l y m o d i f y i n g t h e s p i r i t if n o t n e c e s s a r i l y t h e f o r m o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i n h e r i t a n c e . I n m o s t cases, the pattern f o l l o w e d p r o v e d t o be quite similar. First, ruling parties s o u g h t a m o n o p o l y o f political p o w e r b y e x c l u d i n g or eliminating c o m p e t i n g parties f r o m the political arena. T h e tactics f o l l o w e d v a r i e d f r o m the g e r r y m a n d e r i n g o f constituencies and electoral manipulation, and the c o e r c i o n and sometimes imprisonment o f opposition candidates, to outright proscription o f o p p o s i t i o n parties. F r o m a multi-party system, the r e g i m e b e c a m e q u i c k l y c o n v e r t e d i n t o e i t h e r a de jure o r a de facto s i n g l e p a r t y s t a t e : f o r e x a m p l e , t h e P a r t i D é m o c r a t i q u e d e la C ô t e National d ' I v o i r e , led b y H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y , the U n i t e d I n d e p e n d e n c e Party o f Z a m b i a , led b y K e n n e t h K a u n d a , o r the N é o - D e s t o u r o f T u n i s i a led b y H a b i b B o u r g u i b a . T h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f the single-party state w a s f o l l o w e d b y the fusion o f the roles o f h e a d o f g o v e r n m e n t a n d h e a d o f state in the p e r s o n o f the president, w h o w a s then often m a d e * presidentfor-life'. T h e legislature b e c a m e increasingly e m a s c u l a t e d as, u n d e r t h e s i n g l e p a r t y , it w a s s y s t e m a t i c a l l y s u b o r d i n a t e d t o t h e 65

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DECOLONISATION

executive

while

the

AND

executive

INDEPENDENCE

itself

was

converted

into

i n s t r u m e n t for effecting the w i l l o f the president. O t h e r

an

changes

f o l l o w e d as t h e j u d i c i a r y w a s m a d e t o s e r v e t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e e x e c u t i v e and the security forces w e r e c o n v e r t e d into para-political extensions

of

the

ruling

party.

Frantz

Fanon

gave

a

good

description o f this p r o c e s s o f c h a n g e w h e n he w r o t e :

Before independence, the leader generally embodies the aspirations of the people for independence, political liberty and national dignity. But as soon as independence is declared, far from embodying in concrete form the needs of the people in what touches bread, land and the restoration of the country to the sacred hands of the people, the leader will reveal his inner purpose: to become the general president of that company of profiteers impatient for their returns which constitutes the national bourgeoisie. 1

I n d e p e n d e n c e and the paraphernalia o f a constitutional

settlement

thus b e c a m e n o m o r e than a restoration o f the m e d i e v a l d i c t u m :

quod principi placuit, legis vigorem habet. The

independent

states

of

Africa

with

radical-revolutionary

r e g i m e s c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o t w o s u b - c a t e g o r i e s . I n t h e first w e r e states s u c h

as G h a n a ,

Guinea,

Mali and

Tanzania

(formerly

T a n g a n y i k a a n d Z a n z i b a r ) w h i c h at t h e t i m e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a political

settlement

parliamentary' existence

of

not

regimes. mass

unlike What

that o f the differentiated

populist-oriented

had

'representativethem

political

was

parties

the

and

a

leadership e s p o u s i n g socialist or n e o - M a r x i s t i d e o l o g y . A g o o d e x a m p l e w a s the Parti D é m o c r a t i q u e de G u i n é e ( P D G ) led b y S é k o u T o u r é and built o n the C o n f é d é r a t i o n du

Travail, a federation

o f trade unions.

M o r g e n t h a u n o t e d in h e r c l a s s i c s t u d y

speaking West Africa,

Générale

A s Ruth

Schachter

Political parties in French-

to the leaders o f the P D G ,

party and trade union were one. The trade union experience of many PDG leaders affected their ideas as well as their style of living, speaking, writing and acting. Since they held jobs low in the administrative hierarchy, they lived of necessity close to the people. Many had but irregular incomes; their housing was bad, few had cars, their clothes were simple. They relied on their colleagues or relations when in need, and made virtues of the labels pinned on them by their adversaries - * illiterates*, 'vagrants' and * badly dressed'. 2

!

F r a n t z F a n o n , The wretched of the earth ( N e w Y o r k , 1963), 134.

2

Ruth

Schachter

Morgenthau,

Political parties

in French-speaking

( O x f o r d , 1964), 230.

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West

Africa

THE

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L I N H E R I T A N C E

Similarly, in G h a n a m e m b e r s o f K w a m e N k r u m a h ' s C o n v e n t i o n People's Party

were designated

'verandah

boys'

and

'prison

graduates'. But t h o u g h radical and r e v o l u t i o n a r y in orientation, the pattern o f i m m e d i a t e p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e political d e v e l o p m e n t in these s t a t e s d i d n o t differ, in e s s e n t i a l s , f r o m t h a t i n t h e ' r e p r e s e n t a t i v e parliamentary' regimes. Representative institutions and the elec­ t o r a l p r o c e s s w e r e p r o g r e s s i v e l y u n d e r m i n e d as t h e s u p r e m a c y o f the party w a s p r o c l a i m e d . In N k r u m a h ' s G h a n a , for e x a m p l e , n o e l e c t i o n s t o t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y w e r e h e l d after

1958. T h e

a s s e m b l y s i m p l y e x t e n d e d its life b y l e g i s l a t i v e a p p r o v a l o f its m e m b e r s . T h e pattern w a s similar in G u i n e a and M a l i , w h e r e the p a r t y C o n g r e s s m e t t o r a t i f y t h e list o f c a n d i d a t e s f o r t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y d r a w n u p b y the president and the party e x e c u t i v e . T a n z a n i a , in this r e s p e c t , p r o v e d t o b e a n e x c e p t i o n . T h o u g h a

de jure

o n e - p a r t y state w i t h N y e r e r e , leader o f the T a n g a n y i k a

African

National

maintained

on

U n i o n , as p r e s i d e n t ,

the

mainland

Tanzania

the institutions

1

nevertheless

she inherited

at

i n d e p e n d e n c e , w i t h s o m e f r e e d o m o f e l e c t o r a l c h o i c e still b e i n g retained

by

the

electorate.

Unlike

Ghana,

Guinea

or

Mali,

T a n z a n i a m a d e d e f i n i t e m o v e s t o w a r d s t h e r e a l i s a t i o n o f its i d e a l o f participatory d e m o c r a c y a n d in that respect w a s p e r h a p s u n i q u e amongst African states. The

2

second sub-category o f the radical-revolutionary regimes

c o m p r i s e d t h o s e states - A l g e r i a , M o z a m b i q u e , A n g o l a , G u i n e a Bissau and the C a p e V e r d e Islands - w h i c h a c h i e v e d i n d e p e n d e n c e not through bargaining but by 'internal w a r ' .

3

T h e s e w e r e states

w h i c h at t h e t i m e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e h a d n o i n h e r i t e d p o l i t i c a l i n ­ stitutions ( A l g e r i a b e i n g s o m e t h i n g o f an e x c e p t i o n , see a b o v e p p . 6 1 - 2 ) b u t c a m e i n t o e x i s t e n c e as ' g a r r i s o n s t a t e s ' political

rhetoric

was

that

derived

from

the

4

w h e r e the

revolutionary

experience o f guerrilla warfare. T h a t experience was

oriented

m a i n l y at w i n n i n g t h e s y m p a t h y a n d g o o d w i l l , o r at t h e w o r s t , t h e s i m p l e t o l e r a n c e , o f t h e p e a s a n t r y in t h o s e a r e a s w h i c h , b e f o r e i n 1

The reference here is specifically to Tanganyika. The union of that territory with Zanzibar is called Tanzania. Socialism and participation, the Election Study Committee, University of Dar es Salaam (Dar es Salaam, 1974). Harry Eckstein (ed.), Internal war: problems and approaches (New York, 1964). H. D. Lasswell: 'The garrison-state hypotheses today', in Samuel P. Huntington (ed.), Changing patterns of military politics (New York, 1962). 2

3

4

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AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

d e p e n d e n c e , w e r e held b y the nationalist guerrilla leaders t h r o u g h force o f arms. T h o u g h practice varied from o n e place to the other d e p e n d i n g o n the nature o f the local c o m m u n i t i e s and the state o f t h e g u e r r i l l a w a r , n e v e r t h e l e s s t h e p r i n c i p a l t h r u s t o f effort w a s t o w a r d s the formation o f self-administering local c o m m i t t e e s representing g r o u p s o f small villages, committees w h o s e respon­ sibilities w e r e then p r o g r e s s i v e l y w i d e n e d t o c o v e r functions s u c h as l o c a l j u s t i c e a n d s e c u r i t y , e d u c a t i o n a n d h e a l t h a n d c o o p e r a t i v e p r o d u c t i o n a n d m a r k e t i n g as t h e l i b e r a t e d a r e a s w e r e m a d e m o r e secure. F r o m this there d e v e l o p e d the m o d e l w h i c h t h e i n d e p e n d e n t state e v e n t u a l l y a d o p t e d , a m o d e l b a s e d at e a c h level o f o r g a n i s a t i o n o n an elected a s s e m b l y o f delegates w h i c h in t u r n e l e c t e d a n e x e c u t i v e c o m m i t t e e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r p o l i c y ­ m a k i n g at t h a t l e v e l a n d a c c o u n t a b l e - i n p r i n c i p l e - t o t h e a s s e m b l y w h i c h e l e c t e d it. G e n e r a l l y , t h e a i m w a s t o m a x i m i s e p o p u l a r p a r t i c i p a t i o n at e a c h l e v e l o f g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e o r g a n i s i n g p r i n c i p l e c o u l d p e r h a p s b e d e s c r i b e d as a f o r m o f d e m o c r a t i c centralism. T h o u g h this w a s the m o d e l established in G u i n e a - B i s s a u a n d C a p e V e r d e , i n e s s e n t i a l s it is n o t u n r e p r e s e n ­ t a t i v e o f w h a t o b t a i n e d in M o z a m b i q u e a n d A n g o l a . It is far f r o m certain h o w l o n g such a neo-populist, ' n e o - M a r x i s t ' f r a m e w o r k can persist. A l g e r i a — w h i c h also had a r e v o l u t i o n a r y e x p e r i e n c e and a colonial b a c k g r o u n d n o t t o o dissimilar f r o m that o f M o z a m b i q u e - had, under Ben Bella, s o u g h t to experiment w i t h a s o c i a l i s t f r a m e w o r k s o o n after it b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t . B u t within three years o f independence B e n Bella w a s to be arrested and imprisoned by the military-backed C o l o n e l B o u m e d i e n n e , w h o castigated B e n Bella for calling for ' the w i t h e r i n g a w a y o f t h e s t a t e ' w h e n t h e state w a s y e t t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d . T w e l v e y e a r s later, after t h e c o u p t h a t o v e r t h r e w B e n B e l l a i n 1 9 6 5 , A l g e r i a h a d b e c o m e , like m a n y o f the o t h e r A f r i c a n states, a o n e - m a n p r e s i d e n t i a l i s t state (see C h a p t e r 1 1 ) . T h i r d l y , t h e r e w a s a g r o u p o f states w h i c h e m b a r k e d o n i n d e ­ pendence with a conservative-monarchical settlement, notably M o r o c c o , Ethiopia and Libya, to w h i c h may be added L e s o t h o and Swaziland and, for c o n v e n i e n c e , Zaire. (Technically Tunisia w a s a m o n a r c h y at i n d e p e n d e n c e b u t it w a s p r o c l a i m e d a r e p u b l i c shortly afterwards.) T h e inclusion o f Zaire may seem o d d , but t h o u g h , after t h e c h a o s o f 1 9 6 0 - 4 , G e n e r a l M o b u t u ( w h o s u b s e 68

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THE

CONSTITUTIONAL

I N H E R I T A N C E

q u e n t l y r e n a m e d h i m s e l f M o b u t u S e s e S e k o ) e m e r g e d as P r e s i ­ dent o f C o n g o - K i n s h a s a (Zaire), the Z a i r e a n r e g i m e b e c a m e e s s e n t i a l l y m o n a r c h i c a l i n m u c h t h e s a m e s e n s e as M o r o c c o ' s r e g i m e c o u l d b e s a i d t o b e s o . L e s o t h o at i n d e p e n d e n c e c o u l d b e d e s c r i b e d as a ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l m o n a r c h y ' w i t h P a r a m o u n t C h i e f M o t l o t l e h i M o s h w e s h w e I I as k i n g : f o u r y e a r s after i n d e p e n ­ dence, C h i e f L e a b u a Jonathan, then prime minister, extra-legally seized p o w e r and placed the k i n g u n d e r house-arrest. M o r o c c o , e v e n b e f o r e its o c c u p a t i o n a n d c o l o n i s a t i o n b y France, w a s a m o n a r c h y u n d e r the rule o f a sultan. U n d e r F r e n c h r u l e t h e m o n a r c h y w a s p r e s e r v e d a n d at i n d e p e n d e n c e M o r o c c o remained a monarchy under M o h a m m e d V ben Youssef. In Libya, t h e S a n u s i E m i r o f C y r e n a i c a e m e r g e d as K i n g M u h a m m e d I d r l s o f L i b y a w h e n the former Italian p r o v i n c e s o f F e z z a n , Tripolitania a n d C y r e n a i c a w e r e m e r g e d t o g e t h e r i n 1 9 5 1 t o f o r m t h e n e w state. B u t after j u s t o v e r a d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e m o n a r c h y i n L i b y a w a s to be abolished b y the military, led b y C o l o n e l Q a d h d h a f i (Gadafi). T h e restored m o n a r c h y o f Haile Selassie w a s o v e r t h r o w n a n d r e p l a c e d b y a r a d i c a l m i l i t a r y r e g i m e at t h e e n d o f o u r period, b y w h i c h time the c o n s e r v a t i v e - m o n a r c h i c a l r e g i m e w a s an e x o t i c f o r m o f g o v e r n m e n t o n t h e c o n t i n e n t . Independence - and the political settlement that c a m e w i t h it - w a s n o t w i t h o u t its a t t e n d a n t d i f f i c u l t i e s . T h e r e w a s h a r d l y a state i n A f r i c a i n w h i c h , w i t h i n a d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e r e w a s n o t a m i l i t a r y c o u p o r a t t e m p t e d c o u p . D a h o m e y (later t h e R e p u b l i c o f B e n i n ) e x p e r i e n c e d n o less t h a n s e v e n c o u p s w i t h i n t h e first t e n y e a r s o f its i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n f a c t , s o p r e v a l e n t w e r e military c o u p s that civil g o v e r n m e n t s b e c a m e the e x c e p t i o n rather than the rule in the n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t states. N o t o n l y c o u p s ; i n d e p e n d e n c e a l s o b r o u g h t w i t h it c i v i l w a r s , as in N i g e r i a , C h a d , the S u d a n and the ancient k i n g d o m o f E t h i o p i a . T o civil w a r s must be added the spate o f inter-state w a r s o v e r disputed b o u n d a r i e s : between A l g e r i a and M o r o c c o ; K e n y a and Somalia; Somalia and E t h i o p i a ; the S u d a n and E t h i o p i a ; A l g e r i a and M o r o c c o and Mauritania o v e r Spanish Sahara; Zaire and A n g o l a o v e r sections o f A n g o l a ; and to a lesser extent b e t w e e n N i g e r i a and C a m e r o u n . T h e s i t u a t i o n is i n n o w a y i m p r o v e d w h e n w e a d d i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s o v e r e t h n i c b o u n d a r i e s . O f t h e 43 o r m o r e i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states, o n l y S o m a l i a can p e r h a p s c l a i m a h o m o g e n e o u s 69

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DECOLONISATION

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

p o p u l a t i o n . C h a d and the S u d a n w e r e almost f r o m the time o f their accession to i n d e p e n d e n c e c o n f r o n t e d b y secessionist w a r s w h i l e N i g e r i a h a d t o fight a b i t t e r c i v i l w a r f o r c l o s e o n t h r e e y e a r s t o maintain her territorial integrity. W h e n o n e realises that in a state s u c h as N i g e r i a t h e r e a r e o v e r t w o h u n d r e d e t h n i c g r o u p s , s o m e w i t h p o p u l a t i o n s g r e a t e r than t h o s e of, for instance, G a b o n , Mauritania, N i g e r and U p p e r V o l t a , then one begins to appreciate the potential for internal conflict w h i c h the ethnic h e t e r o g e n e i t y o f A f r i c a n societies p o s e s for the n e w states. T h i s potential w a s all t h e m o r e real b y r e a s o n o f t h e l o w l e v e l o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o n o f political structures, the parochial nature o f political socialisation and the ' p r i m i t i v e ' means o f social c o m m u n i c a t i o n and m o b i l i ­ s a t i o n w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i s e d t h e s e s t a t e s . T h e r e is l i t t l e d o u b t t h e n that disputes o v e r the borders created b y colonial rule will remain t o p l a g u e t h e n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e s in t h e y e a r s t o c o m e . B e t h a t as it m a y , it m i g h t b e as w e l l t o t a k e a c l o s e r l o o k at s o m e of

the

other

problems

that

have

arisen

in

the

wake

of

independence.

THE

BUREAUCRACY

AND

THE

ECONOMY

I n all t h e n e w s t a t e s o f A f r i c a , t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s n o t o n l y t h e l a r g e s t s i n g l e e m p l o y e r o f l a b o u r , it w a s a l s o t h e ' p r i m e m o v e r ' 1

e c o n o m i c a l l y and politically. B e c a u s e the p u b l i c sector w a s so d o m i n a n t , there can be n o meaningful discussion o f the p r o b l e m s o f the n e w states that d o e s n o t take i n t o a c c o u n t the p l a c e a n d r o l e o f t h e b u r e a u c r a c y in t h e m . It h a s in fact b e e n a r g u e d t h a t it w o u l d b e u n r e a l t o t h i n k o f a n y t y p e o f n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t in t h e s e states in w h i c h t h e b u r e a u c r a c y , e v e n i f its r o l e w e r e limited to the p r o v i s i o n o f data, a d v i c e , and m a n a g e m e n t expertise, 2

w a s e x c l u d e d . M o r e o v e r , m o s t o f the i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states exhibited a high degree o f ethnic, religious and cultural hetero­ g e n e i t y , a n d as t h e h i s t o r i e s o f c o u n t r i e s l i k e J a p a n , after t h e M e i j i R e s t o r a t i o n , a n d G e r m a n y a n d I t a l y in t h e n i n e t e e n t h

century

have s h o w n , a centralised bureaucracy can be o f crucial importance 1

T h e percentages of w a g e and salary earners employed in the public sector in 1965 were: Somalia, 60; Sudan, 5 7; T o g o , 48; Nigeria, 4 1 ; Ghana, 3 5; Senegal, 3 5; Tanzania, 3 2; K e n y a , 29. G o v e r n m e n t spending as a percentage of G N P , 1961, gives the following figures: Somalia, 19; Sudan, 16; T o g o , 1 3 ; Nigeria, 1 1 ; Ghana, 26; Tanzania, 18; K e n y a , 17; Senegal, 24. (Source: Morrison et al., Black Africa, tables 7.3 and 9.4.) Joseph La Palombara (ed.), Bureaucracy and political development (Princeton, 1969). 2

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BUREAUCRACY

in t h e f o r m a t i o n

AND

o f a national

THE

ECONOMY

entity out

o f a socio-cultural

p l u r a l i t y . B u t t h o u g h s o c e n t r a l , t h e b u r e a u c r a c y in t h e A f r i c a n states p o s e d a n u m b e r o f p r o b l e m s . W i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f E g y p t , new

1

the bureaucracy w a s largely a

creation for m o s t A f r i c a n states, an artifact o f c o l o n i a l i s m ,

w h i c h g r e w in m o s t c a s e s o u t o f E u r o p e a n m i l i t a r y o c c u p a t i o n , a n d m o s t o f its first m e m b e r s , as h a s b e e n p o i n t e d o u t b y o n e c o m m e n t a t o r , ' w e r e military personnel d r a w n from the colonial regiments

and

occupation

forces'.

2

Because o f the

need

to

m a i n t a i n o r d e r in t h e c o l o n i s e d t e r r i t o r i e s , t h i s w a s t h e i n i t i a l orientation o f the civil servants in the n e w states. T h e y w e r e rarely d e v e l o p m e n t - o r i e n t e d , an a c t i v i t y w h i c h b e f o r e the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w a s l a r g e l y left t o m i s s i o n a r i e s , t r a d i n g c o m p a n i e s , a n d , in t h e white-settled areas, to the i m m i g r a n t E u r o p e a n p o p u l a t i o n . E v e n w h e n , w i t h increasing modernisation and rapid political c h a n g e , p a r t i c u l a r l y after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , t h e b u r e a u c r a c y b e c a m e i n v o l v e d in m o r e c o m p l e x a d m i n i s t r a t i v e tasks, v e r y little w a s d o n e t o d e v e l o p i n d i g e n o u s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n it at t h e p o l i c y - m a k i n g l e v e l . I n d e e d , t h e e x p a n s i o n o f t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e s after t h e w a r t o meet

the

more

c o m p l e x tasks

that

the

bureaucracy

had

to

c o n f r o n t r e s u l t e d in w h a t h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d as a s e c o n d c o l o n i a l invasion. A s l a t e as 19 5 o i n t h e a n g l o p h o n e a n d f r a n c o p h o n e s t a t e s , w h e r e m o r e attention w a s g i v e n to the d e v e l o p m e n t o f an i n d i g e n o u s b u r e a u c r a c y t h a n it w a s in t h e B e l g i a n , P o r t u g u e s e a n d S p a n i s h territories, the managerial, s u p e r v i s o r y , professional, senior tech­ nical and o t h e r u p p e r levels o f the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n w e r e l a r g e l y held by E u r o p e a n s . T h e j o b o f d i s m a n t l i n g this racial structure w a s h a r d l y b e g u n in W e s t A f r i c a b e f o r e 1 9 4 8 , a n d i n E a s t a n d C e n t r a l Africa not before 1954 and i960 respectively. A s A . L . A d u noted, ' t h e p a t t e r n b e f o r e t h e c h a n g e [in t h e a n g l o p h o n e states] w a s t h a t E u r o p e a n s filled all " s e n i o r " s e r v i c e p o s t s , t h a t i s , r e s p o n s i b l e p o s t s in the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , e x e c u t i v e , p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d technical g r a d e s . L o c a l p e r s o n n e l w e r e r e c r u i t e d t o fill t h e " j u n i o r " s e r v i c e p o s t s in t h e j u n i o r e x e c u t i v e , c l e r i c a l , s e m i - s k i l l e d a n d u n s k i l l e d industrial and manipulative grades.' In East and Central Africa, he a d d e d , ' the situation w a s further c o m p l i c a t e d b y the i n t e r v e n t i o n 1

M o r roe Berger, Bureaucracy and society in modern Egypt: a study of the higher civil service

(Princeton, 1957). 2

A . L. A d u , The civil service in the Commonwealth of Africa (London, 1969), 17.

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A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

o f the i m m i g r a n t E u r o p e a n , A s i a n and " c o l o u r e d " c o m m u n i t i e s who

filled

intermediate grade positions b e t w e e n the

expatriate

E u r o p e a n and the A f r i c a n s . T h e y o c c u p i e d w h a t in W e s t A f r i c a n t e r m s m a y b e d e s c r i b e d as t h e

more

junior

o f the

so-called

" E u r o p e a n " a p p o i n t m e n t s and the m o r e senior o f the A f r i c a n appointments.'

1

T h e n e e d r a p i d l y t o A f r i c a n i s e t h e b u r e a u c r a c y in t h e A f r i c a n s t a t e s m e a n t t h a t at i n d e p e n d e n c e m o s t h a d c i v i l s e r v i c e s i n w h i c h key decision-making posts had been

filled

either by relatively

inexperienced, though educated, personnel, or by people

who

w e r e e x p e r i e n c e d b u t n o t adequately e d u c a t e d . E v e n this g e n e r ­ alisation has t o b e qualified. In

states

where one party

was

d o m i n a n t b e f o r e i n d e p e n d e n c e , it w a s n o t s o m u c h t h e r e l a t i v e c o m p e t e n c e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l as h i s o s t e n s i b l e l o y a l t y t o t h e p a r t y that b e c a m e the

prime

consideration

in the

filling

of

posts.

Africanisation thus b e c a m e a m e t h o d o f ensuring that k n o w n party supporters w e r e rewarded, and the n o t i o n o f merit g a v e w a y to that o f favouritism. T h e p l u m s o f independence w e r e ready for t h e p i c k i n g b y t h e ' l o y a l ' . I n s t a t e s s u c h as N i g e r i a a n d K e n y a , w h e r e ethnic considerations had been a v e r y i m p o r t a n t factor in t h e s t r u g g l e f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e , it w a s t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s e t h n i c o r i g i n w h i c h m a t t e r e d as t h e v a r i o u s e t h n i c g r o u p s c o m p e t e d t o r e a p t h e fruits o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n e i t h e r c a s e , t h e e n d r e s u l t w a s t h e s a m e : efficiency w a s sacrificed t o the d e m a n d s o f political e x p e d i e n c y . T h e a n g l o p h o n e a n d f r a n c o p h o n e states c o u l d , h o w e v e r , b e said t o h a v e b e e n r e l a t i v e l y f o r t u n a t e . T h e s i t u a t i o n i n t h e B e l g i a n c o l o n i e s w a s m o r e d i s m a l , as t a b l e 2.2 s h o w s . Z a i r e , o n c e m o r e , p r o v i d e s a classic e x a m p l e o f the situation w i t h respect t o the b u r e a u c r a c y in the B e l g i a n territories. A t the time o f independence

in

i 9 6 0 t h e r e w e r e o n l y 30 C o n g o l e s e

( Z a i r e a n s ) w h o h a d u n i v e r s i t y d e g r e e s , w h i l e 350 w e r e e n r o l l e d in the C o n g o ' s t w o universities. T h e total e n r o l m e n t in s e c o n d a r y schools w a s 1 3 5 8 3 . T h e result w a s that w h e n i n d e p e n d e n c e c a m e t h e r e w e r e h a r d l y a n y C o n g o l e s e t o m a n t h e b u r e a u c r a c y (see t a b l e 2.3). P r i o r t o 1 9 5 9 , there h a d in fact b e e n t w o c i v i l s e r v i c e s in the C o n g o : the civil service proper,

w h i c h w a s restricted

to

the

E u r o p e a n p o p u l a t i o n , a n d an auxiliary s e r v i c e in w h i c h A f r i c a n s w e r e t o be f o u n d . W h e n in 1 9 5 9 , b y the Statut U n i q u e , 1

Ibid., 21. 72

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

the

BUREAUCRACY

T a b l e 2.2.

AND

THE

ECONOMY

Secondary school enrolment ipjo and selected countries. Total estimated population

1966:

Secondary school enrolment

(1969) in

Country

thousands

1950

1966

10.9 56.7 3.8

8000 21437 2288 *37

49223 202683 *5 574 4668

Kenya Nigeria Senegal Central African Republic Zaire Rwanda Burundi Source-.

Morrison

T a b l e 2.3.

Rank i

2 3 4 5-7

Source-.

1.5 20.6 3-5 3-5 et al., Black Africa,

6

52309 2900 2932

953 247 350

tables5.9,

5.10,

and

1.4.

Composition of the civilservice in the Congo, i960.

Minimum educational requirement

Europeans

university university university 2 yrs university complete secondary four years primary secondary Crawford Young,

106 1004 3 5 32 5 159 0

Africans 0 I

2 800 11000

Politics in the Congo, 402.

bureaucracy was consolidated and seven grades established, only s o m e 800 C o n g o l e s e w e r e f o u n d s u i t a b l e f o r r e c r u i t m e n t t o t h e fourth rank, w h i c h had previously been exclusive to Europeans. T h e r e f o r e , w h e n t h e B e l g i a n s p u l l e d o u t o f t h e C o n g o at independence, the n e w A f r i c a n leaders found they barely had a c i v i l s e r v i c e , f o r w i t h o n l y 30 g r a d u a t e s a v a i l a b l e t o fill o v e r 4000 vacated posts, o n e c o u l d hardly talk o f the C o n g o l e s e inheriting a bureaucracy. It h a s b e e n s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e b u r e a u c r a c y h a s a c r u c i a l r o l e 73

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

DECOLONISATION

AND

INDEPENDENCE

t o p l a y in t h e p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e n e w states in A f r i c a . B u t this is a r o l e f o r w h i c h t h e c o l o n i a l b u r e a u c r a c y w a s n o t d e s i g n e d a n d t h e r e f o r e it h a d t o b e c o n s i d e r a b l y a d a p t e d t o m e e t t h e d e m a n d s o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n s t a t e s . Y e t it w a s at t h e t i m e w h e n n e w orientations had to be f o r m e d for p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g that the b u r e a u c r a c y h a d t o face t h e d i s l o c a t i o n s c a u s e d b y A f r i c a n i sation and restructuring. In m o s t cases, the ' n e w m e n ' had neither the capabilities n o r the e x p e r i e n c e to c o p e w i t h the tasks they w e r e c o n f r o n t e d w i t h - f o r e x a m p l e , f o r m u l a t i n g t h e n e w ' five-year d e v e l o p m e n t plans ' w h i c h became fashionable w i t h independence - w h i l e i n t e r f e r e n c e in m a t t e r s p e r t a i n i n g t o a p p o i n t m e n t s a n d p r o m o t i o n s b y the n e w political leaders u n d e r m i n e d w h a t traditions o f d i s c i p l i n e , i n t e g r i t y a n d i m p a r t i a l i t y h a d e x i s t e d p r e v i o u s l y in the civil service. Besides b e i n g ill-equipped for the n e w role e x p e c t e d o f t h e m , t h e ' n e w m e n as i n h e r i t o r s o f t h e p o s t s v a c a t e d b y t h e i r e r s t w h i l e c o l o n i a l m a s t e r s , in m o s t c a s e s a l s o f o u g h t t o r e t a i n a n d t o p r e s e r v e t h e p r i v i l e g e s a n d p e r q u i s i t e s o f t h e offices t h e y h a d c o m e t o o c c u p y , a n t i t h e t i c a l as t h e s e o f t e n w e r e t o t h e n e e d s o f t h e n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t states. I n s e e k i n g t o m a i n t a i n t h e a u r a o f t h e i r offices, t h e y s u c c e e d e d o n l y in c u t t i n g t h e m s e l v e s o f f f r o m t h e r e a l i t i e s o f their societies and in the p r o c e s s b e c a m e , w i t h the political l e a d e r s , a n e w b r e e d o f p r i v i l e g e d é l i t e , f o r w h o m , as in t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , all e l s e h a d t o b e s a c r i f i c e d . P o l i c y - m a k i n g , in t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , c o u l d n o t b u t b e h a p h a z a r d , as t h e p r i o r i t i e s o f the society w e r e distorted to suit the d e m a n d s o f this élite. T h e bureaucracy, b y the dialectics o f independence, b e c a m e , like the c o l o n i a l s y s t e m , a b u r d e n t o t h e n e w states. I n m o s t o f t h e s e , a d ­ ministrative costs s o o n accounted for m o r e than sixty per cent o f the r e c u r r e n t b u d g e t . F o r t h e s e ' soft states to use the l a n g u a g e o f G u n n a r M y r d a l , the distinguished S w e d i s h d e v e l o p m e n t economist, w i t h party structures w h i c h hardly extended b e y o n d the main urban centres and barely existent local political structures, the d i l e m m a s p o s e d b y a politicised bureaucratic s y s t e m l a c k i n g the necessary techno-managerial skills b e c a m e a l m o s t o v e r w h e l m ­ ing. T h e situation w a s exacerbated by a w a g e structure and an educational f r a m e w o r k w h i c h discriminated against the acquisi­ tion o f managerial skills and expertise but placed a p r e m i u m o n a literary and ' l i b e r a l education w h i c h w a s barely c o n s o n a n t w i t h the technocratic requirements o f a d e v e l o p i n g society. 9

74

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SOCIAL

MOBILISATION

SOCIAL

MOBILISATION

M o s t A f r i c a n states p r o v e d n o t u n m i n d f u l o f the

shortcomings

o f their public services and m a n y initiated schemes for retraining and reorganisation. B u t if the p r o b l e m s p o s e d b y the b u r e a u c r a c y lack o f (or inadequate)

-

skills, inexperience, inefficiency - w e r e

p a r t l y s o l v e d b y t h e s e s c h e m e s , it w a s n o t o b v i o u s t h a t

those

p o s e d b y the structure o f the society and the e c o n o m y w e r e so amenable. O n e o f t h e l e g a c i e s o f c o l o n i a l i s m in t h e i n d e p e n d e n t

African

states w a s the s u p e r - i m p o s i t i o n o f a n e w stratificational

pattern

o n the traditional social structure. Since independence, not only d i d this n e w p a t t e r n ( w h i c h o w e d itself m o r e t o

western-type

education than to any other single factor) displace and replace the traditional social structure, b u t the different strata t e n d e d in fact to rigidify, thereby creating w h a t has b e e n described b y m a n y o b s e r v e r s as a n ' e l i t e - m a s s ' g a p , o n e o f t h e m a i n s o u r c e s o f instability in the i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states. In traditional s o c i e t y , status w a s defined either in k i n s h i p o r lineage terms,

or by age and

sex. W i t h the creation

of

new

bureaucratic roles w h i c h required a formal education, the colonial state i n t r o d u c e d a n e w criterion for status differentiation, a n d the acquisition o f a formal education rapidly b e c a m e the passport to upward

mobility

independence,

in

some

the five

emergent different

stratification

levels o f this

system.

s y s t e m c o u l d be d i s t i n g u i s h e d in the v a r i o u s A f r i c a n states. topmost

stratum,

w h i c h for purposes

At

stratificational 1

The

of convenience may

be

designated the ' u p p e r class', and w h i c h w a s c o m p o s e d o f ap­ proximately one per cent o f the total population, w a s itself m a d e up

of

two

segments,

the

bureaucratic-professional

and

the

c o m m e r c i a l . T h e former w a s c o m p o s e d o f the u p p e r echelons o f the

bureaucracy

(including parastatals),

the

military,

lawyers,

d o c t o r s , m a n a g e r s and u n i v e r s i t y teachers, the e d u c a t e d elite w h o h a d h a d at l e a s t t h r e e y e a r s o f u n i v e r s i t y e d u c a t i o n ; w h i l e t h e l a t t e r c o m p r i s e d the large farmers g r o w i n g e x p o r t c r o p s and the b i g mercantile-contracting class, often linked w i t h foreign interests 1

E. De

and

the

K a d t and

'political class' with

whom

G . Williams (eds.), Sociology and development

they

financial shared

(London,

a

1974);

R. Sandbrook and R. Cohen (eds.), The development of an African working class (London, 1975); I. G . Shivji, Class struggles in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam, 1975).

75

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DECOLONISATION

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

c o m m o n interest, that o f furthering their e c o n o m i c ends t h r o u g h t h e m a n i p u l a t i o n a n d c o n t r o l o f t h e m a c h i n e r y o f state. T h e s e c o n d stratum, w h i c h m i g h t be t e r m e d t h e ' m i d d l e class ', a l s o f o r m e d t w o s e g m e n t s , t h e first c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e e x e c u t i v e , technical and clerical cadres o f the bureaucracy, the junior ranks o f the military, s c h o o l teachers and the like. T h e s e m a d e u p s o m e t w o per cent o f the total p o p u l a t i o n , w h i l e the other s e g m e n t , c o m p r i s i n g s o m e ten per cent o f the p o p u l a t i o n , c o u l d b e defined r e s i d u a l l y as t h e petite bourgeoisie, t h o s e w h o w e r e n e i t h e r m e m b e r s o f the * u p p e r class ', n o r o f the third o r f o u r t h strata - the ' w o r k i n g c l a s s ' (or proletariat) o r the ' p e a s a n t s ' . T h e s e w e r e the ' p e t t y t r a d e r s ' , u s u a l l y s e l f - e m p l o y e d , w i t h little o r n o f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n a n d o w n i n g v e r y little c a p i t a l . T h e proletariat w a s made u p o f the skilled, semi-skilled and u n s k i l l e d l a b o u r e r s , w h o , l i k e t h e petit-bourgeois m e m b e r s o f t h e m i d d l e class h a d a c q u i r e d little, i f a n y , f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n . T h i s s t r a t u m a c c o u n t e d f o r b e t w e e n five a n d e i g h t p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a n d i n states w h e r e u n i o n i s a t i o n w a s p e r m i t t e d , w a s usually organised into trade unions. T h e fourth stratum, w h i c h f o r m e d s o m e t h i n g b e t w e e n 70 a n d 80 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , consisted o f the peasants, the ' s u b s i s t e n c e f a r m e r s ' , w h o m o r e often than n o t w e r e illiterate and w e r e usually t o be f o u n d f a r m i n g land n o t m u c h m o r e than an acre in area. T o t h e f o r e g o i n g m u s t b e a d d e d a fifth s t r a t u m , t h e e v e r ­ g r o w i n g class o f u n e m p l o y e d - and p o s s i b l y u n e m p l o y a b l e p r i m a r y - s c h o o l leavers and s c h o o l ' d r o p - o u t s ' . T h i s class w a s the creation largely o f the p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e era and a p r o d u c t o f t w o m a i n f a c t o r s . T h e first w a s t h e e x p l o s i o n i n f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n w h i c h generally a c c o m p a n i e d the a p p r o a c h to, or the attainment of, i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e s e c o n d w a s t h e n a t u r e o f t h e p o s t - c o l o n i a l ' administrative state'. Because o f the need to p r o v i d e the educated m a n p o w e r required b y n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t states, m o s t A f r i c a n states h a d r a p i d l y t o e x p a n d t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m s . H o w e v e r , s i n c e t h e state w a s t h e m a i n e m p l o y e r o f l a b o u r , e i t h e r j o b opportunities b e c a m e q u i c k l y exhausted or the p r o d u c t s o f the s c h o o l s b e c a m e f u n c t i o n a l l y o b s o l e s c e n t as t h e d e m a n d f o r l a b o u r b e c a m e increasingly skill-specific. T h e result w a s the creation o f a ' reserve a r m y ' - a veritable lumpenproletariat - o f u n e m p l o y e d a n d u n e m p l o y a b l e y o u t h s w h o t h e n b e g a n t o c o n s t i t u t e a real

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SOCIAL

MOBILISATION

s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l threat t o the stability o f the n e w state. T h i s threat b e c a m e all t o o real w h e n t h e p r o b l e m o f t h e u n e m p l o y a b l e w a s c o n s i d e r e d in r e l a t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m o f u r b a n i s a t i o n . I n t h e p a s t , t h e s i z e o f t h e c i t y s e r v e d as a n i n d e x o f ' p r o g r e s s ' a n d ' d e v e l o p m e n t ' , so that b y 1950 the urban p o p u l a t i o n o f the d e v e l o p e d , rich countries w a s just a b o u t d o u b l e that o f the t h i r d - w o r l d c o u n t r i e s . B y 1 9 7 5 , h o w e v e r , h a l f o f t h e 15 l a r g e s t c i t i e s in t h e w o r l d ( m e a s u r e d in p o p u l a t i o n ) w e r e s i t u a t e d i n t h e p o o r states a n d it h a s b e e n e s t i m a t e d t h a t b y 1 9 9 0 , 60 p e r c e n t o f the w o r l d ' s u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n w i l l be l i v i n g in the cities o f A f r i c a , A s i a a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a , a figure w h i c h is e x p e c t e d t o rise t o 75 p e r c e n t b y t h e e n d o f t h e c e n t u r y . B e t w e e n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1 9 7 5 , o f t h e 106 m i l l i o n p e r s o n s e s t i m a t e d t o h a v e m o v e d f r o m t h e r u r a l i n t o t h e u r b a n a r e a s , s o m e 70 p e r c e n t (73 m i l l i o n ) w e r e i n t h e nations o f the T h i r d W o r l d and a g o o d p r o p o r t i o n o f these w e r e s c h o o l leavers m o v i n g i n t o the cities in search o f j o b s . T a k i n g t h e H o r n o f A f r i c a as a n e x a m p l e o f o n e o f t h e p o o r e s t regions o f Africa, the p o p u l a t i o n o f A d d i s A b a b a , capital o f E t h i o p i a , j u m p e d f r o m 560000 in t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s t o o v e r a m i l l i o n in 1 9 7 4 , a g r o w t h rate o f a b o u t 7 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m . T h e c o m p a r a b l e figures f o r M o g a d i s h u a n d A s m a r a , c a p i t a l c i t i e s o f S o m a l i a a n d E r i t r e a r e s p e c t i v e l y , w e r e 1 4 1 000 in 1965 r i s i n g t o o v e r 250000 in 1 9 7 4 for the f o r m e r a n d 132000 rising t o 296000 f o r t h e l a t t e r i n t h e s a m e t i m e p e r i o d . A n d t h e s e figures n o w h e r e c o m p a r e t o t h e g r o w t h rates i n t h e c a p i t a l c i t i e s o f s o m e W e s t A f r i c a n states. F o r e x a m p l e L a g o s , the capital o f N i g e r i a , b e t w e e n 1 9 7 0 a n d 1975 r e c o r d e d a n a n n u a l g r o w t h r a t e o f j u s t a b o u t 1 4 per cent per annum. W h a t w a s particularly striking about urban g r o w t h i n A f r i c a n states w a s t h a t g r o w t h o c c u r r e d i n s t a t e s w h i c h w e r e least c a p a b l e o f d e a l i n g w i t h t h e m u l t i t u d e o f p r o b l e m s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u r b a n i s a t i o n . F o r t h e A f r i c a n s t a t e s , far f r o m b e i n g an i n d e x o f ' p r o g r e s s ' , u r b a n i s a t i o n b e g a n t o b e s e e n as a n index o f decay. T o q u o t e the third report to the C l u b o f R o m e ,

Reshaping the international order, it is in t h e cities w h e r e the g l a r i n g d i s p a r i t i e s b e t w e e n t h e * h a v e s ' a n d n o t s ' are m o s t a p p a r e n t . It is a l s o in cities w h e r e p o v e r t y a n d

'have

disadvantage

are the m o s t c o n c e n t r a t e d . M i g r a n t s t o the c i t y are n o o r d i n a r y p e o p l e . T h e y h a v e t a k e n the c o u r a g e o u s d e c i s i o n t o d i g u p their rural r o o t s , t o s e e k a

4

new

l i f e ' for t h e m s e l v e s a n d their c h i l d r e n . In c o m i n g t o the c i t y , t h e y b r i n g w i t h

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DECOLONISATION

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

t h e m e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d a s p i r a t i o n s . I f cities c a n n o t m e e t t h e s e , if cities can offer n o a l t e r n a t i v e t o p o v e r t y , it w i l l be in cities t h a t f u t u r e s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e s in n a t i o n a l o r d e r s w i l l b e w r o u g h t . In t h e p a s t m o d e r n i z a t i o n has t e n d e d t o m e a n u r b a n i z a t i o n . In the f u t u r e , it c a n n o t d o

T h e pattern

so.

1

o f social stratification

d e s c r i b e d a b o v e , as

one

m i g h t e x p e c t , is a g e n e r a l i s e d a n d s o m e w h a t p a r a d i g m a t i c m o d e l w h i c h d o e s n o t p u r p o r t to be a faithful d e s c r i p t i o n o f the c o n c r e t e s t r a t i f i c a t i o n a l s y s t e m as t h i s e x i s t s i n t h e d i f f e r e n t s t a t e s .

For

example, Tunisia developed a much

and

coherent profited

bureaucratic-managerial proportionately

more homogeneous

ruling

more, compared

c l a s s , w h i c h in to other

fact

sectors

of

society, f r o m the acquisition o f the landed properties p r e v i o u s l y o w n e d by the small white-settler p o p u l a t io n , than either M o r o c c o or A l g e r i a . Algeria, o n the other hand, by the agrarian

reforms

o f 1 9 7 2 , s u c c e e d e d better than K e n y a in b r e a k i n g u p the e m e r g e n t c o n n e x i o n s b e t w e e n the l a n d o w n i n g b o u r g e o i s i e and the

top

b u r e a u c r a t s c o n t r o l l i n g t h e state a p p a r a t u s . E q u a l l y K e n y a h a d a m u c h m o r e visible class structure than T a n z a n i a w h i c h , because o f its p r o c l a i m e d i d e o l o g i c a l s t a n c e a n d its p r e v i o u s h i s t o r y as a T r u s t T e r r i t o r y , t o g e t h e r w i t h its m u c h s m a l l e r s e t t l e r p r e s e n c e , w a s a b l e t o a c h i e v e g r e a t e r s u c c e s s i n its d e t e r m i n e d a t t e m p t s t o ameliorate class inequalities than o t h e r A f r i c a n states, w i t h the p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n o f states like G u i n e a - B i s s a u , M o z a m b i q u e and A n g o l a . B u t w h a t e v e r the v a r i a t i o n s , m o s t A f r i c a n states w e r e increasingly a p p r o x i m a t i n g to the p a r a d i g m g i v e n a b o v e so that it c a n b e r e g a r d e d as b e i n g n o t u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

o f the class

s t r u c t u r e o f t h e A f r i c a n state d u r i n g o u r p e r i o d . W i t h any e c o n o m y that remains mainly c o m m o d i t y - e x p o r t o r i e n t e d l o n g after i n d e p e n d e n c e , a n d w h o s e s u r p l u s e s g o l a r g e l y i n t o t h e i m p o r t o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s t o satisfy t h e d e m a n d s o f t h e é l i t e , a n d w i t h e d u c a t i o n as t h e p r i n c i p a l a v e n u e t o u p w a r d s o c i a l mobility and m o r e and m o r e students c o m p e t i n g for the limited a c c e s s t o h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n , f e w e r a n d f e w e r m a k e it i n t o t h e r a n k s o f t h e h i g h l y p r i v i l e g e d u p p e r c l a s s . A s J. D . B a r k a n d i s c o v e r e d in a s u r v e y o f u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s i n G h a n a , U g a n d a a n d T a n z a n i a , states w h i c h w e r e n o t u n t y p i c a l o f m a n y o f t h e

independent

A f r i c a n states, * the r e c r u i t m e n t o f u n i v e r s i t y students, a n d h e n c e t h e t e c h n o c r a t i c u p p e r - m i d d l e c l a s s itself, i s . . . b e c o m i n g m o r e and 1

more

restricted

to

sons

and

daughters

o f citizens

with

Jan Tinbergen (co-ordinator), Reshaping the international order (London, 1977), 3 1 - 2 .

78

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SOCIAL

T a b l e 2.4.

MOBILISATION

Degree to which ranks desired are expected to be fulfilled.

First job

Last job

Do not expect to obtain position at desired rank Don't know N= Barkan, An

Source:

Last job

First job

%

Expect to obtain position at desired rank

First job

Last job %

%

79

58

76

40

66

37

9

22

12

33

15

30

12

20

12

27

(615)

(615)

(479)

(479)

African

Uganda

Tanzania

Ghana

dilemma,

19 (550)

33 (550)

table 2.9.

relatively h i g h educational b a c k g r o u n d s . Rather than b r i d g e the elite-mass g a p , students are consequently m o r e likely t o exacerbate this c l e a v a g e , a n d i n h i b i t t h e p r o c e s s o f v e r t i c a l i n t e g r a t i o n i n t h e i r societies/ An

1

obvious outcome

o f the elite-mass

g a p a n d t h e self-

recruitment o f the educated u p p e r and m i d d l e classes w a s the a l i e n a t i o n o f t h e i n t e l l i g e n t s i a as e x p e c t a t i o n s l a g g e d b e h i n d t h e d e s i r e d f u t u r e s . T a b l e 2.4 is s u f f i c i e n t l y i n d i c a t i v e o f t h i s . T h e educational system implanted by the metropolitan p o w e r s w a s i n t e n d e d t o s e r v e as a b r i d g e b e t w e e n A f r i c a n t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t i e s and

western

culture.

B u t in b r i d g i n g

the g a p between

'traditional' and the ' m o d e r n ' , the system has n o t only

the

under­

mined traditional culture b u t has also created a d i l e m m a for the i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e s : t h o u g h p u r p o r t e d l y c h a n g e - i n d u c i n g , it h a s produced

a structure

which

had become

perhaps

the

most

i m p o r t a n t i m p e d i m e n t t o t h a t c h a n g e w h i c h it s o u g h t t o b r i n g about. 1

Joel D . Barkan, An African dilemma (Nairobi, 1975), 188. See also D a v i d Court, ' T h e education system as a response to inequality in Tanzania and K e n y a J o u r n a l of Modem African Studies, 1976, 1 4 , 4; Richard Marvin, ' W h y d o African parents value

schooling?' Journal of Modern African Studies, 1975, 1 3 , 3; Remi P. Clignet and Philip Foster, The fortunate few (Evanston, 1966); P. Foster, Education and social change in Ghana, (Chicago, 1965); D a v i d Abernethy, The political dilemma of popular education (Stanford, 1969).

79

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DECOLONISATION

T a b l e 2.5.

A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

Export and import trade: selected countries. Principal export as % of total exports,

No. of commodities making up 70 % of exports,

% of imports composed of ' machinery

Country

1966-8

1966-8

1962

Cameroun Congo (Braz.) Ethiopia Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Niger Sierra Leone Tanzania Zambia

28 48

4 2

4^

56

3 2

38 40

3 6 2

3* 20

Source:

Morrison et al.,

64 35 26 60

9

4 2 2 6

94

I

Black Africa,

5 55 25

I

73 25 65 57 l

16

tables

13.2, 13.3

9 26 30

and

13.4.

T h e p r o b l e m o f the structure o f the society w a s c o m p o u n d e d b y the structure o f the e c o n o m i e s o f the A f r i c a n states. T h e c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s s a w t h e s e states e s s e n t i a l l y as s o u r c e s o f r a w materials a n d markets for the p r o d u c t s o f E u r o p e a n industry. C o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d other infrastructural d e v e l o p m e n t s w e r e therefore carried o u t w i t h these t w o aims in v i e w , t o the n e g l e c t o f almost e v e r y t h i n g else. Africa thus inherited e c o n o m i e s enclave e c o n o m i e s - in w h i c h the primary e c o n o m i c activity consisted in the p r o d u c t i o n o f e x p o r t c o m m o d i t i e s for use in the factories o f E u r o p e and in the i m p o r t o f manufactures and other c o n s u m e r g o o d s . A n d since the price o f manufactures rose quickly relative to agricultural c o m m o d i t i e s , b o t h the balance o f trade and o f p a y m e n t s m o v e d m o r e in f a v o u r o f E u r o p e than o f Africa. A structural dependence w a s thus created w h i c h barely c h a n g e d d u r i n g o u r p e r i o d , as t a b l e s 2.5 a n d 2.6 s h o w . In these states, w h i c h are typical o f the vast majority o f states o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a , the e x p o r t o f just a b o u t t w o c o m m o d i t i e s — w h i c h r a n g e d f r o m c o t t o n , g u m a r a b i c , c o f f e e , c o c o a a n d sisal t o 80

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SOCIAL

T a b l e 2.6.

MOBILISATION

Direction of trade: selected countries.

Trade with African states, 1968

Trade with former colonial power %

Country

%

%

Export,

Total,

Total,

Import

Export

1955

1962

1968

10

9 4

53 34

46

9 8

63 58

57 51 17 54

39 5 2

27

Cameroun Congo (Braz.) Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Niger Sierra Leone Somalia Tanzania Source:

6 I

10 11 5 2

Morrison et al,

30 10

41 24 5

n/a

n/a

n/a

60

34 54 46

33 56

3

24 5 3 11

19 30 0 I

85 73 2

17

18

33

1

Black Africa,

37

tables 13.5 and

38

48 40

45

23

13.6, 1 3 . 9 - 1 3 . 1 1 .

copper, iron-ore, g o l d and petroleum - constituted approximately 70 p e r c e n t o f t o t a l t r a d e , w h i l e t h e i m p o r t o f ' m a c h i n e r y w h i c h i n c l u d e d v e h i c l e s a n d o t h e r m e c h a n i c a l d e v i c e s , c o n s t i t u t e d less than a third o f total trade. D e p e n d e n c e w a s n o t just in terms o f the e x p o r t o f c o m m o d i t i e s , it w a s a l s o r e f l e c t e d i n t h e p a t t e r n o f t r a d e . C l o s e t o a d e c a d e after i n d e p e n d e n c e , less t h a n 10 p e r c e n t o f all e x p o r t a n d 1 4 p e r c e n t o f all i m p o r t t r a d e w a s b e t w e e n A f r i c a n s t a t e s as a g a i n s t 3 3 p e r cent w i t h the p r e v i o u s c o l o n i a l p o w e r . T r a d e b e t w e e n the A f r i c a n s t a t e s in 1968 a n d e a s t e r n b l o c c o u n t r i e s r a n g e d b e t w e e n o n e a n d 10 p e r c e n t w i t h o n l y f o u r s t a t e s , G u i n e a , M a l i , t h e S u d a n a n d E g y p t , h a v i n g a figure o f m o r e t h a n 10 p e r c e n t . T h e m e a n

figure

o f t r a d e w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s d u r i n g t h e s a m e p e r i o d w a s 9.28 per cent w i t h o n l y three states, B u r u n d i , L i b e r i a and

Ethiopia,

h a v i n g a figure o f j u s t a b o u t a t h i r d . I n f a c t , at t h e t i m e o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e in

i 9 6 0 o f m o s t o f the A f r i c a n states (if trade

between South Africa, R h o d e s i a / Z i m b a b w e , Z a m b i a and M a l a w i , w h i c h a c c o u n t e d f o r o v e r 40 p e r c e n t o f t o t a l e x p o r t s a n d i m p o r t s , is i g n o r e d ) , a b o u t 3 5 p e r c e n t o f t o t a l i n t r a - A f r i c a n i m p o r t s w a s 81

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

DECOLONISATION

T a b l e 2.7.

Country Kenya Morocco Tanzania Tunisia Uganda Zambia Source:

UN

Agri­ culture

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

Percentage industrial composition of GDP at factor cost, ip6j. Transport and communi­ cation

Industrial Con­ activity struction

38

Trade Other

2

10

12

5

—

22

32

'3 22

55 22

7

3

18

59 10

12

9 2

48

7

5 8 3 6

Yearbook of national account statistics

25 18

13

17

M

27

10

14 16

1966, 6 9 3 - 4 .

a b s o r b e d b y four countries, A l g e r i a , G h a n a , the I v o r y C o a s t and E g y p t , w h i l e 36 p e r c e n t o f i n t r a - A f r i c a n e x p o r t s w a s p r o v i d e d b y K e n y a , M o r o c c o , the I v o r y C o a s t and M a l i . M u c h o f this trade was

also limited to a restricted

number

o f items, with

food,

b e v e r a g e s a n d t o b a c c o f o r m i n g a b o u t 59 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l in v a l u e w i t h c r u d e materials, fuels a n d m a n u f a c t u r e s m a k i n g u p 1 5 , 3 a n d 22 p e r c e n t r e s p e c t i v e l y .

1

If the c o m p e t i t i v e nature o f A f r i c a n e x p o r t s can be taken

to

explain the l o w level o f intra-African trade, the reliance o n a few e x p o r t c o m m o d i t i e s for f o r e i g n - e x c h a n g e earnings and the h i g h e r price

o f imported

manufactures

relative

to

exports

together

a c c o u n t e d for the inability o f the A f r i c a n states t o t r a n s f o r m economies

into

more

industrially

based

ones.

Table

illustrative o f the industrial c o m p o s i t i o n o f the g r o s s

their

2.7

is

domestic

p r o d u c t o f s o m e selected A f r i c a n states. E v e n t h o u g h the contribution o f ' industrial a c t i v i t y ' to G D P has b e e n s l o w l y rising in m o s t A f r i c a n states d u r i n g o u r p e r i o d , there w e r e certain peculiar characteristics o f manufacturing w h i c h s h o u l d b e n o t e d . F o r t h i s p u r p o s e , N i g e r i a c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d as a c a s e s t u d y . F o r all t h e s e e m i n g l y i m p r e s s i v e g r o w t h r a t e o f d o m e s t i c m a n u f a c t u r i n g - 14 p e r c e n t b e t w e e n 1958 a n d 1963 a n d 15 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 1 / 2 - m u c h o f it r e m a i n e d l a r g e l y c h a r a c t e r i s e d by l o w - l e v e l t e c h n o l o g y . O n the other hand, the manufacture o f 1

P. R o b s o n and D . A . Lury (eds.), The economies of Africa ( L o n d o n , 1969), 57.

82

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SOCIAL

MOBILISATION

Imported raw-material component in Nigerian manufacturing: selected industries, 1972.

T a b l e 2.8.

% Raw material imported

Industry group Dairy products Grain-mill products Miscellaneous food products Animal feeds Beer brewing Soft drinks Made-up textile goods (except wearing apparel) Carpets and rugs Paper containers, boxes and board Basic industrial chemicals Fertilisers and pesticides Drugs and medicines Other chemical products Tyres and tubes Pottery products Glass products Concrete products (other than cement, bricks and tiles)

40.85 99-75 60.35 35-70 46.00 45-55 79.65 100.00 44-95 87.30 43.50 45-45 61.05 44-75 92.10 6535 44-5 5

Source: Federation of Nigeria, third national development plan, ip/j-So,

148.

agricultural and special industrial equipment, h o u s e h o l d electrical a p p a r a t u s , a n d m a c h i n e r y a n d t r a n s p o r t e q u i p m e n t , w h i c h re­ q u i r e d r e l a t i v e l y m o r e s o p h i s t i c a t e d t e c h n o l o g y , w a s a b a r e 2.3 p e r c e n t in 1 9 7 2 . S e c o n d l y , m u c h m a n u f a c t u r i n g d e p e n d e d v e r y l a r g e l y o n a h i g h l e v e l o f i m p o r t c o m p o n e n t s , as t a b l e 2.8 s h o w s . W h a t e v e r the rationale for industrialisation m a y h a v e been - the creation o f greater self-reliance t h r o u g h the diversification o f the e c o n o m y ; the generation o f m o r e varied and increasing e m p l o y ­ ment opportunities to meet the demands o f a rapidly g r o w i n g p o p u l a t i o n ; or the p r o v i s i o n o f greater welfare t h r o u g h overall e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t - t h e b a s i c s t r a t e g y i n a l m o s t all t h e s t a t e s w a s the process o f i n t r o d u c i n g i m p o r t substituting industries and therefore the c o n s e r v a t i o n o f f o r e i g n - e x c h a n g e earnings for f u r t h e r i n v e s t m e n t . B u t as t h e N i g e r i a n e x a m p l e s h o w s , a n d it is n o t a t y p i c a l , t h a t s t r a t e g y t e n d e d t o p r o v e m o r e o r l e s s self83

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

T a b l e 2.9.

Country Algeria Cameroun Chad Congo (Braz.) Ethiopia Ghana Malawi Morocco Sierra Leone Sudan Tanzania Tunisia

Year 1959 1963 1963 1964 1963 1965 1963 1965 1964 1964 1965 1965

Percentage expenditure p.m. GNP (at market prices): selected countries.

Private consumption

General govt. expenditure on consumption

Exports Less Imports Fixed Capital formation

35 15 14

—

67 82 80 86

*3

14 12 16

73 85 76 72

14

14 11

9 12

13 11

14

7*

17

14 27

60 7* 84

9 13 21

11 11

Increase in stocks 26 — 1 1 — — 1 — — 3 — 1

Source: UN Yearbook of national account statistics 1966, 681-2.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

on goods and services

Net factor - income from abroad —

20 23

41 21

H —

25 —

11 16 — 20

13 24 —21 19

-5 —1 —-1 —2 —

30 16 31 20

34 19 30 35

-5 — —1 —2

— —

SOCIAL

MOBILISATION

Total long-term and publicly guaranteed external debt: selected non-petroleum-producing states ($ billion).

T a b l e 2. i o .

Country Egypt Tanzania Zaire Zambia

End

1973

1-73 0.46 0.89 0.57

End

1974

End

1975

3.89 0.61

6.31 0.79

i.31

1.68 0.95

0.68

End

1976

7.30 0.96 1.90 1.20

H. van B. Cleveland and W. H. Bruce Britain, 'Are the LDCs in over their heads?', International Affairs, July 1977, 734.

Source:

defeating. T h e reason for this lay in the m a i n w i t h the g o v e r n m e n t o f t h e A f r i c a n states. F i r s t , d e s p i t e g r a n d i l o q u e n t five ( o r s i x o r ten) year d e v e l o p m e n t plans, m u c h o f capital i n v e s t m e n t tended t o b e left t o t h e s m a l l b a n d o f A f r i c a n e n t r e p r e n e u r s , w i t h f o r e i g n financial l i n k s , w h o s e m a i n i n t e r e s t w a s t h e p r o f i t a b i l i t y o f t h e i r investments, w h a t e v e r the c o n s e q u e n c e s for their countries. S e c o n d l y , because o f their o v e r r i d i n g desire to retain political p o w e r , g o v e r n m e n t l e a d e r s f o u n d it i n a d v i s a b l e t o t a m p e r w i t h t h e c o n s u m p t i o n h a b i t s o f t h e é l i t e o n w h o m t h e y r e l i e d for p o l i t i c a l s u p p o r t . T h e r e s u l t w a s t h e r e f o r e for t h a t é l i t e t o p r e f e r to maintain their acquired taste for f o r e i g n c o n s u m e r g o o d s rather t h a n t o s a v e , as t a b l e 2.9 s h o w s . T h e need to assuage élite c o n s u m p t i o n patterns, c o u p l e d w i t h the necessity nevertheless to d e v e l o p e c o n o m i c a l l y (and in the case o f E g y p t , to maintain defence requirements) not surprisingly led to h e a v y f o r e i g n indebtedness o n the part o f the A f r i c a n states, w i t h s o m e h a v i n g as h i g h a d e b t t o G D P r a t i o as 0.80. W i t h f o r e i g n i n d e b t e d n e s s g r o w i n g faster t h a n the rate o f g r o w t h o f G D P , t h e c a p a c i t y o f t h e s e states t o m e e t t h e i r f o r e i g n o b l i g a t i o n s became m o r e doubtful. F o r s o m e , unless the i m p r o b a b l e w e r e to happen, the l o n g - t e r m o u t c o m e s e e m e d not unlikely to be complete bankruptcy. T h a t l i k e l i h o o d m i g h t h a v e b e e n o b v i a t e d h a d A f r i c a n states agreed to cooperate or integrate to form larger units. F o r w h a t e v e r the difficulties m i g h t b e w i t h r e g a r d t o e c o n o m i c m o b i l i s a t i o n , t h e s i m p l e fact r e m a i n e d t h a t m o s t o f t h e i n d e p e n ­ d e n t A f r i c a n states w e r e t o o s m a l l a n d t o o p o o r t o form v i a b l e e c o n o m i c u n i t s . I n 1 9 6 4 , f o r e x a m p l e , s o m e 24 A f r i c a n s t a t e s h a d 85

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

DECOLONISATION

A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

p o p u l a t i o n s o f l e s s t h a n five m i l l i o n ( f o u r h a d p o p u l a t i o n s o f l e s s than a m i l l i o n ) . S e v e n states h a d p o p u l a t i o n s v a r y i n g b e t w e e n 11 and

20 m i l l i o n , w h i l e E t h i o p i a

million

and

Nigeria

had

22.2 m i l l i o n , E g y p t

56.4 m i l l i o n . O f t h e

42

states

28.9

listed

as

i n d e p e n d e n t in 1 9 7 2 ( e x c l u d i n g E g y p t ) , o n l y 17 h a d a p e r capita G D P i n e x c e s s o f 200 d o l l a r s a n d o n l y s i x - A l g e r i a , G a b o n , t h e I v o r y Coast, L i b y a , South Africa and

Tunisia —exceeded

400

d o l l a r s . A f r i c a ' s s h a r e o f t h e t o t a l w o r l d real i n c o m e w a s j u s t a b o u t 5 p e r c e n t , w h i l e its i n c o m e f r o m m a n u f a c t u r e s w a s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 p e r c e n t . I n t e r m s o f t r a d e in f o o d , t h o u g h b y t h e

mid-1930s

Africa w a s e x p o r t i n g a b o u t o n e million tons o f cereals per a n n u m , b y 1 9 7 5 s h e w a s i m p o r t i n g 10 m i l l i o n t o n s p e r a n n u m . F o r m o s t , t h e n , t h e o n l y h o p e o f f u t u r e p r o g r e s s s e e m e d t o lie i n s o m e f o r m o f e c o n o m i c union or the other. A s Peter R o b s o n rightly noted :

ultimately the character and pace of economic development in Africa may be considerably influenced for the better by the consolidation and development of economic integration arrangements. But although the long-term objectives of most African States can best be served by economic co-operation, short-term interests often lead to independent action. The future of economic co-operation in Africa will depend on which of these considerations becomes dominant. 1

G i v e n the c o m p e t i t i v e nature o f African e c o n o m i e s , the legacy o f their colonial past and the character o f their political leadership, o n e c o u l d not be sanguine about the prospects for

integration.

T h e evidence o f t w o decades o f independence

showed

2

that

African leaders w e r e m o r e influenced b y short-term considerations than b y l o n g - t e r m interests. F e w , if any, o f the actual attempts at c o o p e r a t i o n a n d i n t e g r a t i o n - i n c l u d i n g t h e m o s t

promising

East African E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y — s u r v i v e d the years o f independence

while many

others

first

remained

twenty

either

as

p r o p o s a l s o r as u n i o n s o n p a p e r o n l y . I n t h e l a s t a n a l y s i s , i f t h e r e c o u l d b e said t o b e a p r o b l e m independence

gave to most

o f independence,

o f the

it w a s

A f r i c a n states

spurious sovereignty w i t h political p o w e r h a v i n g been

that

a cover of transferred

to a political leadership w h o s e sole aim - and achievement - w a s to

have

retained

sovereignty. 1

2

that

power

by

preserving

the

myth

of

3

Peter Robson, Economic integration in Africa ( L o n d o n , 1968), 21. See e.g. Hannu N u r m i , 'Public g o o d s and the analytic theory of the state', in

P. Birnbaum, J. Lively and G . Parry (eds.), Democracy,

consensus and social

contract

( L o n d o n and Beverly Hills, 1978). Arthur H a z l e w o o d (ed.), African integration and disintegration ( O x f o r d , 1967). 3

86

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THE

MILITARY

AND

MILITARISM

THE

MILITARY

AND

MILITARISM

Independence

not

only brought

to the

fore the

problem

of

e c o n o m i c dependency, but also that o f the military, a p r o b l e m that t u r n e d i n t o a s p e c t r e h a u n t i n g all t h e A f r i c a n s t a t e s .

1

H a v i n g an

a r m e d f o r c e w a s as m u c h p a r t o f t h e a c c o u t r e m e n t s o f s o v e r e i g n t y as h a v i n g a n a t i o n a l flag o r a n a t i o n a l a n t h e m . B u t t h o u g h it c o u l d hardly b e a r g u e d that m o s t o f these states faced a n y external

threat

to

their

serious

sovereignty, they certainly w e r e

not

hesitant a b o u t maintaining large military establishments - large, that is, relative to their resources and security needs, b o t h external and internal. In fact, b u t for the p r o b l e m o f internal security, f e w o f these states c o u l d b e said t o h a v e r e q u i r e d the size o f a r m e d personnel they established. ( T h e colonial authorities, because they had to maintain their presence b y a r m e d force, had o f necessity to create a military establishment

requisite

for

that

purpose

t h o u g h for the m o s t part their armies w e r e v e r y small.) T h u s , w h i l e the A f r i c a n states c a m e t o i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h q u i t e small armies, there can b e n o e s c a p i n g the fact that w i t h i n d e p e n d e n c e the rate o f increase in the size o f the a r m e d forces w a s q u i t e p h e n o m e n a l . A n d w i t h the g r o w t h in size, there w a s a m o r e o r less c o r r e s p o n d i n g i n c r e a s e i n ' d e f e n c e ' e x p e n d i t u r e ( t a b l e 2 . 1 1 ) . S i g n i f i c a n t as t h e i n c r e a s e s m a y h a v e b e e n , t h e full i m p o r t o f d e f e n c e s p e n d i n g is p e r h a p s o n l y p r o p e r l y a p p r e c i a t e d w h e n it is c o m p a r e d w i t h s p e n d i n g in o t h e r sectors, for e x a m p l e , o n welfare services. T h e ratio o f expenditure o n defence to that o n welfare in the A f r i c a n states w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h the ratio in s o m e o f t h e d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s o r e v e n o t h e r t h i r d - w o r l d s t a t e s s u c h as V e n e z u e l a , s u g g e s t s that the c h o i c e o f priorities in the A f r i c a n states w a s m i s p l a c e d (tables 2 . 1 2 a n d 2.13). T h e p r o b l e m p o s e d b y the military in the n e w states o f A f r i c a w a s , h o w e v e r , n o t just o n e o f n u m b e r s and costs, i m p o r t a n t

as

these m a y h a v e b e e n for the d e v e l o p m e n t o f these states. T h e r e w e r e also the related issues o f d e p e n d e n c y and instability. A f r i c a n armies, like their counterparts t h r o u g h o u t the w o r l d , w e r e in a narrow

professional

sense,

'modernity'-oriented.

Being

thus

oriented, they w e r e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t the state o f their h a r d w a r e , which

tended

to

become

outdated

with

rapid

technological

1

T h e literature on the military is quite extensive. There is a g o o d bibliography in Claude E . Welch J nr. and Arthur K . Smith, Military role and rule (Belmont, C a l . , 1974).

87

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

Table 2.11.

A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

Manpower and cost of African armies: selected countries. Defence

Country

Total

budget as % of

man­

govt.

% change in

Level of

power in

%

expendi­

defence

Africani-

hundreds,

change,

ture,

budget,

sation,

1967

1963-7

1967

1963-7

1965*

Nigeria

500

Zaire Ethiopia

354 350 185

Sudan Ghana

160

Somalia

95 60

Uganda Senegal

55 50

Guinea Tanzania

50 48

Kenya Ivory Coast Liberia Cameroun Mali Zambia Rwanda

18

Togo Upper V o l t a

M M

Niger Burundi

13 10

Mauritania

10

Chad Malawi Gabon

9 9 8

Central African

6

4

118

3

45 67

5 5 5 5

11.6

107

-4 11

8.1 3.8

87 150

4 j

71

6.9 6.9

100

2

44 28

2

21 6

Dahomey (Bénin)

128

33 400

83 85 182 103

35 35

9 18

9.9 14.5 17.0 17-7 7*4 18.1 10.2

4 10

l

C o n g o (Braz.)

14 54

45 41

30 *5

Sierra Leone

479 10

6.7 19.5 21.2

-6

5-7 9-7

153 I

143 64 569 43 0

"7 -44 30 11

35 17 110 182

4.9 8.9 12.0

33 80

135 14.1

350 0

10.8

71 -13

6.9

U 90

33

M

I

I

5 I

4 I I

2 2 2 2 4 3 4 2 2

17.9

IO

135 33 7.6

33 33 41

3

7-9

83

2

I

Rep. Botswana

0

0

0.0

0

0

Gambia Lesotho

0

0

0

0

0.0 0.0

0 0

0 0

1

o = no army before independence; 1 = officer corps entirely foreign before

independence; 2 = no indigenous officer corps before independence - mixed after independence with near-complete indigenisation at 1965; 3 = no in­ digenous officer corps before independence - total Africanisation thereafter; 4 = indigenous officers before independence; 5 = never a colonial territory, or indigenous officer corps at all levels by or shortly after independence.

Source: Morrison et al. Black Africa, 116, 119, 120. t

88

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T a b l e 2 . 1 2 . Comparative

General economic Pop. 1000

GNP $US million

Nigeria Kenya Ivory Coast Ghana Algeria Zaire Tanzania USA UK Venezuela Source:

I

2

1972.

Public expenditures Military $US million

Health % million

4

of

5

2

4

Armed forces

Teachers

Doctors

1000

1000

1000

%

%

3of 2

3

Manpower

Education % million

%

Country

expenditure: selected countries

2

5

%

%

of

6 6

of

7

I

7

I

5-35 1.27

204

1.92

30

0.28

274

0.39

119

0.02

86

31

0.58

56

0.50

126

7

1-57 0.38

7

1.20

4.38 6.88

4

0.09

34 108

1.32

97

3-77

27

1.05

0.02

61

1.72

9- 5

100

4.20

1-55 0.75

14000

1522

37

2.43

55

5-55 3.61

97 18

0.39

2378

57« 132

9 60

23

1.51

50 11

208 840

1168100

77638

6.64

65652

5.62

56790

154308

8186

8962

5.80

35441 8641

3-03 5.60

10970

14097

270

5.30 1.91

663

4.70

310

2.20

69 500

10585

566

12070

1964

4530 9700

i 832

*5 22

15270

*57* 6250

22860

Ruth Leger Sivard: World military

and social expenditures

2

%

of

8 8

of I

3-1 1.6

0.004 0.006

0.06

0.3 0.8

60

0.40

2.0

0.013

0.22

88

0.38

0.9

0.040

0.08

24

0.17

0.6

0.043

2322

1.12

2308

1.10

320.9

0.150

372

0.07

530

0.90

0.130

34

0.31

71

0.65

73.6 10.9

l

(Virginia, 1974).

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

0.03

0.013 0.008

0.010

Table 2.i}. $

US Social and military indicators: per capita ranking, 1972 (rank in brackets). Education

Country Algeria Botswana Burundi Cameroun Central African Rep. Chad Congo Dahomey (Bénin) Eq. Guinea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia

GNP per capita

Public expendi­ ture per per capita

409 (4) 119(18)

38 (2) 10(11)

66(41) «3(i7) 152(25) 82(36) 355 (8) 104(31.5) 264(14) 78(37) 916 (2) 141(27) 265(13) 105(30) 404 (6) 163(21.5) 100(34) 222(16)

2(37) 9( 3-5) 5(21.2) I

2(37) 22 (5) 5(21.2) 3(32) 2(37) 19 (7) 5(21.2) 10(11) 5(21.2) 28 (4) 7(i6) 4(28.5) 6(19)

Health

%

illiteracy 75(i3) 67 (7) 9°(2 5) 9°( 5) 92(26) 2

94(28) 80(17) 80(17) 80(17) 93(27) 70 (9)

Public expendi­ ture per capita 6 (6) 4 (9-5) 1(30) 2(22) 2(22)

i(3o) 5 (8) 2(22) 3(14)

i(30) 12 (2.5)

90(25) 75(i3) 9°(2 5) 80(17)

3(H)

75(i3) 4i (2)

3(i4) 1(30)

85(19)

3(14)

3(i4)

1(30)

i(3o)

Military expenditure

Infant Mortality per 1000

Expendi­ ture per capita

Expenditure per soldier

Pop. per soldier

86 (7.5) 175(38) 161(32)

7 (9-5)

1 800(22)

260 (5)

1(26.5)

no

4(17) 4(17)

1500(25) 6000 (3) 6000 ($)

1700(31) 1520(29)

4667 (7) 5 000 (6)

1260(23) 490(11)

2500(17) 1000(29.5)

1440(28)

(9)

163(35) 155(29) 148(24) 150(26.5) 140(21.5) 162(33.5) 184(41) 146(23) 64 (3.5) 5 5(29) 138(20)

1

55 ( 0 I37(i8) I37(i8)

4(i7) 10 (4.5) 2(23) 3(19) 2(23) 10 (4.5)

1067(28) 5000 (6)

1650(30)

290 (6.5) 580(14) 500(12)

4(17)

1790(23) 2500(17)

4(13) 2(23)

5 500 (4)

510(13) 680(17) 1130(21)

3 57i(io)

1720(32)

2(23)

1000(29.5)

4(17)

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

400 (8)

Libya Malagasy Rep. Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Niger Nigeria Rhodesia Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Upper Volta Zaire Zambia

1982 (1) 149(26)

99(35) 67(40) 174(20) 320(10) 276(11) 103(33) 152(24) 346 (9) 64(42) 252(15) 183(19) 7i(38) 850 (3) 125(28) 267(12) 109(29) 160(23) 405 (5) 163(21.5) 69(38) 104(31.5)

359 (7)

101 (1) 5(21.2) 3(32) 3(32) 6(19) 10(11) 14 (8) ^(37) 3(32) 8(15) 2(37) 1(38.5) 6(19) 1(38.5) 2(37) 6(19) » (9) 4(28.5) 5(21.2) 30 (3)

903-5) 2(37) 6(19) 21 (6)

73(io) 61 (5)

78(H) 2

53

( I )

130(14)

48

(l)

2(23)

3 0OO(l4)

i(3o)

168(36.5)

2(23) 8 (7-5) 1(26.5)

2 000(2l) 2 000(2l) 5 000 (6)

1(30)

I37(i8)

8 (4) 3(i4) 1(30)

64 (3-5) 149(25) 140(21.5)

9 («) 1(26.5)

75(13)

— —

58 (2)

8 (7-5)

7503)

5 (8) 1(30)

86 (7-5)

5(i3)

2

2

2

9°( 5) 95(3o) 60 (4)

3(i4) 2(22)

I33(i5) 67 (5) 136(16)

1(26.5)

4(17) 19 (2) 7 (9-5)

i(3o)

154(27)

4(95) 2(22)

179(35)

5 (8) 2(22)

168(36.5) 162(33.5)

1(30)

87(20)

i(30) i(3o)

155(29) 78 (6) 113(10) 181(40) 115(11)

59 (3)

12 (2.5)

i59(3i)

90(25) 64 (6) 85(19) 85(19) 68 (8) 75(13)

95(30

Source: Sivard, World military and social expenditures,

(9)

55 (I) 119(12)

9°( 5) 95(3o) 38 (1) 80(17) 95(3o)

9°( 5) 9°( 5)

4OOO

3(i4) 1(30)

7 (5) 2(22)

121(13)

5(13) 1(26.5)

3(19) 2(23) 6(11) 3(19) 1(26.5) 4(17) 17 (3)

Rank ordering recomputed.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

——

2556(16) 2000(21) 2066(18) 6000 (3)

80 (1) 1780(33) 4670(36) 1320(25.5) 620(15)

—

—

290 (6.5) 2100(35)

3139O3)

250 (4) 1140(22) 650(16) 690(18) 1320(25.5) 210 (2) 1350(27) 460 (9.5)

3382(11) 4400 (8) I 258(26) 2769(15) 2 5 00(00) 2004(19) 1250(27)

1270(24) 2090(34) 220 (3) 800(20) 2800(00) 460 (9.5) 740(19)

833(32) 3 333(i2) I 700(24) 943(3 0 25 529 (1)

DECOLONISATION

AND

I N D E P E N D E N C E

change. W e a p o n s systems therefore had to be changed frequently, as t h e t e c h n o l o g y o f w a r c h a n g e d . B u t s i n c e m o s t A f r i c a n countries (with the e x c e p t i o n o f S o u t h Africa) had neither the t e c h n o l o g i c a l skills n o r the resource base to maintain a m o d e r n a r m a m e n t s i n d u s t r y , it f o l l o w e d t h a t all m i l i t a r y h a r d w a r e h a d t o be imported from the arms merchants and manufacturers o f E u r o p e , the U n i t e d States and the eastern-bloc countries. T h e need to ensure a regular s u p p l y o f arms, b o t h in terms o f n e w acquisitions and the replacement and servicing o f existing w e a p o n s , not infrequently led to a d e p e n d e n c y relation w h i c h w a s f u r t h e r e n h a n c e d a n d c o n s o l i d a t e d t h r o u g h s u c h d e v i c e s as t h e g i v i n g o f m i l i t a r y a i d , as t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ' m i l i t a r y aid t o E t h i o p i a and the S o v i e t U n i o n ' s s u p p l y o f arms t o E g y p t ( u p till a b o u t 1 9 7 3 - 4 i n b o t h c a s e s ) s o c l e a r l y d e m o n s t r a t e d . D e p e n d e n c y and aid w e r e n o t i n f r e q u e n t l y a c c o m p a n i e d b y the intrusion o f g r e a t - p o w e r rivalry into the domestic politics o f the A f r i c a n states, i n t r o d u c i n g t h e r e b y further e l e m e n t s o f instability. A s examples o f this, o n e c o u l d cite S o v i e t - A m e r i c a n rivalry o v e r C u b a n i n t e r v e n t i o n in the A n g o l a n w a r o f l i b e r a t i o n ; the intervention in Z a i r e b y France, the U n i t e d States, B e l g i u m and W e s t e r n G e r m a n y , t h r o u g h the surrogate p r o v i d e d b y M o r o c c o , w h e n Cuban-trained Z a i r e a n mercenaries i n v a d e d the Shaba (former K a t a n g a ) p r o v i n c e ; S o v i e t - A m e r i c a n rivalry in the S o m a l i a - E t h i o p i a c o n f l i c t s ; F r a n c o - S o v i e t rivalry in the Sahara, w i t h F r a n c e b a c k i n g M o r o c c o and Mauritania, and the S o v i e t U n i o n s u p p o r t i n g the Polisario, the nationalist m o v e m e n t fighting for the i n d e p e n d e n c e o f the former Spanish Sahara - also sup­ ported b y A l g e r i a . Finally there w a s the special case o f S o u t h Africa, w h e r e the struggle for African majority rule seemed a possible trigger for a third W o r l d W a r in w h i c h the drama o f g r e a t - p o w e r rivalry w o u l d be played o u t b e t w e e n the w e s t and the eastern-bloc countries. A t t e m p t s at e s c a p i n g f r o m d e p e n d e n c y t h r o u g h t h e d i v e r s i f i ­ cation o f supply sources w e r e not very successful during the p e r i o d c o v e r e d b y this v o l u m e . N o t o n l y did they p r o v e costly and lead to inefficiency, b u t s u c h attempts w e r e c o u n t e r e d b y the w i t h h o l d i n g o f s u p p l i e s a n d r e p l a c e m e n t s , s o t h a t , far f r o m e n d i n g d e p e n d e n c y , diversification o n l y s u c c e e d e d in replacing de­ p e n d e n c y o n o n e o r a limited n u m b e r o f supply sources b y that o n o t h e r s . T o t h i s fact m u s t b e a d d e d t h e g r o w t h o f a m i l i t a r i s t i c 92

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THE

MILITARY

AND

MILITARISM

spirit fostered t h r o u g h the a c q u i s i t i o n , f r o m b o t h the w e s t e r n a n d communist blocs, o f arms. M o s t African armies, o w i n g to lack o f technological skills, a relatively l o w level o f education, inex­ perience d e r i v i n g f r o m the escalation in n u m b e r s and the s o m e ­ times

over-rapid

indigenisation

of

the

officer

incapable o f u s i n g the sophisticated p r o d u c t s

corps,

o f the

were

modern

armaments industry. M u c h o f the hardware therefore turned o u t not u n e x p e c t e d l y to be the r e d u n d a n t o r discarded

items

of

E u r o p e a n armies, those already rendered obsolete t h r o u g h tech­ n o l o g i c a l c h a n g e . T h u s A f r i c a n states b e c a m e the d u m p i n g g r o u n d f o r s u c h h a r d w a r e (as i n d e e d t h e y h a d b e e n in p r e - c o l o n i a l t i m e s ) , a d u m p i n g w h i c h t e n d e d t o f o s t e r a n e w m i l i t a r i s m , as s e e n i n the

increasing incidence o f border

wars, military c o u p s

and

v a r i o u s o t h e r acts o f a g g r e s s i o n o n the c i v i l i a n p o p u l a t i o n s o f t h e s e states. T h e ' s o v e r e i g n t y o f t h e p e o p l e ' p r o c l a i m e d w i t h t h e declaration o f i n d e p e n d e n c e b e c a m e , for m a n y an A f r i c a n state, nothing m o r e than tutelage under the military.

Independence

itself b e c a m e a p a r a d o x .

POLITICAL

LEADERSHIP AND

POLITICAL

SUCCESSION

T h e global changes w h i c h f o l l o w e d the end o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r m a d e i n d e p e n d e n c e for the v a r i o u s A f r i c a n states i n e v i t a b l e . It m i g h t b e a r g u e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h o u g h i n d e p e n d e n c e i n e v i t a b l e , these states

w e r e little p r e p a r e d

to cope with

was the

n u m e r o u s p r o b l e m s w h i c h w e n t w i t h the g r a n t i n g o f a s o v e r e i g n 1

status. B u t s u c h an a r g u m e n t c o u l d b e m i s l e a d i n g , b e c a u s e o f the a m b i g u i t y i n h e r e n t in t h e n o t i o n o f ' p r e p a r e d n e s s ' . O n t h e o t h e r hand, the a r g u m e n t a b o u t lack o f preparedness c o u l d be taken to m e a n that the c o l o n i a l authorities, b y their v a r i o u s p o l i c i e s , failed t o c r e a t e in t h e t e r r i t o r i e s t h e y g o v e r n e d t h e c o n d i t i o n s n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e a s s u m p t i o n o f s o v e r e i g n t y . I t is n o t e x a c t l y c l e a r h o w t h e ' necessary c o n d i t i o n s ' c o u l d be specified, but that

interpretation

h a s n o t b e e n w i t h o u t its p r o t a g o n i s t s a m o n g s t A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t l e a d e r s , m a n y o f w h o m in f a c t u s e d it t o h a s t e n t h e p r o c e s s o f , and justify the d e m a n d for, i n d e p e n d e n c e . On

the other hand the a r g u m e n t a b o u t lack o f preparedness

1

B. B. Shaffer, ' T h e concept of preparation - some questions about the transfer of systems of g o v e r n m e n t ' , World Politics, 1965, 1 8 ; Ali Mazrui, ' E d m u n d Burke and reflections on the revolution in the C o n g o ' , in Ali Mazrui, On heroes and Vhuru-worship:

essays on independent Africa (London, 1967), 3 - 1 8 .

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A N D

I N D E P E N D E N C E

c o u l d be taken to m e a n that the African p e o p l e s w e r e themselves u n p r e p a r e d for i n d e p e n d e n c e , i m p l y i n g that they w e r e , in s o m e sense, incapable o f s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . O n e o f the g r o u n d s used to justify the o r i g i n a l c o l o n i s a t i o n o f A f r i c a b y the E u r o p e a n s w a s that A f r i c a n s w e r e n o t capable o f g o v e r n i n g t h e m s e l v e s , a n o t i o n that nationalist leaders quite p r o p e r l y rejected. F o r t h e m the right to self-government also included the right to self-misgovernment. B u t as t h e A f r i c a n s t a t e s c o n t i n u e d t o g r a p p l e w i t h t h e p r o b l e m s o f independence, the question o f preparedness, irrelevant t h o u g h it m a y n o w s e e m t o b e , c o n t i n u e d t o b e r a i s e d . A f r i c a ' s c o l o n i a l heritage and the d e p e n d e n c y w h i c h f o l l o w e d f r o m that heritage has led to p r o b l e m s that m u s t be o v e r c o m e ; the c o n c e p t o f ' preparedness' m a y t h r o w light o n these p r o b l e m s , but apart from its i n t e r e s t t o h i s t o r i a n s , it c a n o n l y u s e f u l l y b e e m p l o y e d as a c h a l l e n g e t o A f r i c a n states t o t a k e d e c i s i o n s b a s e d o n a rational assessment o f possible solutions.

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3

PAN-AFRICANISM SINCE

1940

In 1940, P a n - A f r i c a n i s m s e e m e d t o b e in a state o f d e c a y , y e t w a s germinating n e w g r o w t h . O n e generation o f leaders and organisations was fading. T h e r e had been n o Pan-African C o n g r e s s since the unimpressive N e w Y o r k C o n g r e s s in 1927. T h e organiser o f the four c o n g r e s s e s b e t w e e n 1 9 1 9 and 1927, W . E . B . D u B o i s , l a t e r a c c l a i m e d as t h e ' F a t h e r o f P a n A f r i c a n i s m ' , a p p e a r e d t o l o o k b a c k o n t h e m as a c o m p l e t e d e p i s o d e . H i s s e m i - a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l b o o k , Dusk of dawn, p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 4 0 , s h o w e d m i n i m a l i n t e r e s t i n P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . H o w e v e r , D u B o i s ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o P a n - A f r i c a n i s m w a s n o t o n l y as t h e o r g a n i s e r a n d i n s p i r e r o f o c c a s i o n a l c o n g r e s s e s , b u t a l s o as a n intellectual, m a k i n g k n o w n the contribution o f black p e o p l e in b o t h A f r i c a and the A f r i c a n diaspora to h u m a n i t y . In this respect, h e w a s still f r u i t f u l l y a c t i v e . H i s Black folk then and now, p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 3 9 , w a s a l i v e l y a n d p e n e t r a t i n g c o l l e c t i o n o f e s s a y s o n African and diaspora history and culture from ancient to m o d e r n t i m e s . It c o n t i n u e d a g e n r e h e h a d p i o n e e r e d as far b a c k as 1 9 1 5 , w i t h h i s b o o k The Negro, a n d w h i c h h e w a s t o r e t u r n t o i n 1 9 4 7 w i t h The world and Africa. I n t h e s e w o r k s h e s h o w e d h i m s e l f capable o f stimulating the intelligent general reader o n vast, l i t t l e - k n o w n themes. In spirit, these b o o k s w e r e p r o f o u n d l y i f n o t e x p l i c i t l y P a n - A f r i c a n . T h e y d e a l t w i t h A f r i c a as a w h o l e , d e f e n d e d t h e c r e a t i v i t y a n d v a l i d i t y o f A f r i c a n c u l t u r e t h r o u g h t h e a g e s (as h a d t h e g r e a t n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p r o t o - P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s , s u c h as E . W . B l y d e n ) , a n d t r e a t e d t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e d i a s p o r a as a v i t a l part o f the history o f Africa and Africans. In the o p e n i n g m o n t h s o f 1940, his g r e a t rival in f a m e - o r n o t o r i e t y - as a P a n - A f r i c a n i s t , M a r c u s G a r v e y , w a s d y i n g i n L o n d o n . His Universal N e g r o Improvement Association ( U N I A ) , t h e o n l y m a s s - s u p p o r t e d o r g a n i s a t i o n till t h e n i n t h e h i s t o r y o f Pan-Africanism, had l o n g since divided into mutually hostile fragments. His r e m a i n i n g s u p p o r t e r s w e r e chiefly in distant N o r t h 95

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I94O

A m e r i c a and the W e s t Indies. H i s spirits w e r e s i n k i n g ; he w a s p o v e r t y stricken; and t h o u g h respected b y the y o u n g e r generation o f active Pan-Africanists in Britain, had held h i m s e l f a l o o f f r o m them. His magazine

The Black Man,

to w h i c h , largely, he devoted

h i s last y e a r s , a p p e a r e d at i n c r e a s i n g l y i r r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s , a n d h a d p e t e r e d o u t i n J u n e 1939. D e s p i t e h i s p u g n a c i o u s a t t a c k s o n o t h e r black

leaders,

the

obituaries

on

his

death

contained

remarkably g e n e r o u s tributes, w h i c h recognised the

some

uniqueness

o f his career and a c h i e v e m e n t s . T h e o r g a n o f the L e a g u e o f C o l o u r e d P e o p l e s , an essentially moderate o r e v e n c o n s e r v a t i v e g r o u p b a s e d i n B r i t a i n , d e s c r i b e d h i m as ' o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t m e n o u r g r o u p h a s s o far t h r o w n u p ' a n d r e c o g n i s e d t h a t ' n o o t h e r m a n o p e r a t i n g o u t s i d e A f r i c a h a s s o far b e e n a b l e t o u n i t e o u r people

in

such

large numbers

for

any

object

whatsoever'.

1

A n o t h e r o f the older generation o f Pan-African leaders, D u s e M o h a m e d A l i , w h o had been one o f G a r v e y ' s early mentors, but w h o later had d i s a g r e e d w i t h h i m , and had b r o k e n w i t h Universal N e g r o Improvement

A s s o c i a t i o n in

the

1922, c a m e

to

m u c h the same c o n c l u s i o n :

Perhaps no African, living or dead, had made such an impression on the world at large and quickened the desire for racial self-reliance and self-dependence in the breasts of Africans the world over, than the dead leader... It is to be deeply regretted that his dream of a permanent home for the peoples of African origin was not destined to be realised, but the fact remains that he altered the economic and political consciousness of the African the world over... He has unquestionably altered their outlook as no previous leader seemed capable of accomplishing. 2

A l i w a s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e figure i n a t h i r d m a i n s t r a n d o f t h e P a n - A f r i c a n M o v e m e n t in the p e r i o d 1918-39. T h i s w a s w h a t m i g h t be called C o m m e r c i a l P a n - A f r i c a n i s m - the belief that large-scale c o m m e r c i a l enterprise b y p e o p l e f r o m Africa and the diaspora c o u l d prise resources from the hands o f w h i t e imperialists, enrich the black race, and t h r o u g h the p o w e r o f w e a l t h w i n f r e e d o m . B u t b y 1940, A l i h a d c e a s e d t o b e a n a c t i v e C o m m e r c i a l P a n - A f r i c a n i s t , a n d h a d s e t t l e d d o w n i n h i s last y e a r s as t h e p r o p r i e t o r a n d e d i t o r o f The Comet, & l o c a l l y i n f l u e n t i a l m a g a z i n e in L a g o s . T o a rising g e n e r a t i o n o f N i g e r i a n s , he w a s a respected but rather r e m o t e o l d m a n , w i t h a m y s t e r i o u s and e x c i t i n g past. L i k e G a r v e y , h e w a s m u c h less fiery i n h i s l a t e r y e a r s , e s p e c i a l l y 1

News Letter,

July

1940,

xo, 64.

z

The Comet, 17

August

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1940, 4.

PAN-AFRICANISM

SINCE

1940

o v e r the evils o f British imperialism. A m a n a b o v e local party divisions, he chaired the inaugural m e e t i n g o f the N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l for N i g e r i a and the C a m e r o o n s ( N C N C ) in L a g o s in 1944, a l m o s t h i s last p u b l i c a c t b e f o r e h i s d e a t h i n 1 9 4 5 . H i s m a i n r i v a l as a C o m m e r c i a l P a n - A f r i c a n i s t , t h e s p e c t a c u l a r Ghanaian, W . T e t e - A n s a , w a s still a t t e m p t i n g t o c a r r y t h r o u g h h i s l a t e s t g r a n d i o s e c o m m e r c i a l s c h e m e s in 1940, b u t w i t h the o u t b r e a k o f w a r the m o m e n t for such enterprises had passed. I n d e e d , e v e n from the early 1930s, the y o u n g e r successors o f A l i and T e t e A n s a , W e s t Africans like E k e t I n y a n g U d o h , w h o had learned m u c h f r o m t h e m , w e r e m u c h m o r e c o m m e r c i a l nationalists t h a n Pan-Africanists. Simultaneous w i t h these declining careers and m o v e m e n t s , there w a s from the mid-1930s a t o u g h , resourceful and radical n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s , s o m e M a r x i s t , s u c h as t h e Trinidadians G e o r g e P a d m o r e and C . L . R. James and the Sierra L e o n e a n I. T . A . W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n , o t h e r s l i k e t h e K e n y a n J o m o K e n y a t t a and the G u y a n a n Ras M a k o n n e n d e t e r m i n e d l y antiimperialist. W h a t b o u n d t h e m t o g e t h e r i d e o l o g i c a l l y w a s antiimperialism, and the c o n v i c t i o n that i m p e r i a l i s m had a racial m o d e - t h a t it w a s t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f b l a c k m e n b y w h i t e , a n d that the o n l y w a y o u t , for the b l a c k w o r l d , w a s t h r o u g h racial solidarity and activism. T h i s consensus enabled the anti-Marxist M a k o n n e n , for example, to w o r k h a r m o n i o u s l y w i t h the Marxist Padmore. W h a t activated their radicalism, m o r e than anything else, w a s the I t a l o - E t h i o p i a n crisis, and the c y n i c a l a b a n d o n m e n t o f Ethiopia b y the leaders o f the L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s , Britain and France. S o m e , notably P a d m o r e w i t h his experience o f the C o m i n t e r n and Profintern, w e r e also c o n v i n c e d that, w i t h equal c y n i c i s m , t h e U S S R m e r e l y r e g a r d e d b l a c k m o v e m e n t s as ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y e x p e n d a b l e s ' , and had jettisoned support for the b l a c k w o r l d in t h e i n t e r e s t s o f P o p u l a r F r o n t p o l i c i e s . I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t t h e first i n s t i t u t i o n a l e x p r e s s i o n o f t h i s g r o u p , t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l A f r i c a n F r i e n d s o f A b y s s i n i a ( I A F A ) , i n 1935 h a d c l o s e c o n t a c t s w i t h t h e P a r i s - b a s e d Ligue de la Défense de la Race Nègre, at o n e t i m e c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t Party, and suppressed b y the P o p u l a r F r o n t g o v e r n m e n t in 1937. O n e other factor b o n d i n g the radicals t o g e t h e r w a s that despite diverse origins, they w e r e g e o g r a p h i c a l l y concentrated b y their r e s i d e n c e i n B r i t a i n , w h i c h t h e y felt ' t o b e at t h e c e n t r e o f g r a v i t y 97

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PAN-AFRICANISM

as far as A f r i c a w a s c o n c e r n e d ' . speech, they nevertheless purposes;

although

SINCE

1

1940

Sceptical about

British

free

r e c o g n i s e d its u t i l i t y f o r t h e i r

determined

to be neither

own

smothered

nor

c o n t r o l l e d , they appreciated the practical aid o f British s y m p a t h ­ isers. D i s p e r s e d a r o u n d B r i t a i n b y the blitz ( M a k o n n e n ' s

restau­

r a n t s in M a n c h e s t e r t h e n b e c o m i n g a n i m p o r t a n t l o c a l e o f t h e m o v e m e n t ) , t h e y r e m a i n e d in c l o s e t o u c h w i t h e a c h o t h e r . M o r e than

any

other

group,

they

were

responsible

for

the

Fifth

P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s in M a n c h e s t e r in 1945. What

saved them

from

b e i n g merely a small

discussion g r o u p o f the sort that had l o n g

Pan-African

flourished

in Britain

w a s their ability to reach and penetrate other black circles. O n e o f these w a s W A S U , the W e s t A f r i c a n Students U n i o n , w h o s e dominant

figure,

Ladipo

Solanke, had

long

b e l i e v e d in

the

c o n c e p t o f a U n i t e d W e s t A f r i c a , a n d w h o s e hostel in L o n d o n w a s a r e n d e z v o u s for W e s t African students and visitors, and

other

Africans, W e s t Indians, black A m e r i c a n s and white sympathisers. T h r o u g h friendly and informal contacts w i t h W A S U , the radicals w e r e able to spread their influence. A British-based organisation w i t h w h i c h they had m o r e e q u i v o c a l relations w a s the

moderate

L e a g u e o f C o l o u r e d Peoples ( L C P ) , led b y the Jamaican,

Dr

M . A . M o o d y . M a k o n n e n r e g a r d e d his g r o u p ' s relationship w i t h t h e L C P as b e i n g ' o n e

of convenience'.

2

H o w e v e r , in

1939,

collaboration b e t w e e n the L C P moderates and the radicals w a s increasing, particularly in p l a n n i n g a W o r l d C o n f e r e n c e to be h e l d in L o n d o n in

1940, w h i c h w a s to deal c o m p r e h e n s i v e l y

with

questions c o n c e r n i n g Africa and the diaspora. T h e radicals w e r e anxious that their organisation, the International A f r i c a n S e r v i c e B u r e a u ( I A S B ) , w h i c h h a d r e p l a c e d t h e I A F A in 1 9 3 7 , w o u l d n o t be s w a m p e d b y the L C P , w h i c h had taken the initiative. W a r put paid

to the

radicals

and

conference, and moderates.

The

the

fragile c o o p e r a t i o n

former

denounced

the

between war

as

i m p e r i a l i s t , a n d r e f u s e d t o s u p p o r t t h e B r i t i s h w a r effort. M o o d y , w h i l e c o n t i n u i n g t o w o r k f o r b l a c k p o l i t i c a l a n d c i v i l r i g h t s , felt t h a t in t h a t c r i s i s it w a s n e c e s s a r y t o r a l l y b e h i n d t h e U n i o n J a c k . In c o n s e q u e n c e , b y

1945 t h e i n t e n s e r a d i c a l i s i n g effect o f t h e

S e c o n d W o r l d W a r m a d e h i m seem irrelevant, w h i l e the radicals w e r e in a c c o r d w i t h the m o o d o f the times. D e s p i t e 1

2

wartime

Ras Makonnen, Pan-Africanism from within (Nairobi, 1973), 152—3. Makonnen, Pan-Africanism, 127.

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dislocation, the radicals, notably P a d m o r e and M a k o n n e n ,

re­

mained organisationally effective. In 1944 they w e r e able to create t h e P a n - A f r i c a n F e d e r a t i o n ( P A F ) as a n u m b r e l l a f o r a n u m b e r of smaller organisations. I f B r i t a i n w a s t h e f o c u s o f P a n - A f r i c a n a c t i v i t y u p t o 1 9 4 5 , it w o u l d n e v e r t h e l e s s b e m i s l e a d i n g t o a t t r i b u t e all i n i t i a t i v e b e t w e e n 1935

a n d 1945 t o B r i t i s h - b a s e d g r o u p s a n d l e a d e r s . A l l o v e r t h e

b l a c k w o r l d , b u t m o s t n o t a b l y in W e s t A f r i c a and in the U n i t e d States, p e o p l e w e r e aroused b y the I t a l o - E t h i o p i a n crisis. T h u s , a l t h o u g h o n l y a h a n d f u l o f b l a c k A m e r i c a n s - s u c h as t h e a v i a t o r s John

C Robinson

s e r v e d in t h e

and

Hubert

Ethiopian

Fauntleroy

forces, nevertheless

Julian - actually many

thousands

expressed the w i s h to d o so but w e r e p r e v e n t e d by circumstances. The

m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f these w a s the U S State D e p a r t m e n t ' s

ban

o n A m e r i c a n citizens enlisting in E t h i o p i a n forces. T h e b l a c k A m e r i c a n press d e v o t e d e n o r m o u s attention to the w a r , and to the appeals o f v a r i o u s aid c o m m i t t e e s . M a n y b l a c k A m e r i c a n organisations s o u g h t to aid E t h i o p i a ; such, for e x a m p l e , w a s the Pan-African D a n i e l s in

Reconstruction Harlem

in

Association, founded

1934. T h e s e press

by

campaigns

Samuel and

aid

o r g a n i s a t i o n s w e r e p a r a l l e l e d i n W e s t A f r i c a . T h e effect o n b o t h the y o u n g e r and older generations o f W e s t Africans w a s often to m a k e t h e m a w a r e i n a w a y t h a t w a s , at l e a s t i m p l i c i t l y , P a n African. A s A n t h o n y E n a h o r o put it:

Our favourite newspaper, The Comet, was a weekly publication by [Duse Mohamed Ali]... From it I followed the fortunes of the Italo-Abyssinian War, about which Father and my teachers appeared considerably agitated. Fellowfeeling with other Africans was a newly awakened sentiment, much disappointment was felt about England's failure to go to the aid of the Ethiopians, and collections were taken for a 'Help Abyssinia Fund'. 1

In o t h e r w a y s , the W e s t A f r i c a n P a n - A f r i c a n response in the 1 9 3 0 s w a s less c l e a r . T h i s w a s t h e p e r i o d o f t h e d e c l i n e o f t h e N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s o f B r i t i s h W e s t A f r i c a a n d the rise o f territori­ ally based political parties. O n the o t h e r h a n d W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n ' s W e s t A f r i c a n Y o u t h L e a g u e had a P a n - A f r i c a n o u t l o o k , and tried t o e m b r a c e F r e n c h a n d P o r t u g u e s e as w e l l as B r i t i s h W e s t A f r i c a i n t h e y e a r s after 1 9 3 5 . H i s d e t e n t i o n o n S h e r b r o I s l a n d f o r m o s t of

the p e r i o d o f the

Second W o r l d W a r ended

the

League's

e f f e c t i v e life. T h e m o s t s p e c t a c u l a r o f t h e n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f W e s t 1

Anthony Enahoro, Fugitive

offender

(London, 1965),

45.

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African political leaders, N n a m d i A z i k i w e , proclaimed PanA f r i c a n i d e a s i n h i s n e w s p a p e r s , t h e African Morning Post i n A c c r a , a n d f r o m 1 9 3 8 t h e West African Pilot i n L a g o s ; a n d i n h i s b o o k Renascent Africa ( 1 9 3 7 ) . H e h a d a w i d e i n f l u e n c e o v e r t h e y o u n g e r generation. A z i k i w e provided a model and personal encouragement to y o u n g W e s t Africans to g o to the U n i t e d States for their u n i v e r s i t y e d u c a t i o n , m o s t n o t a b l y in the case o f K w a m e N k r u m a h , w h o i n 1935 w e n t t o s t u d y at L i n c o l n U n i v e r s i t y , A z i k i w e ' s o l d s c h o o l . In the 1930s and 1940s, several score W e s t A f r i c a n s t u d e n t s s t u d i e d at L i n c o l n , n o t t o m e n t i o n n u m b e r s o f o t h e r A f r i c a n s w h o s t u d i e d at o t h e r A m e r i c a n u n i v e r s i t i e s , b l a c k and w h i t e . D u r i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r such students had opportunities to interact w i t h a r e v i v i n g black A m e r i c a n interest in A f r i c a , a n d t o assess t h e i r o w n p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n i n a c o u n t r y w h i c h , i f an ally o f w a r t i m e Britain, w a s hostile t o British i m ­ perialism. A m o n g t h e m s e l v e s , they f o r m e d an A f r i c a n Students A s s o c i a t i o n ( A S A ) , first m o o t e d as a n i d e a at L i n c o l n i n 1 9 3 9 , w h i c h h e l d its first g e n e r a l m e e t i n g i n H a r l e m in 1 9 4 1 . A l t h o u g h its m e m b e r s w e r e n o t m a n y , t h e y c o n t a i n e d m e n w h o w e r e l a t e r t o m a k e t h e i r m a r k i n W e s t A f r i c a , s u c h as K . O . Mbadiwe, A. A . N. Orizu, Mbonu Ojike, K . A . B . JonesQ u a r t e y , a n d , o f c o u r s e , N k r u m a h . It n o w a p p e a r s t h a t N k r u m a h later e x a g g e r a t e d h i s r o l e i n t h e A S A , e l e v a t i n g h i m s e l f r e t r o ­ s p e c t i v e l y t o t h e p o s i t i o n o f its first p r e s i d e n t , a n d c l a i m i n g t h a t h e c o n t i n u e d as p r e s i d e n t u n t i l h e w e n t t o B r i t a i n i n 1 9 4 5 . S o far as is k n o w n h e w a s t h e second p r e s i d e n t , a n d o n l y h e l d this p o s t d u r i n g 1 9 4 2 - 3 . N e v e r t h e l e s s , b e c a u s e t h e A S A affiliated i t s e l f t o W A S U i n B r i t a i n , o n r e a c h i n g L o n d o n i n 1945 it w a s n o t difficult f o r N k r u m a h , still a r a t h e r o b s c u r e p e r s o n , t o m a k e h i m s e l f k n o w n to the t o p leadership o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in Britain. A d d i t i o n a l l y , he had a letter o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n to P a d m o r e f r o m C L . R. James. But N k r u m a h does seem to have played a part in radicalising the C o u n c i l o n A f r i c a n Affairs, a b l a c k A m e r i c a n organisation w h i c h had been founded by Paul R o b e s o n and M a x Y e r g a n . H e p l a y e d a p r o m i n e n t p a r t i n its C o n f e r e n c e o n A f r i c a , h e l d in N e w Y o r k i n 1 9 4 4 , w h i c h i n t u r n r e f l e c t e d t h e g r o w i n g interest o f politically c o n s c i o u s b l a c k A m e r i c a n s in the A f r i c a n continent.

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T h e 1945 P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s w a s t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f t h e n e w g r o w t h s in t h e m o v e m e n t , b u t a l s o o f a m u c h l o n g e r p r o c e s s , s t r e t c h i n g b a c k to the e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , in w h i c h P a n - A f r i c a n c o n s c i o u s n e s s h a d b e e n g e r m i n a t i n g , especially in the d i a s p o r a , a l t h o u g h also in A f r i c a . A f t e r 1 9 4 5 , P a n - A f r i c a n i s m w a s to t r a n s f e r its g e o g r a p h i c a l c e n t r e , p o l i t i c a l p r i o r i t i e s , a n d l e a d e r s h i p , at l o n g last, t o t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t itself, a n d t h e d i a s p o r a w a s to b e c o m e peripheral in e v e r y sense. N e v e r t h e l e s s , despite the reiteration, especially b y N k r u m a h , that the M a n c h e s t e r C o n g r e s s w a s t h e first t o b e d o m i n a t e d b y A f r i c a n s a n d A f r i c a n i s s u e s , it w a s v e r y m u c h t h e c r e a t i o n o f d i a s p o r a l e a d e r s . It s o h a p p e n e d t h a t b y 1944, D u B o i s had r e v i v e d his a c t i v e interest in P a n - A f r i c a n i s m and w a s planning another c o n g r e s s . T h u s b y early 1945, b o t h D u B o i s and the radical P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s in Britain w e r e , u n k n o w n to each other, planning a Fifth C o n g r e s s . T h i s confusion was partly because D u B o i s ' s contacts in Britain w e r e w i t h W A S U and the L C P , w h o s e leader, M o o d y , had b e e n c o n t e m p l a t i n g s o m e sort o f Pan-African conference since 1943, rather than the I A S B and t h e P A F . H e h o p e d , as h e h a d i n 1 9 1 9 , t o p e r s u a d e t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n for the A d v a n c e m e n t o f C o l o r e d P e o p l e ( N A A C P ) officially t o s u p p o r t a n d finance h i s c o n g r e s s , w h i c h h e w i s h e d t o t a k e p l a c e in A f r i c a . W h e n h e b e c a m e a w a r e o f t h e p l a n s b e i n g m a d e i n d e p e n d e n t l y i n B r i t a i n , at first h e r e a c t e d i c i l y . T w o factors, h o w e v e r , p r e v e n t e d a disastrous split. A s in the p e r i o d b e t w e e n 1 9 1 9 a n d 1 9 2 7 , t h e N A A C P u l t i m a t e l y w i t h h e l d official b a c k i n g a n d finance, w h i c h r e d u c e d h i s p o w e r t o d o m i n a t e e v e n t s o r g o his o w n w a y . M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , w i t h masterly skill, P a d m o r e s o o t h e d D u B o i s ' s susceptibilities, r e c o g n i s i n g his v a l u e as t h e e m b o d i m e n t o f t h e m o v e m e n t ' s h i s t o r i c a l c o n t i n u i t y a n d thus secured his c o o p e r a t i o n . T h e c o n g r e s s that e m e r g e d reflected P a d m o r e ' s radical ideas rather than D u B o i s ' s m o r e cautious ones. E x p l o i t i n g contacts w i t h colonial trades-union leaders, and the m e e t i n g o f the W o r l d T r a d e s U n i o n C o n g r e s s in Paris in early O c t o b e r 1945, P a d m o r e w a s able to ensure that Manchester w a s not merely a meeting o f eminent black intellectuals and professional m e n . A n d , in a n o t h e r adroit piece o f political management, not only was D u B o i s present, but also four delegates from the U N I A o f Jamaica, thus s y m b o l i c a l l y r e c o n c i l i n g the 101

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deepest antagonism within the m o v e m e n t . Neither did the pres­ ence o f these U N I A Garvey's

first

wife,

delegates deter A m y A s h w o o d G a r v e y , from

attending,

although

the U N I A

of

Jamaica w a s headed b y his second wife, A m y Jaques G a r v e y . T h e n o t a b l e a b s e n c e s f r o m t h e 1945 C o n g r e s s w e r e M o o d y a n d t h e LCP

moderates,

and any representative

o f francophone Pan-

A f r i c a n i s m . I t h a s b e e n a r g u e d t h a t p o l i t i c a l effort i n F r e n c h B l a c k A f r i c a , after t h e 1 9 4 4 B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e , w a s d i r e c t e d ( o r misdirected) into the limited o p e n i n g s that b e c a m e available in 1

m e t r o p o l i t a n F r e n c h p o l i t i c s . I n p e r s o n a l t e r m s , s o o n after t h e M a n c h e s t e r C o n g r e s s , N k r u m a h and K e n y a t t a returned t o their o w n countries to take u p the struggle for local independence. In sharp

contrast,

Leopold

Senghor

w a s acting

as an

official

philological adviser o n the language o f the constitution o f the F r e n c h F o u r t h R e p u b l i c . It c o u l d b e said that the a b s e n c e o f f r a n c o p h o n e d e l e g a t e s i n 1945 p r e s a g e d o n e o f t h e d i v i s i o n s i n i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a f r o m t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , t h a t b e t w e e n f r a n c o p h o n e and a n g l o p h o n e Africa. T h e C o n g r e s s d i d n o t seize the w o r l d ' s headlines, y e t un­ doubtedly

it w a s a n e v e n t

o f great

importance.

r e m i n i s c i n g in 1 9 6 3 , asserted that ' w e w e n t f r o m

Nkrumah, Manchester

2

k n o w i n g d e f i n i t e l y w h e r e w e w e r e g o i n g ' . A s w e l l as s u r v e y i n g the situation in v a r i o u s parts o f A f r i c a a n d the diaspora, the C o n g r e s s issued t w o general statements, ' T h e C h a l l e n g e to the Colonial P o w e r s ' , and a 'Declaration to the Colonial W o r k e r s , F a r m e r s a n d Intellectuals'. T h e s e c o n t a i n e d the essence o f its message. B o t h used Marxist-flavoured language - the ' Declara­ tion ' ended w i t h the phrase ' Colonial and Subject Peoples o f the W o r l d U n i t e ! ' - w i t h o u t b e i n g in reality M a r x i s t statements. T h e ' Challenge' demanded independence f o r ' Black Africa' (although the c o n g r e s s h a d c o n c e r n e d itself w i t h N o r t h A f r i c a t o o ) , c o n ­ demned

' t h e m o n o p o l y o f capital', and envisaged the use o f

f o r c e t o w i n f r e e d o m ' a s a last r e s o r t ' , t h o u g h n o t as i n e v i t a b l e . B u t w h a t w a s perhaps the m o s t characteristic a n d significant call o f t h e M a n c h e s t e r C o n g r e s s w a s f o r c o l o n i a l f r e e d o m , ' t h e first step

towards

and necessary

prerequisite

to complete

social,

3

e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l e m a n c i p a t i o n ' . H e r e w a s t h e first p r i o r i t y 1

Imanuel Geiss, The Pan-African movement ( L o n d o n , 1974), 396-7. G e o r g e Padmore (ed.), The history of the Pan-African Congress (2nd edition with new material, L o n d o n , 1963), v. 2

3

Padmore, Pan-African Congress, 5-7.

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for the m o v e m e n t - national i n d e p e n d e n c e , a g o a l that h a d n o t clearly e m e r g e d f r o m the earlier c o n g r e s s e s . T h e q u e s t i o n o f w h a t f o r m P a n - A f r i c a n i s m m i g h t e v e n t u a l l y t a k e after t h e a c h i e v e m e n t o f national i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s n o t c o n s i d e r e d . A f t e r all, despite t h e o p t i m i s m o f t h e m o m e n t , it is u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e d e l e g a t e s f o r e s a w n a t i o n a l i n d e p e n d e n c e as n o t m u c h m o r e t h a n a d e c a d e a w a y for s o m e A f r i c a n colonies. T h e issue o f the relationship between national independence and supra-national Pan-Africa­ n i s m w a s n e c e s s a r i l y e v e n m o r e r e m o t e , a l t h o u g h , i n e v i t a b l y , it w a s t o a r i s e i n a n a c u t e f o r m a l m o s t as s o o n as t h e r e w a s a sufficient n u c l e u s o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states i n e x i s t e n c e . N k r u m a h had been the author o f the ' D e c l a r a t i o n to the C o l o n i a l W o r k e r s , Farmers and Intellectuals' o f the c o n g r e s s . In t h e i n t e r v a l b e t w e e n O c t o b e r 1945 a n d h i s r e t u r n t o t h e G o l d C o a s t i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 4 7 at t h e r e q u e s t o f t h e l e a d e r s o f t h e U n i t e d G o l d C o a s t C o n v e n t i o n ( U G C C ) , n o o n e w a s m o r e a c t i v e in i m p l e m e n t i n g its d e c i s i o n s . H e c r e a t e d , t o g e t h e r w i t h W a l l a c e J o h n s o n and others, the W e s t A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l Secretariat ( W A N S ) , a small élite g r o u p o f radically inclined W e s t A f r i c a n s in B r i t a i n . T h e t a c t i c t h e y a d v o c a t e d w a s m o b i l i s a t i o n o f t h e masses (unlike the c o n s e r v a t i v e traditions o f the U G C C leaders), and their o b j e c t i v e w a s an i n d e p e n d e n t U n i t e d W e s t Africa, an o l d W e s t A f r i c a n d r e a m , w h i c h can b e traced b a c k t o the nineteenth-century p r o t o - P a n - A f r i c a n i s t J a m e s A f r i c a n u s H o r t o n . N k r u m a h a n d t h e W A N S w e r e n o t satisfied w i t h t h e l i m i t e d c o n c e p t o f a U n i t e d British W e s t A f r i c a , b u t l i k e t h e W e s t African Y o u t h League, wanted to include French and Portuguese c o l o n i e s t o o . T o this e n d , g o o d relations w e r e established n o t o n l y w i t h B r i t i s h W e s t A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , s u c h as t h e N C N C , b u t also w i t h the only g e n u i n e l y trans-territorial W e s t A f r i c a n political party o f the day, the R a s s e m b l e m e n t D é m o c r a t i q u e A f r i c a i n ( R D A ) , w h o s e leaders, m e m b e r s o f the F r e n c h N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y , N k r u m a h m e t in P a r i s in 1 9 4 7 . B u t h i s r e t u r n t o A f r i c a in 1 9 4 7 , a y e a r after K e n y a t t a h a d r e t u r n e d t o K e n y a , m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f the e n d o f the p e r i o d in w h i c h Britain w a s the m o s t important geographical centre o f Pan-African activity. F o r a time W A S U c o n t i n u e d t o afford a n u m b r e l l a u n d e r w h i c h P a n Africanists could operate. In 1947-8, M a k o n n e n (with help from British sympathisers and other Pan-Africanist radicals) p r o d u c e d a n d e d i t e d t h e j o u r n a l Pan-Africa, p e r h a p s t h e last i n t h e l i n e o f 103

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influential P a n - A f r i c a n journals p r o d u c e d in Britain, w h i c h s t r e t c h e d b a c k v i a D u s e M o h a m e d A l i ' s African Times and Orient Review ( 1 9 1 2 - 1 8 ) t o S. J. C e l e s t i n e E d w a r d s ' s Fraternity ( 1 8 9 2 - 4 ) . But b y the early 1950s, e v e n those Pan-Africanists w h o remained in B r i t a i n s e e m , u n d e r s t a n d a b l y , t o h a v e b e e n s w e p t a l o n g b y h e a d y e v e n t s in A f r i c a , especially in the G o l d C o a s t ; P a n A f r i c a n i s m w a s n o t r e n o u n c e d b u t w a s s u b s u m e d in the national i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e s . T h u s P a d m o r e p u b l i s h e d h i s b o o k The

Gold Coast revolution. The struggle of an African people from slavery to freedom i n 1 9 5 3 . B u t t h i s w a s , after a l l , q u i t e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e s p i r i t o f M a n c h e s t e r 1 9 4 5 , a s p i r i t w h i c h as t h e 1 9 5 0 s a d v a n c e d must have seemed m o r e and m o r e prescient.

THE

A F R I C A N

DIASPORA

AND

POST-1945

PAN-AFRICANISM

O n e o f t h e m o s t p o i g n a n t c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e p o s t - 1 9 4 5 shift i n Pan-Africanism w a s the increasing marginality o f the diaspora. T o b e g i n w i t h , in the early and m i d - 1 9 5 0 s , b l a c k A m e r i c a n s and British W e s t Indians, the t w o diaspora c o m m u n i t i e s w h o had historically b e e n o f m o s t i m p o r t a n c e in the m o v e m e n t , h a d o t h e r and urgent preoccupations. In the U n i t e d States, the older generation o f black American Pan-Africanists, notably D u B o i s and R o b e s o n , w e r e sometimes victims o f M c C a r t h y i s m . T h e i r M a r x i s t s y m p a t h i e s m a d e this inevitable. W h e n the A m e r i c a n Civil R i g h t s m o v e m e n t b e g a n to get u n d e r w a y , w i t h the historic c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h G o v e r n o r F a u b u s in L i t t l e R o c k , A r k a n s a s , i n 195 3, it w a s t h e F r e d e r i c k D o u g l a s s t r a d i t i o n i n b l a c k A m e r i c a n radicalism that w a s u p p e r m o s t , d e m a n d i n g the rights o f blacks as A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n s . A s t h e C i v i l R i g h t s m o v e m e n t b e g a n t o cohere and gather strength under the leadership o f Martin L u t h e r K i n g this, rather than a P a n - A f r i c a n perspective, remained u p p e r m o s t until perhaps the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s . A f t e r all, K i n g ' s m o s t openly a c k n o w l e d g e d political debt to any n o n - A m e r i c a n w a s not to the n e w leaders o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a , b u t to G a n d h i . A p a r t from those w h o f o l l o w e d h i m , perhaps the m o s t d y n a m i c m o v e ­ m e n t a m o n g black A m e r i c a n s , the N a t i o n o f Islam, p r o c l a i m e d a n A r a b i a n r a t h e r t h a n an A f r i c a n o r i g i n f o r b l a c k p e o p l e . M e a n w h i l e , in the British W e s t Indies, the 1950s w e r e years o f struggles and negotiations for independence from Britain - and 104

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PAN-AFRICANISM

struggles within and a m o n g the W e s t Indian colonies b e t w e e n federalists a n d anti-federalists. T h e latter, w h o s e u n i v e r s a l t r i u m p h b e g a n w i t h the o p t i n g o f Jamaica for separate i n d e p e n d e n c e , w e r e hardly likely to s u b s u m e their h a r d - w o n local i n d e p e n d e n c e in a w i d e r P a n - A f r i c a n identity. B y the 1960s, P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in the W e s t Indies b e c a m e an i d e o l o g y o f dissident intellectuals, rather than o f g o v e r n m e n t s - a l t h o u g h partial e x c e p t i o n s w o u l d b e the interest s h o w n b y F o r b e s B u r n h a m ' s g o v e r n m e n t in G u y a n a in the 1970s, and Jamaica f o l l o w i n g the return to p o w e r o f M i c h a e l M a n l e y and his P e o p l e ' s N a t i o n a l Party in 1 9 7 5 . In Jamaica, A m y Jaques G a r v e y , M a r c u s G a r v e y ' s w i d o w , w o r k e d ceaselessly to keep her husband's m e m o r y and ideas alive a n d , as s c h o l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n G a r v e y b e g a n t o g r o w i n t h e m i d - 1 9 5 o s , p r o v i d e d i n v a l u a b l e h e l p t o m a n y scholars. It w o u l d n o t b e an e x a g g e r a t i o n t o say that her part in the history o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m w a s i n itself, f o r t h e s e r e a s o n s , a m a j o r o n e ; s h e l i v e d t o s e e G a r v e y a c k n o w l e d g e d as a h e r o a g a i n b y b l a c k l e a d e r s i n b o t h A f r i c a a n d the diaspora. A f r i c a in g e n e r a l , a n d P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in particular, c o n t i n u e d t o b e o f i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e d i a s p o r a after t h e late 1 9 4 0 s . T h e a d v e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n t b l a c k A f r i c a n states, b e g i n n i n g w i t h G h a n a in 1957, and r e a c h i n g a c l i m a x in the h e a d y year o f i960, caused an i m m e n s e stirring o f interest and pride t h r o u g h o u t the diaspora, and an u n d e r s t a n d a b l e w i s h t o relate to and e m u l a t e this m o v e ­ m e n t . O n t h e l e v e l o f b l a c k p o p u l a r c u l t u r e , this f o u n d e x p r e s s i o n in the w e a r i n g o f * A f r o ' hairstyles and ' d a s h i k i s ' , the g i v i n g o f African names to children, and e v e n a v o g u e for attending b e g i n n e r s ' classes in S w a h i l i . T h e y o u n g e r generation o f black political leaders, especially in the U n i t e d States, w h o e m e r g e d f r o m the C i v i l R i g h t s m o v e m e n t , a l m o s t i n v a r i a b l y e m p h a s i s e d t h e A f r i c a n h e r i t a g e as p a r t o f t h e i r p r o g r a m m e o f Black Nationalism. Indeed, b o r r o w i n g a leaf from the African nationalist leaders, or for that matter f r o m the Manchester C o n g r e s s , there w e r e demands for national indepen­ dence for black A m e r i c a n s . T h u s the p r o g r a m m e o f the B l a c k P a n t h e r P a r t y i n 1 9 6 6 i n c l u d e d as t h e p a r t y ' s ' m a j o r p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e ' , a call for ' a U n i t e d N a t i o n s - s u p e r v i s e d plebiscite t o b e h e l d t h r o u g h o u t t h e b l a c k c o l o n y (i.e. b l a c k A m e r i c a n s ) i n w h i c h only black colonial subjects will be a l l o w e d to participate, f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f d e t e r m i n i n g t h e w i l l o f b l a c k p e o p l e as t o t h e i r 105

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PAN-AFRICANISM

national destiny'.

1

SINCE

1940

W i t h i n the B l a c k Panthers, b y 1968, there w a s

a split b e t w e e n those w h o stressed political b l a c k nationalism, and a w i n g led b y S t o k e l y C a r m i c h a e l that put a s t r o n g emphasis o n cultural

nationalism.

Carmichael's stance

became

increasingly

detached from diaspora black nationalism and increasingly African inclined, until he d e c i d e d to join the o v e r t h r o w n N k r u m a h in exile in G u i n e a . O t h e r b l a c k nationalists o f the s a m e g e n e r a t i o n b e c a m e explicitly P a n - A f r i c a n in o u t l o o k , w i t h o u t l e a v i n g the

United

States. T h u s the writer I m a m u B a r a k a (the f o r m e r L e R o i Jones), created the C o n g r e s s o f African Peoples, w h i c h held a m e e t i n g in A t l a n t a , G e o r g i a in 1970, a t t e n d e d m a i n l y b y d e l e g a t e s f r o m affiliated b l a c k A m e r i c a n o r g a n i s a t i o n s , b u t a l s o s o m e A f r i c a n s , s u c h as t h e G u i n e a n A m b a s s a d o r t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , a n d

a

representative o f H o l d e n Roberto's A n g o l a n National Liberation Front.

Baraka regarded

this g a t h e r i n g

as ' o n e

in a g r o w i n g

historical tradition o f international gatherings o f P a n - A f r i c a n s ' . Those

present

were

an

amazingly

heterogeneous

collection,

representing w h a t e v e n he admitted w e r e ' s e e m i n g l y antithetical approaches to national and international African l i b e r a t i o n ' .

2

In

his o w n address, he called for a W o r l d A f r i c a n Political P a r t y : ' A P o l i t i c a l P a r t y t h a t w i l l f u n c t i o n i n S o u t h A f r i c a l i k e it w i l l f u n c t i o n in C h i c a g o , w h e r e y o u k n o w t h a t i f y o u a r e i n S u r i n a m o r Jamaica, o r N e w Y o r k City this W o r l d A f r i c a n Party will be functioning to get p o w e r , to bring about self-determination Black people.'

for

3

A n o t h e r s t r a n d o f d i a s p o r a life w i t h a c o n t i n u i n g i n t e r e s t in Africa and Pan-Africanism w a s the intellectual w o r l d . T h e black A m e r i c a n c o n t r i b u t i o n to the early g r o w t h o f A f r i c a n studies w a s p i o n e e r i n g a n d s e m i n a l . E v e n if, in t h e m a s s i v e e x p a n s i o n o f African studies f r o m the 1950s, the distinctively black A m e r i c a n (or, o n e m i g h t add, W e s t Indian contribution) n o l o n g e r played quite such a central role, black A m e r i c a n universities and scholars p l a y e d a k e y part in initiating that e x p a n s i o n . C o n t i n u i n g interest a m o n g the b l a c k A m e r i c a n intelligentsia in A f r i c a n c u l t u r e w a s signalled by the creation o f the A m e r i c a n S o c i e t y o f A f r i c a n Culture

(AMSAC)

in

1956, w h i c h

restricted

membership

to

p e r s o n s o f A f r i c a n d e s c e n t . A l t h o u g h its s t a n d i n g w a s s e r i o u s l y 1

2

Bobby Seale, Sei%e the time. The story of the Black Panther Party (London, 1970), 89. Imamu Amiri Baraka (ed.) African Congress: a documentary of thefirstmodern Pan-African y

Congress ( N e w Y o r k , 1972), vii, viii. 3

Baraka, African Congress, 94.

106

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POST-1945

PAN-AFRICANISM

tarnished b y the subsequent revelation o f secret Central Intelli­ g e n c e A g e n c y c o n n e x i o n s , it w o u l d b e u n w i s e t o d i s m i s s t h i s b o d y , a n d its m e m b e r s , as n o t h i n g b u t p u p p e t s o f c o v e r t A m e r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c y . Its t h i r d a n n u a l c o n f e r e n c e , i n P h i l a d e l p h i a in i 9 6 0 , d e v o t e d i t s e l f t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f ' A f r i c a n U n i t i e s a n d P a n - A f r i c a n i s m ' , a n d c a n b e r e g a r d e d as a n e v e n t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f the m o v e m e n t . S o m e o f those present had s t r o n g links w i t h the P a n - A f r i c a n past, n o t a b l y R a y f o r d W , L o g a n , w h o had p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t i n t h e e r a o f P a n - A f r i c a n c o n g r e s s e s after t h e First W o r l d W a r ; Jean P r i c e - M a r s , Haitian diplomat, p h i l o s o p h e r o f négritude, a n d P r e s i d e n t o f t h e Société Africaine de Culture i n P a r i s ; a n d Jaja W a c h u k u , w h o h a d b e e n at t h e 1945 P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s , and w h o w a s in i960 f o r e i g n minister o f N i g e r i a . O n e o f the oldest dreams in the diaspora, that o f the ' r e t u r n o f exiles ' to A f r i c a , f o u n d e x p r e s s i o n in the era o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states, n o t in m a s s m i g r a t i o n s , b u t in the t r a v e l o f m a n y black A m e r i c a n and W e s t Indian individuals to Africa. S o m e w e n t as v i s i t o r s ; s o m e t o w o r k t h e r e ; a n d y e t o t h e r s t o m a k e A f r i c a t h e i r h o m e . O f t h i s last g r o u p , t h r e e o f t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t l e a d e r s o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in 1945, D u B o i s , P a d m o r e and M a k o n n e n , w e r e all t o s e t t l e i n G h a n a , t h e b r i g h t ' B l a c k S t a r ' o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s . F o r D u B o i s , his d e c i s i o n t o settle in G h a n a , w h e r e he w a s t o die in 1 9 6 3 , w a s b o t h a s y m b o l i c a l a n d a real r e n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d its d o m i n a n t w h i t e c u l t u r e . H e a n d h i s w i f e s p e n t t h e c l o s e o f h i s life w o r k i n g o n t h e Encyclopaedia Africana, a p r o j e c t w h i c h h a d official G h a n a i a n g o v e r n m e n t b a c k i n g , a n d w h o s e first v o l u m e a p p e a r e d i n 1 9 7 8 . I n s o m e w a y s , P a d m o r e ' s c a s e is e v e n m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g , f o r i n 1 9 5 8 N k r u m a h i n v i t e d h i m t o c o m e t o G h a n a as h i s a d v i s e r o n A f r i c a n affairs. T h u s , i n a b r i e f final e p i s o d e i n h i s life, P a d m o r e h a d t h e p r o s p e c t o f w i e l d i n g p o w e r . I r o n i c a l l y , t h e last y e a r s i n L o n d o n w e r e i n f a c t m o r e f r u i t f u l , as d u r i n g t h a t t i m e h e p r o d u c e d a s t e a d y s e r i e s o f m a j o r w o r k s , c u l m i n a t i n g i n h i s Pan-Africanism or Communism? ( 1 9 5 6 ) , w h i c h as w e l l as i n s i s t i n g o n t h e n e e d f o r A f r i c a t o b e free f r o m both western colonialism and subordination to M o s c o w ' s i n t e r e s t s , a l s o h a d e n c a p s u l a t e d w i t h i n it a m a j o r s u r v e y o f t h e r o o t s a n d h i s t o r y o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . T h e r e c a n b e little d o u b t t h a t h e i n t e n d e d t h i s as a m o r e o r less ' o f f i c i a l ' h i s t o r y o f P a n A f r i c a n i s m ; it s t r e s s e d D u B o i s ' s a l l e g e d r o l e as ' f a t h e r ' o f t h e m o v e m e n t , ignored or underplayed contrary aspects o f Pan107

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PAN-AFRICANISM

SINCE

1940

A f r i c a n i s m ' s h i s t o r y , r e c o n c i l e d G a r v e y i s m w i t h the rest o f the m o v e m e n t , and glorified N k r u m a h ' s policies in the G o l d C o a s t as t h e s u p r e m e e m b o d i m e n t o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m i n a c t i o n . Y e t i n G h a n a , he disliked the toadies and opportunists w h o

surrounded

N k r u m a h , a n d t h e y in t u r n w e r e d e t e r m i n e d t o k e e p h i m isolated f r o m effective p o w e r . H e h e l p e d o r g a n i s e the 1958 A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e , and w a s p u t in c h a r g e o f a specially created B u r e a u o f A f r i c a n Affairs; b u t the latter w a s m e r e l y a c o n s o l a t i o n prize for his e x c l u s i o n f r o m the cabinet. B y July 1959 his health w a s failing, a n d in S e p t e m b e r

1959 he returned to L o n d o n

for

medical treatment, o n l y to die there. T h i s m i s e r a b l e c l o s e t o P a d m o r e ' s life i l l u s t r a t e s t h e d a r k e r s i d e o f the

position

Pan-Africanists

in m o d e r n

independent

from the diaspora.

Africa

of

committed

T h e most perceptive

com­

m e n t a t o r o n t h i s is P a d m o r e ' s o l d f r i e n d M a k o n n e n , w h o g a v e N k r u m a h loyalty t o the end o f his r e g i m e , suffering

imprisonment

f o r t h i s after h i s o v e r t h r o w i n 1 9 6 6 . B u t h i s l o y a l t y w a s n o t o n e o f u n c r i t i c a l a d u l a t i o n . T h u s , h e f o u n d t h a t after P a d m o r e ' s d e a t h , e v e n the B u r e a u o f African Affairs w a s effectively controlled b y G h a n a i a n s , w i t h n o n - G h a n a i a n s b e i n g t r e a t e d as ' o u t s i d e r s ' , a n d the B u r e a u ceasing to be a ' truly P a n - A f r i c a n i n s t r u m e n t o f p o l i c y making'.

1

Worse

still, he

found

the

generality

of

Ghanaian

politicians, a n d for that m a t t e r t h o s e in K e n y a w h e r e he has l i v e d since his release f r o m p r i s o n in G h a n a , to be hostile to N e w W o r l d b l a c k s . O f c o u r s e , n o t all d i a s p o r a v i s i t o r s r e a c h e d s u c h g l o o m y c o n c l u s i o n s ; it is c l e a r t h a t M a l c o l m X f o u n d h i s b r i e f v i s i t t o W e s t A f r i c a in 1964 an exhilarating experience, l e a d i n g h i m t o p r o c l a i m that ' P h i l o s o p h i c a l l y and culturally w e A f r o - A m e r i c a n s need to " r e t u r n " to A f r i c a - a n d

to d e v e l o p a w o r k i n g unity

framework of Pan-Africanism.'

in

the

2

A s a p h e n o m e n o n , the return o f significant n u m b e r s o f black i n d i v i d u a l s f r o m t h e N e w W o r l d t o A f r i c a i n m o d e r n t i m e s still r e m a i n s t o b e e x p l o r e d f u l l y . I t is c l e a r t h a t at t i m e s ,

although

never holding p o w e r , such people have been able to m a k e important

contribution.

Thus,

the

Martiniquan

an

psychiatrist,

Frantz F a n o n , b e c a m e o n e o f the m o s t i m p o r t a n t theorists

of

r e v o l u t i o n in A f r i c a in the 1960s, and a trenchant critic o f those A f r i c a n r u l e r s w h o m h e r e g a r d e d as a c c o m p l i c e s o f c o n t i n u i n g 1

Makonnen. Pan-Africanism,

2

M a l c o l m X , The autobiography of Malcolm X ( L o n d o n , 1976), 465-6.

209.

108

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

POST-1945

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

imperialist control, roles w h i c h w e r e taken o n b y the G u y a n e s e scholar W a l t e r R o d n e y in the 1970s. P e r h a p s the m o s t spectacular ' r e t u r n t o A f r i c a ' o f m o d e r n t i m e s i n its i m p a c t o n m a s s c o n ­ sciousness w a s that o f the black A m e r i c a n writer A l e x Hailey. His q u e s t for his f a m i l y ' s o r i g i n s in the G a m b i a led t o the p u b l i c a t i o n o f his sensationally successful n o v e l

Roots

in 1 9 7 6 , w h i c h w a s

f o l l o w e d u p b y serialisation o n television. T h e television v e r s i o n

Roots

of

seized the attention o f not only black, but also white,

A m e r i c a n s , and signified the pride o f the former and acceptance b y the latter o f the v a l u e o f an A f r i c a n origin. In the

aftermath,

there w a s a b o o m in b l a c k A m e r i c a n t o u r i s m t o the

reputed

v i l l a g e o f A l e x H a i l e y ' s ancestors in the G a m b i a .

T H E

R O A D

TO

T H E

O R G A N I S A T I O N

OF

A F R I C A N

U N I T Y

U n d o u b t e d l y the m o s t v i s i b l e aspect o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m after the 1950s w a s t h e a t t e m p t t o c r e a t e a n a l l - A f r i c a n s u p r a - n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n w i t h t h e s u p p o r t o f all i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n s t a t e s . I n a superficial sense, therefore, the creation o f the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f A f r i c a n U n i t y ( O A U ) in 1963 w a s the a p o t h e o s i s o f this p h a s e o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . T h i s p e r i o d is a b o v e all a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e c a r e e r o f N k r u m a h as l e a d e r o f G h a n a ( a l t h o u g h t h e r e w e r e v e r y f e w o f h i s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s as r u l e r s o f A f r i c a w h o d i d n o t p a y at l e a s t occasional lip-service to a v a g u e Pan-African ideal). E v e n before G h a n a b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t , h e m a d e s o m e efforts t o a d v a n c e t h e c a u s e o f s u p r a - n a t i o n a l P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . H o w e v e r , it is w o r t h recalling that before 1963, ' K w a m e N k r u m a h ' s v o i c e and actions did not c o m e out decidedly for a U n i o n g o v e r n m e n t for the w h o l e o f A f r i c a ' . F o r s o m e time his W A N S d r e a m o f a W e s t A f r i c a n Socialist R e p u b l i c w a s his i m m e d i a t e aspiration, a l t h o u g h he intended t o h o l d a P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s in the G o l d C o a s t in 1 9 5 4 t o c o n s i d e r t h e affairs o f t h e e n t i r e c o n t i n e n t . T h i s w a s p r e v e n t e d , h o w e v e r , b y a political crisis w i t h i n his c o u n t r y . O n l y f r o m 1957 w a s h e free t o a t t e m p t t h e c o n c r e t e r e a l i s a t i o n o f h i s P a n - A f r i c a n dream. A t the v e r y celebrations for G h a n a i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e in 19 5 7, h e b r o a c h e d , t o v i s i t i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f o t h e r i n d e p e n d e n t African countries, the idea o f h o l d i n g a C o n f e r e n c e o f I n d e p e n d e n t African States. 1

1

S. K . B . A s a n t e , ' K w a m e N k r u m a h 1 9 4 5 - 1 9 6 1 ' , Universitas, 1973, 3, 1, 45.

and

Pan-Africanism:

the

109

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

early

phase,

PAN-AFRICANISM SINCE

I94O

T h i s c o n f e r e n c e , h e l d in A c c r a in A p r i l 1958, w a s a t t e n d e d b y heads o f state o r the f o r e i g n ministers o f L i b y a , E t h i o p i a , the S u d a n , T u n i s i a , M o r o c c o , E g y p t a n d L i b e r i a , as w e l l as t h e h o s t c o u n t r y . It b e g a n t h e p r o c e s s l e a d i n g t o t h e O A U i n 1 9 6 3 . I t p r o d u c e d l i t t l e m o r e than a b r o a d but v a g u e consensus o n foreign p o l i c y - that A f r i c a n states s h o u l d b e n o n - a l i g n e d i n w o r l d p o w e r b l o c k s a n d should stick t o g e t h e r - but generated e n o u g h impetus to ensure further

efforts.

It

also

generated

feelings o f elation,

among

p a r t i c i p a n t s a n d m o r e w i d e l y in A f r i c a , t h a t i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n countries w e r e n o w m e e t i n g together to discuss the great questions o f Africa and the w o r l d . T h e identity o f the participants

also

e n s u r e d t h a t in t h i s n e w p h a s e o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m t h e m o v e m e n t would

be

continental,

including

the

lighter-skinned,

mainly

A r a b i c - s p e a k i n g p e o p l e s o f N o r t h A f r i c a , r a t h e r t h a n - as s o m e o f t h e l e a d e r s o f t h e p r e v i o u s p h a s e , s u c h as M a k o n n e n , w o u l d h a v e w i s h e d - a P a n - N e g r o m o v e m e n t . A s u c c e s s w i t h i n its o w n limitations, African

the

conference

independence

and

fell

short

African

o f the

unity

commitment

that

Nkrumah

to (or

P a d m o r e ) h a d in m i n d - u n l i k e t h e s e c o n d A c c r a C o n f e r e n c e o f 1958,

the

All-African

P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e in

December.

As

V . B . T h o m p s o n had stated, this c o n f e r e n c e w a s a ' reaffirmation'* o f t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f t h e 1945 M a n c h e s t e r P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s , for it c a l l e d f o r a c o o r d i n a t e d ' f i n a l a s s a u l t o n c o l o n i a l i s m a n d i m p e r i a l i s m in A f r i c a ' , i f n e c e s s a r y u s i n g v i o l e n c e i n r e p l y

to

colonialist v i o l e n c e . B u t w h e r e the A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r ­ e n c e far t r a n s c e n d e d e i t h e r 1945 o r t h e first A c c r a C o n f e r e n c e w a s in its d e c i s i o n t o ' w o r k f o r t h e u l t i m a t e a c h i e v e m e n t o f a U n i o n or C o m m o n w e a l t h o f African States'.

2

A m b i g u o u s t h o u g h this

p h r a s e is ( f o r t h e r e is a w o r l d o f d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e i m p l i e d m o d e l s o f the A m e r i c a n U n i o n and the British C o m m o n w e a l t h ) , it u n a v o i d a b l y r a i s e d t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f i n d i v i d u a l African sovereignty to overall African unity. T h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e c o n f e r e n c e a l s o r a i s e d t h o r n y p r o b l e m s , as m a n y d e l e g a t e s c a m e f r o m c o u n t r i e s still u n d e r c o l o n i a l o r m i n o r i t y r u l e ,

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represented national and liberation m o v e m e n t s rather than estab­ lished g o v e r n m e n t s . T h e clear implication w a s that was 1

p u t t i n g h i m s e l f f o r w a r d as t h e l e a d e r o f A f r i c a n

Nkrumah freedom

V . B . T h o m p s o n , Africa and unity: the evolution of Pan-Africanism ( L o n d o n , 1969),

M32

K w a m e N k r u m a h , / speak offreedom.

A statement of African ideology ( L o n d o n , 1961),

174-5. IIO

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T H E ROAD TO THE

OAU

e v e r y w h e r e , a role that w a s for o b v i o u s reasons not v e r y a c c e p t a b l e t o m a n y o f h i s f e l l o w h e a d s o f state. In the years l e a d i n g u p t o 1963, a parallel series o f c o n f e r e n c e s took place: subsequent All-African Peoples' Conferences were held in T u n i s in i 9 6 0 a n d C a i r o in 1 9 6 1 , w h i l e further C o n f e r e n c e s o f A f r i c a n S t a t e s w e r e h e l d at A d d i s A b a b a i n J u n e i 9 6 0 a n d L e o p o l d v i l l e ( n o w K i n s h a s a ) in A u g u s t i960. A l t h o u g h the A d d i s A b a b a C o n f e r e n c e accepted the A l g e r i a n p r o v i s i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t , as w e l l as all i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s ( e x c e p t i n g , o f c o u r s e , S o u t h A f r i c a ) as full m e m b e r s , a n d a d m i t t e d o b s e r v e r s from v a r i o u s other territories, nevertheless the T u n i s and C a i r o C o n f e r e n c e s set the p a c e in i n c r e a s i n g c o m m i t m e n t t o v i o l e n t struggle against colonialism. Pan-Africanism came, once again, to have moderate and militant w i n g s , expressing themselves t h r o u g h separate o r g a n i s a t i o n s . N a t u r a l l y , t h o s e states that h o s t e d a n d supported the ' P e o p l e s ' c o n f e r e n c e s ' , especially G h a n a and E g y p t , w e r e regarded w i t h increasing suspicion b y the remainder. T h u s , w h e n i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f A f r i c a n states w e r e b e ­ c o m i n g independent, the Pan-African m o v e m e n t , w h i c h had c o m m i t t e d itself t o national i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d h a d , in 1 9 5 7 , g l i m p s e d e x c i t i n g further d e v e l o p m e n t s , had split. N o t o n l y w a s there a split b e t w e e n m o d e r a t e s and militants, b u t also, t o s o m e extent, b e t w e e n f r a n c o p h o n e and o t h e r states. T h i s d i v i s i o n w a s not, o f c o u r s e , linguistic in essence, but a c o n s e q u e n c e o f the course o f politics within F r e n c h W e s t and Equatorial Africa since 1946, a n d the w a y in w h i c h m o s t o f the c o l o n i e s in t h o s e federations came to independence. In 1958, cutting short argu­ m e n t s a m o n g A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s as t o w h e t h e r a f e d e r a l - t y p e or a c o m m o n w e a l t h - t y p e relationship w i t h France w o u l d be desirable, de G a u l l e offered t h e m the brutal c h o i c e o f either c o m p l e t e s e c e s s i o n , w i t h t h e i m m e d i a t e c e s s a t i o n o f all b e n e f i t s , aid and links w i t h F r a n c e ; o r c o n t i n u i n g association w i t h the o p t i o n o f f u t u r e full i n d e p e n d e n c e . O n l y G u i n e a , u n d e r S e k o u T o u r e , c h o s e i m m e d i a t e i n d e p e n d e n c e . B u t b y i960, the c i r c u m ­ stances under w h i c h the remaining colonies c o u l d b e c o m e inde­ p e n d e n t h a d b e e n m a d e less h a r s h , as t h e y w e r e t h e n p e r m i t t e d t o d o s o a n d y e t r e t a i n all t h e i m m e d i a t e a d v a n t a g e s o f c o n t i n u i n g e c o n o m i c links w i t h France, F r e n c h technical and military aid, and firm F r e n c h i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l s u p p o r t f o r t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t s . B u t these terms w e r e applied to individual colonies, rather than 111

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PAN-AFRICANISM

SINCE

I94O

to the t w o great federations o f F r e n c h W e s t and F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a , w h i c h m i g h t h a v e p r o v i d e d the bases for v i a b l e states. M a n y o f the n e w states w e r e either, l i k e C h a d , e n o r m o u s in area, but m i n u s c u l e in p o p u l a t i o n and r e s o u r c e s ; o r rich in resources, b u t m i n u s c u l e in p o p u l a t i o n a n d the skills n e c e s s a r y t o d e v e l o p their resources, like G a b o n . E v e n the c o m p a r a t i v e l y d e v e l o p e d I v o r y C o a s t , under the leadership o f President H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y ( w h o s e r a d i c a l p a s t w a s l o n g b e h i n d h i m ) , f o u n d it a d v a n t a g e o u s t o r e t a i n t h e c l o s e s t l i n k s w i t h F r a n c e after i n d e p e n d e n c e . I t is small w o n d e r that the result o f this p r o c e s s w a s the e m e r g e n c e o f a b l o c o f c o n s e r v a t i v e states, l o o k i n g t o F r a n c e t o maintain b o t h their internal and external security, t o p r o v i d e capital and expertise for d e v e l o p m e n t , t o p r o v i d e a m a r k e t for their agricultural and mineral produce, and to supply them w i t h manufactured g o o d s . V i a this b l o c , de G a u l l e ' s p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h k e e p i n g ' A n g l o S a x o n ' influence o u t o f the E u r o p e a n C o m m o n M a r k e t w a s imported into Africa, and t o o k the f o r m o f suspicion o f initiatives b y a n g l o p h o n e s t a t e s . T h e b l o c s i g n a l l e d its e x i s t e n c e b y h o l d i n g a m a j o r c o n f e r e n c e at B r a z z a v i l l e i n i 9 6 0 , a n d b e c a m e k n o w n as the U n i o n A f r i c a i n e et M a l g a c h e ( U A M ) o r m o r e c o m m o n l y the Brazzaville g r o u p . O f the former constituent colonies o f F r e n c h West and Equatorial Africa, only G u i n e a and Mali w e r e outside this g r o u p , a n d e n t h u s i a s t i c a b o u t P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . F r o m the Pan-African point o f v i e w , therefore, i960 w a s the w o r s t time for the C o n g o tragedy to h a v e o c c u r r e d ; n o t h i n g c o u l d have served better to e x p o s e the divisions w i t h i n the m o v e m e n t . T o l e a d e r s l i k e S e k o u T o u r e a n d N k r u m a h , it r e a l i s e d t h e i r w o r s t fears a b o u t t h e d a n g e r o u s w e a k n e s s o f a d i v i d e d A f r i c a i n t h e f a c e o f m a l i g n outside intervention. A s Patrice L u m u m b a , the Congolese Prime Minister, was a committed Pan-Africanist w h o h a d b e e n m u c h i n f l u e n c e d b y h i s a t t e n d a n c e at t h e 1 9 5 8 A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e , N k r u m a h a n d S e k o u T o u r e i n p a r t i c u l a r felt p e r s o n a l l o y a l t i e s t o h i s g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h a n y w a y , w h a t e v e r its defects, s h o w e d an unflinching d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o reject o u t s i d e c o n t r o l a n d i n t e r f e r e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y f r o m t h e B e l g i a n s . W h a t is more, L u m u m b a l o o k e d to the Pan-African m o v e m e n t to buttress h i m i n his c o u n t r y ' s h o u r o f n e e d , a n d e v e n c a l l e d a C o n f e r e n c e o f I n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n States in L e o p o l d v i l l e in A u g u s t i960, w h i c h , h o w e v e r , o n l y revealed their w e a k n e s s and division. A l l e x c e p t G u i n e a affirmed w h o l e h e a r t e d s u p p o r t for the U n i t e d N a t i o n s ' a c t i o n s i n t h e C o n g o , a n d i n s i s t e d (in t h e n a m e o f 112 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

T H E ROAD TO T H E

OAU

k e e p i n g t h e C o l d W a r o u t o f A f r i c a ) t h a t all a i d t o t h e C o n g o l e s e g o v e r n m e n t should be channelled via the U N . O n l y G u i n e a w a s w i l l i n g to b a c k L u m u m b a ' s w i s h t o rid h i m s e l f and his c o u n t r y o f the U N , and to o v e r t h r o w M o i s e T s h o m b e ' s secession in K a t a n g a p r o v i n c e ( n o w S h a b a ) b y f o r c e . I n t h e a f t e r m a t h , a n d as events unfolded, w i t h the o v e r t h r o w o f L u m u m b a and the entrenchment o f the K a t a n g a regime, m o r e divisions e m e r g e d . Thus, Nkrumah's adherence to w o r k i n g under United Nations auspices had the deeply ironic result that G h a n a i a n t r o o p s in the C o n g o w e r e used to further the o v e r t h r o w o f L u m u m b a , w h o s e g o v e r n m e n t he w i s h e d to preserve. A t the same time G u i n e a alone i n s i s t e d t h a t its C o n g o c o n t i n g e n t s h o u l d n o t b e u n d e r U n i t e d N a t i o n s c o m m a n d , d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t at t h e o u t b r e a k o f t h e c r i s i s N k r u m a h had s p o k e n o f the n e e d for an A f r i c a n H i g h C o m m a n d to deal w i t h the situation. A s for the B r a z z a v i l l e g r o u p , t o g e t h e r with Liberia and Tunisia, they supported L u m u m b a ' s enemies, K a s a v u b u and T s h o m b e . It is a t r i b u t e t o t h e v i t a l i t y o f t h e P a n - A f r i c a n i d e a t h a t t h e m o v e m e n t s u r v i v e d the C o n g o crisis, and w a s able to r e s o l v e s o m e o f its d i f f e r e n c e s a n d p u t a s i d e o t h e r s i n t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e O A U i n 1 9 6 3 . T e r r i b l e t h o u g h it w a s f o r t h e p e o p l e o f t h e c o u n t r y t h a t b e c a m e Z a i r e , t h e c r i s i s w a s p r o b a b l y , in t h e l o n g r u n , a l m o s t an asset t o P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . T o b e g i n w i t h , t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e tragedy, the clear i n v o l v e m e n t o f the m o s t sinister outside forces s u c h as w h i t e m e r c e n a r i e s a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l , t h e i m m e n s e publicity generated b y events, and the personalisation o f the issues in t h e c a r e e r , o v e r t h r o w a n d d e a t h o f L u m u m b a , c r e a t e d t h e i r o w n p r e s s u r e s f o r A f r i c a n u n i t y . It is h a r d t o b e s u r e w h a t p a r t p o p u l a r f e e l i n g p l a y e d in all t h i s b u t , t o g i v e w h a t m a y b e a s i g n i f i c a n t e x a m p l e , i n a c o u n t r y far f r o m t h e C o n g o ( a l b e i t o n e w h i c h had supplied a c o n t i n g e n t o f troops for the U N force), in t h e e a r l y 1960s o n e o f t h e m o s t c o m m o n n a m e s f o r h u m b l e b a r s catering to the A d d i s A b a b a p o p u l a c e w a s ' P a t r i c e L u m u m b a B a r ' . T h e third A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e in C a i r o in M a r c h 1961 p r o c l a i m e d L u m u m b a , w h o had been m u r d e r e d o n l y t w o m o n t h s b e f o r e , as t h e h e r o o f A f r i c a ' - t h o u g h w i t h i n t h e c o n f e r e n c e , t h e g o v e r n m e n t s r e p r e s e n t e d w e r e far m o r e c a u t i o u s than the liberation m o v e m e n t s . 1

4

Despite these pressures,

1961 w a s a dismal year for

1

Pan-

P e r s o n a l r e m i n i s c e n c e o f I. D u f f i e l d , w h o l i v e d in A d d i s A b a b a f r o m J a n u a r y 1962 t o J u l y 1964.

"3 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

PAN-AFRICANISM

SINCE

1940

Africanism, for not o n l y did the divisions b e t w e e n independent A f r i c a n states s e e m t o b e f o r m a l i s i n g t h e m s e l v e s , w i t h the e m e r g e n c e o f the Casablanca and M o n r o v i a g r o u p i n g s , but also further deep divisions o v e r major issues w e r e b e c o m i n g apparent. T h e C a s a b l a n c a C o n f e r e n c e , called in J a n u a r y o v e r the C o n g o q u e s t i o n , w a s a t t e n d e d b y the N o r t h A f r i c a n states e x c e p t T u n i s i a , but including representatives o f the A l g e r i a n provisional g o v e r n ­ m e n t , plus G h a n a , G u i n e a and M a l i . E x c e p t for L i b y a , this w a s a g r o u p i n g o f t h e m o r e r a d i c a l A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s . P a r t l y in r e a c t i o n t o t h i s g r o u p , a n d r e f l e c t i n g s u s p i c i o n at t h e p r e d i l e c t i o n o f t h e r a d i c a l s ( e s p e c i a l l y G h a n a ) t o i n t e r f e r e in t h e affairs o f t h e i r n e i g h b o u r s , as w e l l as d i s a g r e e m e n t s o v e r C o n g o p o l i c y , t h e M o n r o v i a C o n f e r e n c e w a s h e l d in M a y 1 9 6 1 . T h e c o r e o f the M o n r o v i a g r o u p w e r e the U A M countries, but Ethiopia, Liberia, L i b y a , N i g e r i a , Sierra L e o n e , Somalia, T o g o and T u n i s i a also t o o k part. W i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f L i b y a , the Casablanca p o w e r s b o y c o t t e d M o n r o v i a . T o the M o n r o v i a p o w e r s , A f r i c a n unity w a s t o b e u n d e r s t o o d as i n n o w a y i n f r i n g i n g o n t h e s o v e r e i g n i n d e p e n d e n c e o f A f r i c a n states. G i v e n the p r o - F r e n c h character o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e m , it is n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e y a v o i d e d a n y stance o n the A l g e r i a n question that w o u l d h a v e estranged France. A t the s e c o n d m e e t i n g o f the g r o u p in L a g o s in J a n u a r y 1962, the breach w i t h the Casablanca p o w e r s seemed to w i d e n . F o r t u ­ nately for P a n - A f r i c a n i s m this b r e a c h w a s n e v e r total. T u n i s i a ' s determination that F r a n c e s h o u l d e v a c u a t e the Bizerta naval base w o n her support from b o t h g r o u p s . T h e re-emergence o f a united g o v e r n m e n t in t h e C o n g o , a c c e p t a b l e t o b o t h , r e m o v e d a m a j o r cause o f dissension. Increasingly, p o w e r s o n b o t h sides, notably G u i n e a from the Casablanca g r o u p and E t h i o p i a f r o m the M o n r o v i a g r o u p , began actively to seek reconciliation and l o o k f o r a r e a s o f c o o p e r a t i o n . G e s t u r e s w e r e m a d e , s u c h as t h e cancelling o f the 1962 A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e , o b n o x i o u s t o t h e M o n r o v i a g r o u p as l i k e l y t o p r o m o t e i n t e r f e r e n c e i n t h e i r i n t e r n a l affairs. A l g e r i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d t h e o v e r t h r o w b y t h e U N o f the K a t a n g e s e r e g i m e r e m o v e d major s t u m b l i n g b l o c k s . B y t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 1 9 6 3 , a m e e t i n g o f all i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states w a s p o s s i b l e , w i t h e v e r y c h a n c e o f t h e c r e a t i o n o f a u n i f i e d P a n - A f r i c a n s t a t e o r g a n i s a t i o n as a r e s u l t . I n t h i s s e n s e , t h e m e e t i n g in A d d i s A b a b a i n M a y 1963 t h a t created the O A U w a s n o surprise, a l t h o u g h the a t m o s p h e r e in 114

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T H E ROAD TO T H E OAU

A d d i s A b a b a w a s c e r t a i n l y e u p h o r i c , a n d e v e n a little u n r e a l , t h e city's streets h a v i n g b e e n w h i t e w a s h e d , and the destitute, b e g g a r s and other u n w a n t e d persons w h o normally inhabited t h e m h a v i n g been r e m o v e d . D e s p i t e the a t m o s p h e r e o f g o o d w i l l , there w a s a genuine

political duel

at

Addis

Ababa

between

those

who

b e l i e v e d all A f r i c a ' s o t h e r p r o b l e m s c o u l d o n l y b e s o l v e d w i t h i n the

framework

o f political union,

and

those

who

wanted

a

consultative b o d y o f A f r i c a n states, w h i c h w o u l d e n d e a v o u r t o promote

African consensus

certainly, but

which would

also

guarantee unequivocally individual independence. N k r u m a h was the great p r o p o n e n t o f p o l i t i c a l u n i o n , b u t h e h a d little s u p p o r t , e v e n f r o m the o t h e r radical states. O n l y U g a n d a totally s u p p o r t e d his call f o r a U n i o n G o v e r n m e n t o f A f r i c a .

G i v e n the

over­

w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y o f c o u n t r i e s e i t h e r in f a v o u r o f , o r w i l l i n g t o acquiesce in, the o p p o s i t e c o n c e p t , and the skilful w a y in w h i c h the host c o u n t r y had prepared for the c o n f e r e n c e and e m p h a s i s e d the need b o t h for u n a n i m i t y and ' a n o r g a n i s a t i o n w h i c h will facilitate a c c e p t a b l e s o l u t i o n s t o d i s p u t e s a m o n g A f r i c a n s '

1

(a

manifest necessity), N k r u m a h c o u l d o n l y m a k e the best o f the situation by c o n c e d i n g w i t h reasonably g o o d grace. S o f r o m the outset, unity o f the O A U w a s to be like that o f the U N , a gesture t o w a r d s idealistic aspirations, b u t in reality d e p e n d i n g o n

the

c o n s e n s u s o f its m e m b e r s . O n l y s o v e r e i g n A f r i c a n s t a t e s w e r e t o be

members - a

total

defeat

for

the

Pan-Africanism

of

the

All-African P e o p l e s ' Conferences. Article III o f the O A U Charter, a d o p t e d at A d d i s A b a b a , is i n m a n y w a y s t h e k e y t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e O A U ' s e s s e n t i a l n a t u r e . It a f f i r m s : ( 1 ) t h e s o v e r e i g n e q u a l i t y o f all m e m b e r s t a t e s ; (2) n o n - i n t e r f e r e n c e i n t h e i n t e r n a l affairs o f s t a t e s ; (3) r e s p e c t f o r t h e s o v e r e i g n t y a n d t e r r i t o r i a l i n t e g r i t y o f e a c h s t a t e a n d f o r its i n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t t o i n d e p e n d e n t e x i s t e n c e ; (4) p e a c e f u l s e t t l e m e n t o f d i s p u t e s b y n e g o t i a t i o n , conciliation or

mediation,

arbitration;

(5) u n r e s e r v e d c o n d e m n a t i o n , i n all its f o r m s , o f p o l i t i c a l a s s a s ­ s i n a t i o n as w e l l as o f s u b v e r s i v e a c t i v i t i e s o n t h e p a r t o f n e i g h b o u r i n g states o r a n y o t h e r state; (6) a b s o l u t e d e d i c a t i o n t o t h e t o t a l i n d e p e n d e n c e o f t h e A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s w h i c h a r e still d e p e n d e n t ; 1

Welcoming speech by Haile Selassie, in Z. C e r v e n k a , (2nd edition, London, 1969), 8.

The Organisation of African

Unity and its Charter

115

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PAN-AFRICANISM SINCE

1940

( 7 ) a f f i r m a t i o n o f a p o l i c y o n n o n - a l i g n m e n t w i t h r e g a r d t o all blocs.

1

T h e c o n c l u s i o n , l a r g e l y b o r n e o u t b y s u b s e q u e n t e v e n t s , is t h a t the O A U w a s essentially an o r g a n i s a t i o n to defend the territorial and

political

governments

status and

quo

rulers

in

independent

rather

than

Africa,

a

thing

of peoples, though

of not

n e c e s s a r i l y i m m u n e t o p o p u l a r p r e s s u r e s . T h e i s s u e o n w h i c h its m e m b e r s f o u n d it e a s i e s t t o a g r e e — a n d h e r e w a s a r e a l c o n t i n u i t y from

1 9 4 5 - w a s t h a t o f s u p p o r t f o r d e c o l o n i s a t i o n . W i t h i n its

own

ranks, despite

the creation o f O A U bodies to

consider

p o l i c i e s o n s u c h m a t t e r s as h e a l t h , e d u c a t i o n , e c o n o m i c c o o p e r ­ ation, and even defence, individual sovereignty was to be supreme. It is n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t its h i g h e s t g o v e r n i n g b o d y w a s t o b e t h e annual A s s e m b l y o f H e a d s o f State and G o v e r n m e n t . W i t h i n these limits, the O A U p r o v e d to be b y n o

means

i n e f f e c t i v e . F o r s o m e y e a r s it h a d a g o o d r e c o r d i n c o n t a i n i n g , i f n o t s o l v i n g , disputes b e t w e e n m e m b e r states, a l t h o u g h this w a s m o r e u s u a l l y a c h i e v e d b y ad hoc a r b i t r a t i o n

than t h r o u g h

the

C o m m i s s i o n o f A r b i t r a t i o n a n d C o n c i l i a t i o n established in 1964. T h i s k i n d o f arbitration w a s o f m o s t use in p r e s e r v i n g the status q u o , w h e n it c a m e t o t e r r i t o r i a l o r b o u n d a r y d i s p u t e s . T h u s , t h e q u e s t i o n o f S o m a l i a ' s claims to large areas o f E t h i o p i a n

and

K e n y a n territory w a s deferred by O A U foreign ministers' medi­ a t i o n i n 1 9 6 4 a n d 1 9 7 3 . A s e a r l y as O c t o b e r 1 9 6 3 , H a i l e S e l a s s i e and M o d i b o K e i t a o f M a l i w e r e able t o m e d i a t e in the M o r o c c a n A l g e r i a n b o r d e r clash o f that year. T h e O A U w a s also

often

successful in r e c o n c i l i n g states that h a d fallen o u t o n v a r i o u s o t h e r g r o u n d s ; thus in

1970 Haile Selassie reconciled N i g e r i a w i t h

Z a m b i a , t h e I v o r y C o a s t a n d T a n z a n i a , all o f w h i c h h a d s u p p o r t e d t h e B i a f r a n r i g h t t o s e c e s s i o n . B u t it c o u l d b e s a i d t h a t b y t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , w i t h escalation in the n u m b e r and intensity o f disputes w i t h i n and b e t w e e n m e m b e r states, and the t e n d e n c y o f m a n y A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s t o seek s u p p o r t in s u c h disputes f r o m o n e o r other o f the g r e a t - p o w e r b l o c s , the O A U w a s facing a crisis. F u r t h e r m o r e , i n t i m e at l e a s t s o m e P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s h a d c o m e t o r e g a r d t h e O A U w i t h s u s p i c i o n as n o m o r e t h a n t h e g u a r d i a n o f v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s . S o m e o f t h e s e s u s p i c i o n s w e r e v o i c e d at t h e S i x t h P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s , h e l d i n D a r es S a l a a m , T a n z a n i a , i n J u n e 1

'Article

III,

Charter o f the

Organisation o f African

Unity*, Cervenka,

Organisation of African Unity and its Charter, A p p e n d i x A , 232-3.

n6

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

The

THE

R O A D

T O

T H E

O A U

1974, and f o l l o w i n g c o n s c i o u s l y in the traditions o f the A l l - A f r i c a n Peoples'

Conferences. There

national

and

South

liberation

Africa,

and

was strong

movements

from

the

representation

from

in c o l o n i a l territories

diaspora.

Julius

Nyerere

and

in

his

opening address paid tribute to the Pan-African Conference o f 1900,

t h e C o n g r e s s e s o f 1900 t o 1 9 4 5 , a n d t h e e a r l y l e a d e r s o f t h e

m o v e m e n t u p t o 1 9 4 5 , as w e l l as t o N k r u m a h ( w h o h a d d i e d i n 1972

in

OAU.

exile).

1

The

conference

w a s implicitly critical o f

H o w e v e r , the c o n t r i b u t i o n

the

o f Walter R o d n e y to

the

c o n g r e s s w e n t far b e y o n d i m p l i e d c r i t i c i s m , a n d c o n s t i t u t e s p r o b ­ ably the m o s t fundamental

and hostile criticism o f O A U Pan-

Africanism made by any committed Pan-Africanist. F o r him, * T h e existing African régimes h a v e helped create the illusion that the OAU

represents the concrétisation o f A f r i c a n U n i t y . T h e O A U

is t h e p r i n c i p a l i n s t r u m e n t w h i c h l e g i t i m i s e s t h e f o r t y - o d d m i n i states v i s i t e d u p o n u s b y c o l o n i a l i s m . ' I n d e e d , b e y o n d r e g u l a t i n g ' a f e w internal

conflicts b e t w e e n the petty

bourgeoisie

from

different p a r t s o f t h e c o n t i n e n t ' , its f u n c t i o n s w e r e a l s o a t t a c k e d by

R o d n e y as m a i n t a i n i n g

the

separation

o f African

peoples

w i t h i n existing territorial b o u n d a r i e s , and stifling criticism o f any 4

exploitative, oppressive and

autocratic

African state...

w h e n the m o s t e l e m e n t a r y civil a n d h u m a n rights are on'.

even

trampled

2

N A T I O N A L I S M ,

T o understand

R E G I O N A L I S M

A N D A F R I C A N

U N I T Y

the e m e r g e n c e o f this k i n d o f radical disillusion

w i t h t h e ' o f f i c i a l ' P a n - A f r i c a n i s m o f t h e O A U , it is first o f all n e c e s s a r y t o e x p l o r e a little further s o m e o f the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s a n d tensions engendered by a Pan-Africanism dominated b y indepen­ dent states, and a t t e m p t i n g

to exalt national independence

and

A f r i c a n u n i t y s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . T o b e fair t o a n u m b e r o f l e a d i n g P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s o f the late 1950s a n d early 1960s, this w a s n o t an u n p e r c e i v e d p r o b l e m . N k r u m a h ' s e v e n t u a l b e l i e f in an A f r i c a n Union

Government

has already been

mentioned.

Nyerere

of

T a n z a n i a referred to the tension b e t w e e n national s o v e r e i g n t y and 3

P a n - A f r i c a n i s m as ' t h e d i l e m m a o f t h e P a n - A f r i c a n i s t ' . F o r s o m e 1

Resolutions and selected speeches from the Sixth Pan African Congress ( D a r e s S a l a a m ,

i9lty> 3~43

Julius K .

2

Resolutions and selected speeches, 26-67.

Nyerere, ' T h e dilemma o f the P a n - A f r i c a n i s t i n Nyerere, socialism ( D a r e s S a l a a m , 1968), 2 0 7 - 1 7 .

" 7

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

Freedom and

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

S I N C E

I94O

y e a r s t h e r e w e r e efforts t o a p p r o a c h a n a l l - A f r i c a n s u p r a nationalism via an intermediate stage o f regional unions. T h e p i o n e e r in this a p p r o a c h w a s , o f c o u r s e N k r u m a h . P r o v i s i o n w a s m a d e in the c o n s t i t u t i o n o f G h a n a for m e r g i n g w i t h o t h e r i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states, a l t h o u g h N k r u m a h also d e m o l i s h e d the c o m m o n services G h a n a had shared w i t h o t h e r British W e s t A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s i n t h e c o l o n i a l e r a . W h e n F r a n c e c u t o f f all a i d t o G u i n e a i n O c t o b e r 1 9 5 8 , h o w e v e r , G h a n a at o n c e o f f e r e d practical aid in the f o r m o f a £ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 loan, a n d w i t h i n a m o n t h the t w o states had d e c l a r e d the e x i s t e n c e o f a G h a n a - G u i n e a u n i o n , that w a s t o b e the b e g i n n i n g o f a U n i o n o f W e s t A f r i c a n S t a t e s ; i n i 9 6 0 , M a l i j o i n e d t h e u n i o n , f o l l o w i n g its s e v e r a n c e o f ties w i t h S e n e g a l . B u t t h i s u n i o n , w h i c h t o o k t h e t i t l e o f U n i o n o f A f r i c a n States ( U A S ) n e v e r had m u c h substance in reality, and w i t h the c r e a t i o n o f the O A U in 1963 f o u n d l i q u i d a t i n g itself in the name o f w i d e r A f r i c a n unity a painless process. T h e same c a n n o t be said for the U A M , w h i c h also d i s s o l v e d itself in r e s p o n s e t o O A U p r e s s u r e , b u t w a s r e b o r n i n 1965 as t h e O r ­ ganisation C o m m u n e A f r i c a i n e et M a l g a c h e ( O C A M ) , the I v o r y C o a s t p l a y i n g a l e a d i n g r o l e as m i d w i f e t o t h i s r e b i r t h . I n particular, O C A M reflected c o n t i n u i n g resentment among G h a n a ' s f r a n c o p h o n e n e i g h b o u r s at s u c h m a n i f e s t a t i o n s as ' t r a i n ­ i n g c a m p s ' in G h a n a for political dissidents f r o m o t h e r A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s . L i k e w i s e , r e s e n t m e n t w a s felt at t h e O A U f o r n o t p r e v e n t i n g this, n o t s u r p r i s i n g l y in v i e w o f the fact that the O C A M states h a d t h o u g h t that the O A U charter g a v e cast-iron guarantees against such actions. N a t u r a l l y , the o v e r t h r o w o f N k r u m a h in 1966, f o l l o w e d b y that o f M o d i b o K e i t a in M a l i in 1968, l e a v i n g G u i n e a for s o m e time as t h e s o l e r a d i c a l W e s t A f r i c a n s t a t e , r e m o v e d s o m e o f t h e s e tensions. Nevertheless, w h e n the impetus t o w a r d s W e s t African regionalism re-emerged o n the e c o n o m i c level, practical advance w a s l o n g d e l a y e d b y f r a n c o p h o n e s u s p i c i o n s . A s e a r l y as 1 9 6 7 discussions w e r e held in A c c r a u n d e r the auspices o f a U n i t e d Nations b o d y , the E c o n o m i c C o m m i s s i o n for Africa ( E C A ) , o n the desirability o f a W e s t African E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y , a l o n g the lines o f the E u r o p e a n E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y ( E E C ) . T h i s w a s v i e w e d w i t h d i s p l e a s u r e b y F r a n c e as y e t a n o t h e r p l a n f o r ' A n g l o S a x o n ' e c o n o m i c domination, a v i e w readily c o m m u n i c a t e d to her friends in A f r i c a , n o t a b l y the I v o r y C o a s t . I n d e e d , a p u r e l y 118

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

N A T I O N A L I S M ,

R E G I O N A L I S M

A N D

U N I T Y

f r a n c o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n e c o n o m i c c o m m u n i t y w a s c r e a t e d in 1970, w h i c h n o t surprisingly l o o k e d to F r a n c e and to the E E C , rather than to a n g l o p h o n e

neighbours.

T h i s dismal

situation

b e g a n to i m p r o v e w i t h N i g e r i a n initiatives t o w a r d s the creation of a comprehensive West African economic community.

Under

the stimulus o f the oil b o o m , N i g e r i a rapidly a c h i e v e d a r e m a r k a b l e recovery from the destructive civil w a r o f 1 9 6 7 - 7 0 , and b y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s w a s c l e a r l y t h e e c o n o m i c g i a n t o f W e s t A f r i c a , as w e l l as h a v i n g a p o p u l a t i o n l a r g e a n d e n e r g e t i c e n o u g h t o p l a y , i n relation to her n e i g h b o u r s , a leading role. In 1 9 7 3 , the N i g e r i a n balance o f payments

w e n t into substantial

surplus,

while

the

i n t e r n a t i o n a l o i l c r i s i s o f t h a t y e a r p u t all h e r n o n - o i l p r o d u c i n g n e i g h b o u r s in a w e a k e r p o s i t i o n . S k i l f u l l y u t i l i s i n g t h i s s i t u a t i o n , and using T o g o to s o u n d out and soften up the

francophone

p o w e r s , N i g e r i a b e g a n t o steer W e s t A f r i c a t o w a r d s the creation o f the E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y o f W e s t A f r i c a n States.

Events

within E u r o p e helped, notably the accession o f Britain to

the

E E C . I n c r e a s i n g (if n o t total) A f r i c a n unity w a s s h o w n in

the

negotiations leading to the L o m é C o n v e n t i o n o f 1974, w h i c h regulated the relations o f A f r i c a n , C a r i b b e a n and Pacific nations w i t h the E E C . F i n a l l y , E C O W A S c a m e i n t o e x i s t e n c e in L a g o s in M a y 1 9 7 5 , t h e f o u n d e r m e m b e r s b e i n g M a u r i t a n i a , S e n e g a l , the G a m b i a , G u i n e a - B i s s a u , G u i n e a , Sierra L e o n e , L i b e r i a , the Ivory Coast, Mali, Upper Volta, Ghana, T o g o , D a h o m e y (now Bénin),

Niger

and

N i g e r i a - an

exciting occasion, despite

salutary w a r n i n g o n the e v e o f the L a g o s C o n f e r e n c e b y Nigerian

Federal

Commissioner

for

Economic

a the

Development,

A d e b a y o A d e d e j i , t h a t ' i t w i l l t a k e at least five y e a r s t o d e v e l o p a West African E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y ' .

1

E C O W A S w a s in s o m e

w a y s c l e a r l y m o d e l l e d o n t h e E E C ; it p r o v i d e d f o r t h e g r a d u a l diminution

o f customs

duties

and

trade restrictions

between

m e m b e r s , the creation o f c o m m o n c u s t o m s and c o m m e r c i a l p o l i c y towards

third-party

countries,

and

the

creation

of

common

E C O W A S citizenship, w h i c h w o u l d confer freedom o f m o v e m e n t , w o r k and residence w i t h i n the c o m m u n i t y . T h e last w a s o f d i r e c t i m p o r t a n c e t o l a r g e n u m b e r s o f o r d i n a r y W e s t A f r i c a n s , as m i g r a n t t r a d e r s a n d m i g r a n t l a b o u r e r s m o v i n g across international

frontiers are an i m p o r t a n t feature o f m a n y

West African economies, yet such migrants 1

had

come

West Africa, 19 May 1975, 558. 119

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

under

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

S I N C E

1940

unpleasant pressures. E a r l y in 1970, D r B u s i a ' s g o v e r n m e n t

in

G h a n a s h o c k e d A f r i c a a n d t h e w o r l d b y its s u d d e n e x p u l s i o n o f large n u m b e r s o f foreign Africans, mainly traders; b y the end o f January 1970, G h a n a herself admitted ' repatriation' (or expulsion as m a n y s a w it) o f 1 7 0 0 0 0 A f r i c a n f o r e i g n e r s . N o r w a s t h i s u n i q u e , as t h e s a m e p e r i o d a l s o s a w m a s s e x p u l s i o n s f r o m I v o r y C o a s t . This

kind

o f action - and

Africa - contributed

there were examples elsewhere

in n o small a m o u n t

in

to radical disillusion.

R o d n e y u s e d it as a s t i c k w i t h w h i c h t o b e a t A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s :

Pan-Africanism has been so flouted by the present governments that the concept of 'African' is dead for all practical purposes such as travel and employment. The ' Africanisation * that was aimed against the European colonial administrator soon gave way to restrictive employment and immi­ gration practices by Ivory Coast, Ghana (under Busia), Zaire, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and others - aimed against ... all Africans who were guilty of believing that Africa was for the Africans. 1

G i v e n the s e n s i t i v i t y o f the issues i n v o l v e d in free m o v e m e n t o f labour, and the resentments that c o u l d be caused a m o n g

indigenes

at t h e p r e s e n c e o f l a r g e n u m b e r s o f e i t h e r s u c c e s s f u l or u n s u c c e s s f u l f o r e i g n e r s , it is n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t b y t h e A p r i l 1 9 7 8 m e e t i n g o f ECOWAS remained

h e a d s o f s t a t e i n L a g o s , free m o v e m e n t o f a matter

for

anxious

discussion.

The

labour

intermediate

regional stage o f Pan-Africanism represented by E C O W A S was still b y 1 9 7 8 a n u n p r o v e n v e n t u r e (as A d e d e j i w i s e l y p r e d i c t e d ) . The

h o p e that N i g e r i a n oil m o n e y c o u l d

finance

West African

e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t in a m o r e appropriate w a y , and o n m o r e easy terms,

than traditional

external

aid f r o m

the

developed

nations or the W o r l d B a n k , e v a p o r a t e d w i t h the lapse o f

the

N i g e r i a n e c o n o m y i n t o serious b a l a n c e - o f - p a y m e n t s difficulties. T h u s , W e s t A f r i c a n regional unity, despite b e i n g an aspiration dating b a c k to the time o f James Africanus H o r t o n , and despite v a r i o u s a t t e m p t s o v e r t h e t w e n t y y e a r s f r o m 195 8 t o 1 9 7 8 t o b r i n g it i n t o e x i s t e n c e i n s o m e f o r m o r o t h e r , p r o d u c e d a h a r v e s t m a i n l y o f frustrated h o p e s . A p a r t f r o m the o b v i o u s practical p r o b l e m s , it is a l s o n e c e s s a r y t o t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t h e f a c t t h a t as w e l l as b e i n g t h e r e g i o n o f A f r i c a w i t h t h e m o s t p e r s i s t e n t efforts t o c r e a t e a w i d e r r e g i o n a l u n i t y , it h a s a l s o b e e n t h e h o m e o f i n v e t e r a t e a n d ef­ fective o p p o n e n t s o f r e g i o n a l unity. In this n e g a t i v e sense, the k e y state w a s certainly the I v o r y C o a s t , and the k e y leader H o u p h o u e t 1

Resolutions and selected speeches, 15, I20

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R E G I O N A L I S M A N D

U N I T Y

B o i g n y . In 1 9 5 7 - 8 he w a s the m o s t important leader, w i t h i n the old R a s s e m b l e m e n t D é m o c r a t i q u e Africain, o f the successful o p p o s i t i o n to the idea o f a united F r e n c h W e s t African indepen­ dence. T h e subsequent w a t e r e d - d o w n plan for a Federation o f M a l i , t o c o m p r i s e S o u d a n (as t h e f u t u r e R e p u b l i c o f M a l i w a s still c a l l e d i n 195 8 - 9 ) , S e n e g a l , U p p e r V o l t a a n d D a h o m e y , w a s further w e a k e n e d b y the I v o r y C o a s t p e r s u a d i n g U p p e r V o l t a and D a h o m e y to w i t h d r a w . O n l y a r u m p federation o f the t w o r e m a i n i n g s t a t e s c a m e b r i e f l y i n t o e x i s t e n c e as a n i n d e p e n d e n t state in i 9 6 0 . W i t h i n t h a t f e d e r a t i o n , S o u d a n , u n d e r M o d i b o K e i t a , w a s e n t h u s i a s t i c f o r f e d e r a l u n i o n as a b a s i s f o r c r e a t i n g a t r a n s f o r m e d s o c i e t y , w h i c h w a s s o little t o t h e t a s t e o f L e o p o l d S e n g h o r o f S e n e g a l t h a t h e w i t h d r e w h i s c o u n t r y after o n l y t w o months. T h e only wider grouping o f former French West African territories that m a n a g e d t o establish itself securely in this era o f transfer o f p o w e r w a s the C o n s e i l de P E n t e n t e , f o r m e d in M a y 1959. B u t this w a s a creation d o m i n a t e d b y the I v o r y C o a s t (also comprising D a h o m e y , U p p e r V o l t a , and N i g e r ) , and very m u c h the ancestor o f the U A M and O C A M . A f r i c a n unity w a s certainly n e v e r o n e o f its o b j e c t i v e s , b u t r a t h e r a d e d i c a t i o n t o p r e s e r v i n g the s o v e r e i g n t y o f i n d i v i d u a l states e v e n i f b y m e a n s o f a l o o s e e c o n o m i c or political association. In o t h e r parts o f A f r i c a the r e g i o n a l idea h a d e v e n less s u c c e s s . T h e r e w e r e h o p e s i n E g y p t i n t h e y e a r s i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e E g y p t i a n r e v o l u t i o n o f 1 9 5 2 t h a t t h e S u d a n m i g h t b e a t last reunited w i t h E g y p t , and s u p p o r t for this w a s c a n v a s s e d ener­ getically in the S u d a n u n d e r the aegis o f the U n i t y o f the N i l e V a l l e y M o v e m e n t , w h i c h w a s , h o w e v e r , perhaps more o f a pressure g r o u p w i t h a slogan than a genuine popular m o v e m e n t a m o n g the S u d a n e s e . S u d a n e s e a c h i e v e m e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1956 killed this * m o v e m e n t \ In F r e n c h - r u l e d N o r t h A f r i c a the idea o f t h e u n i t y o f t h e M a g h r i b ( w h i c h as a g e o g r a p h i c a l c o n c e p t a l s o includes L i b y a ) w a s m o r e than counterbalanced b y the v e r y different n a t u r e a n d o u t c o m e o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e s i n A l g e r i a , M o r o c c o and Tunisia. Thereafter, the main impetus for w i d e r u n i o n s in N o r t h A f r i c a c a m e f r o m L i b y a , w h o s e a b o r t i v e unions w i t h E g y p t and T u n i s i a underlined the lack o f success o f N o r t h A f r i c a n regionalism. T h e s e disunities in N o r t h A f r i c a w e r e further d e m o n s t r a t e d b y the acute confrontation between M o r o c c o and Mauritania o n the o n e hand, and the Polisario F r o n t , 121

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S I N C E

I94O

A l g e r i a and L i b y a o n the other, o v e r the future o f the

former

Spanish Sahara, partitioned b e t w e e n M o r o c c o and Mauritania by agreement w i t h Spain, but w i t h o u t c o n s u l t i n g the wishes o f the S a h r a o u i s , in 1 9 7 5 . R e g i o n a l i s m in E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a w a s p r o d u c t i v e m a i n l y o f disillusion. O n e p r o b l e m faced b y Pan- Africanists w h o f a v o u r e d r e g i o n a l i s m in this p a r t o f A f r i c a w a s the fact that historically federalism w a s associated w i t h settler pressures t o m a x i m i s e their degree o f local control. T h i s w a s clearly so m u c h the case w i t h the Central A f r i c a n federation o f S o u t h e r n Rhodesia,

Northern

R h o d e s i a a n d N y a s a l a n d , (officially k n o w n as t h e F e d e r a t i o n o f R h o d e s i a a n d N y a s a l a n d ) , created in 1953 a g a i n s t the w i s h e s o f v i r t u a l l y all a r t i c u l a t e A f r i c a n o p i n i o n , t h a t A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t s in t h o s e t e r r i t o r i e s i n e v i t a b l y o p t e d f o r s e p a r a t e i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n the

four

British

East

African territories

of Kenya,

Uganda,

T a n g a n y i k a and Z a n z i b a r , settler pressures for federation had n o t succeeded, but there w a s a legacy f r o m the c o l o n i a l era o f c o m m o n s e r v i c e s i n m a t t e r s s u c h as t r a n s p o r t , c u r r e n c y , a n d Furthermore,

customs.

o n t h e p e r s o n a l l e v e l , i n t h e late 1 9 5 0 s a n d e a r l y

1960s, there w a s p e r h a p s

n o part o f Africa

where a

greater

p r o p o r t i o n o f senior African political leaders regarded themselves as P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s . T o n a m e o n l y s o m e o f t h e m o r e

obvious

e x a m p l e s , as w e l l as N y e r e r e , t h e r e w a s M i l t o n O b o t e o f U g a n d a ; Jomo

K e n y a t t a ; T o m M b o y a o f K e n y a w h o had chaired

the

1958 A c c r a A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e ; O s c a r K a m b o n a , independent Odinga,

T a n g a n y i k a ' s first f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r ;

K e n y a ' s first

vice-president.

In

other

and

Oginga

words,

Pan-

A f r i c a n i s m w a s v e r y m u c h in v o g u e in the n e w r u l i n g circles o f U g a n d a , T a n g a n y i k a a n d K e n y a as t h e y c a m e t o

independence.

B y c o m p a r i s o n , f r o m the three territories c o m p r i s i n g the Federa­ tion o f Rhodesia and Nyasaland, only one major

figure

commit­

ted to P a n - A f r i c a n i s m e m e r g e d in a p o s i t i o n o f p o w e r , K e n n e t h K a u n d a o f Z a m b i a , the former N o r t h e r n

Rhodesia. T h e

East

African Pan-Africanists w e r e aware o f the dangers facing small w e a k states in the m o d e r n w o r l d . F o r a n u m b e r o f years t h e r e w e r e hopes that these c o u l d be a v o i d e d b y the creation o f an

East

A f r i c a n federation, w h i c h w o u l d b e large e n o u g h in area, p o p u ­ lation and resources not to be the cat's-paw o f outside p o w e r s , a n d t o t a c k l e its i n t e r n a l s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c t a s k s . W i t h E a s t A f r i c a n r e g i o n a l i s m , as w i t h P a n - A f r i c a n i s m as a 122

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N A T I O N A L I S M ,

R E G I O N A L I S M

A N D

U N I T Y

w h o l e , o n e o f the central p r o b l e m s w a s that political forces had d e v e l o p e d within individual colonial units, dedicated primarily to national independence, and w i t h the possibilities o f conflict b e t w e e n this a i m a n d the w i d e r r e g i o n a l ideal n o t c o n f r o n t e d until t o o late. N o t till 1 9 5 8 w a s t h e r e a s e r i o u s a t t e m p t t o c r e a t e a P a n - E a s t A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l p a r t y , w h i c h w o u l d u n i f y all e x i s t i n g parties. T h e initiative w a s largely N y e r e r e ' s , and the o u t c o m e w a s disappointing. Instead o f creating the unified E a s t A f r i c a n party that N y e r e r e had h o p e d for, the 1958 M w a n z a C o n f e r e n c e created the P a n - A f r i c a n F r e e d o m M o v e m e n t o f East and Central Africa ( P A F M E C A ) . T h i s w a s n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n a n omnium gatherum o f existing East and Central A f r i c a n parties, w i t h the object o f f u r t h e r i n g national r a t h e r t h a n regional i n d e p e n d e n c e , a n d w i t h all e f f e c t i v e a u t h o r i t y r e m a i n i n g w i t h its c o n s t i t u e n t o r g a n i s a t i o n s . F u r t h e r m o r e , the U g a n d a n s participated in the M w a n z a C o n f e r ­ e n c e at o n l y a m i n o r a n d n o n - c o m m i t t a l l e v e l , w h i l e t h e p r e s e n c e o f Central A f r i c a n delegates m a d e P A F M E C A an ill-assorted b o d y for furthering East A f r i c a n unity. In the years that f o l l o w e d , P A F M E C A b e c a m e a n e v e r m o r e diffuse b o d y , as its c o n f e r e n c e s ( m o r e o r less its o n l y a c t i v i t y ) w e r e a t t e n d e d b y d e l e g a t e s f r o m a g r o w i n g r a n g e o f c o u n t r i e s and m o v e m e n t s . A c c o r d i n g l y , in 1961 it c h a n g e d its n a m e t o t h e P a n - A f r i c a n F r e e d o m M o v e m e n t o f E a s t , C e n t r a l and S o u t h e r n A f r i c a ( P A F M E C S A ) . Its g r o w t h w a s s h o w n b y t h e fact t h a t its 1 9 6 2 m e e t i n g w a s h e l d i n A d d i s A b a b a , chaired b y K e n n e t h K a u n d a , w i t h representation from 14 c o u n t r i e s w i t h 100 m i l l i o n i n h a b i t a n t s ; its w e a k n e s s b y t h e f a c t t h a t it w a s a l w a y s c h r o n i c a l l y u n d e r - f i n a n c e d a n d i n d e b t , w i t h m a n y o f its c o n s t i t u e n t g o v e r n m e n t s a n d p a r t i e s f a i l i n g t o p a y their dues. T h e m o s t spectacular initiative t o w a r d s r e g i o n a l unity in E a s t A f r i c a c a m e in J u n e i 9 6 0 , t h r o u g h J u l i u s N y e r e r e o f f e r i n g t o d e l a y T a n g a n y i k a n i n d e p e n d e n c e u n t i l s u c h t i m e as all t h r e e m a j o r E a s t A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s c o u l d b e c o m e j o i n t l y i n d e p e n d e n t as a f e d e r a l u n i t . T h e first a n d o n l y c o n c r e t e a c h i e v e m e n t i n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f this initiative w a s the r e p l a c e m e n t o f the o l d c o l o n i a l a r r a n g e m e n t s for East A f r i c a n c o m m o n services b y the East A f r i c a n C o m m o n Services O r g a n i s a t i o n ( E A C S O ) in 1 9 6 1 . H o w e v e r , E A C S O w a s very m u c h controlled o n a tripartite basis, w i t h each o f the three constituent nations h a v i n g the right o f v e t o . V e r y s o o n d i s a g r e e m e n t s e m e r g e d a m o n g its m e m b e r s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , it w a s 123

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P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

S I N C E

1940

for s o m e years, despite o c c a s i o n a l friction, to be the best e x a m p l e o f r e g i o n a l e c o n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n in the c o n t i n e n t . T h e h i g h p o i n t o f e x p e c t a t i o n o f an E a s t A f r i c a n federation c a m e in J u n e 1 9 6 3 , w h e n O b o t e , N y e r e r e and K e n y a t t a declared their intention

to

federate that year - a l t h o u g h , significantly, K e n y a n i n d e p e n d e n c e was not to be delayed until federation w a s arranged. T h e period o f a c c o r d b e t w e e n the three leaders w a s brief; the K e n y a n s and U g a n d a n s w e r e m o r e p r e - o c c u p i e d w i t h i n t e r n a l affairs. O b o t e , w h o h a d t a k e n a r a d i c a l P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s t a n c e at t h e A d d i s A b a b a H e a d s o f S t a t e C o n f e r e n c e in M a y , b e g a n t o feel t h a t E a s t A f r i c a n federation w a s antithetical to continental unity. F r o m the sidelines, Kwame

Nkrumah

made

known

his v i e w

that

the

proposed

federation w a s n o t in a c c o r d w i t h the O A U spirit, and a p u b l i c c o n t r o v e r s y resulted b e t w e e n h i m s e l f and N y e r e r e o n the issue. T h e G h a n a i a n s u s e d t h e i r i n f l u e n c e t o stir u p f e e l i n g a g a i n s t t h e f e d e r a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y in U g a n d a . T h e failure t o federate in 1963 s o o n soured relations b e t w e e n T a n g a n y i k a and her n e i g h b o u r s , a n d m a d e for i n c r e a s i n g friction in the r u n n i n g o f E A C S O . B y the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s the feelings o f N y e r e r e , w h o h a d in 1964 u n i t e d Tanganyika with Zanzibar to form Tanzania, were s h o w n increasingly

bitter c o m m e n t s

on

the

failure

to

achieve

by

East

A f r i c a n federation, and the difficulties e m e r g i n g w i t h i n E A C S O , in p a r t i c u l a r

the

wish o f Tanzania not

manufacturing sector

flooded

to

have her

by imports from K e n y a .

nascent

1

N o t o n l y w a s r e g i o n a l i s m , at b e s t , a v e r y l i m i t e d s u c c e s s , b u t a l s o t h e P a n - A f r i c a n m o v e m e n t w a s u n a b l e t o p r e v e n t , in period

after

i960,

two

other

kinds

o f challenge -

the

separatist

m o v e m e n t s w i t h i n e x i s t i n g states, and irredentist m o v e m e n t s b y national minorities w i s h i n g t o join their kin in adjacent states. T h e H o r n o f Africa exhibited b o t h tendencies. O n the o n e hand, the Pan-Somali

sentiments

of

all

Somalia's

governments

since

independence generated claims for a G r e a t e r Somalia, to include the O g a d e n r e g i o n o f E t h i o p i a , the N o r t h - E a s t F r o n t i e r area o f K e n y a , and D j i b o u t i (the f o r m e r F r e n c h territory o f the A f a r s and Issas). T h e O g a d e n claim w a s p r o m o t e d the m o s t relentlessly, and b y t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s O A U a t t e m p t s at m e d i a t i o n h a d f a l l e n d o w n , a n d a m a j o r i n s u r r e c t i o n w a s t a k i n g place in the O g a d e n , w i t h s y m p a t h y and s u p p o r t f r o m S o m a l i a , escalating into full-scale w a r in 1 9 7 8 . C l e a r l y , in c i r c u m s t a n c e s l i k e these, c o m m i t m e n t s t o the 1

N y e r e r e , ' P r o b l e m s o f E a s t A f r i c a n c o - o p e r a t i o n i n Freedom and socialism,

124

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64-5.

N A T I O N A L I S M ,

R E G I O N A L I S M

A N D

U N I T Y

territorial integrity o f m e m b e r states o n the o n e h a n d , a n d to the right o f national self-determination o n the other, b e c a m e m u t u a l l y c o n t r a d i c t o r y . In a c o n t i n e n t in w h i c h f e w states lack e t h n i c m i n o r i t i e s , it is n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e O A U , w h i l e w i s h i n g a peaceful resolution o f this conflict, f o u n d E t h i o p i a n territorial i n t e g r i t y o f m o r e i m p o r t a n c e t h a n O g a d e n S o m a l i selfd e t e r m i n a t i o n . N o r d i d t h e O A U find i t s e l f a b l e t o r e s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m o f the Eritrean secessionist m o v e m e n t , fighting for i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m E t h i o p i a e v e r since in 1962 H a i l e Selassie's g o v e r n m e n t first a b o l i s h e d t h e f e d e r a t e d s t a t u s E r i t r e a h a d enjoyed since 1952. Irredentism struck the p a c e m a k e r o f PanA f r i c a n i s m , N k r u m a h ' s G h a n a , at t h e v e r y m o m e n t o f i n d e p e n ­ dence. M a n y E w e s inside G h a n a w i s h e d to be united w i t h their f e l l o w E w e s in n e i g h b o u r i n g T o g o . T h e incipient E w e r e v o l t o n the e v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e had to be suppressed b y the use o f t r o o p s . T h e still p a r t i a l l y o b s c u r e e v e n t s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e i n v a s i o n o f S h a b a p r o v i n c e o f Z a i r e (the f o r m e r K a t a n g a ) in 1 9 7 7 a n d 1978 by dissident elements based in A n g o l a , seems to h a v e b e e n partly based on ethnic tensions. E x a m p l e s could be proliferated o f ethnic secessionism and irredentism, but u n d o u b t e d l y the m o s t serious crisis o f t h i s s o r t , t o d a t e , f o r t h e P a n - A f r i c a n m o v e m e n t e x c e p t i n g t h e as y e t u n r e s o l v e d m u l t i p l e p r o b l e m s i n t h e H o r n o f Africa - w a s that created b y the N i g e r i a n civil w a r o f 1 9 6 7 - 7 0 . T h e N i g e r i a n c i v i l w a r w a s a n e a r d i s a s t e r f o r t h e O A U , as n o t o n l y d i d it p r o v i d e t h e s p e c t a c l e o f its i m p o t e n c e t o p r e v e n t f o r e i g n i n t e r f e r e n c e i n t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t , b u t it a l s o s p l i t its m e m b e r s . A m i n o r i t y o f f o u r m e m b e r states r e c o g n i s e d B i a f r a n i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1968, in the n a m e o f the r i g h t o f the I b o p e o p l e t o s e l f - d e t e r m i n a t i o n . It w a s a n i l l - a s s o r t e d g r o u p i n g - i t s e l f a c o m m e n t o n the c o m p l e x i t i e s o f the Biafran e p i s o d e - c o n s i s t i n g o f Z a m b i a a n d T a n z a n i a , u s u a l l y r e g a r d e d as r a d i c a l P a n - A f r i c a n countries, and the l u k e w a r m enthusiasts for P a n - A f r i c a n i s m , G a b o n and the I v o r y C o a s t . T h e N i g e r i a n federal g o v e r n m e n t eventually received important supplies o f arms not only from E g y p t , but also from Britain, the S o v i e t U n i o n and C z e c h o s l o ­ vakia. O n the other hand the Biafrans, n o d o u b t equally feeling that necessity m a k e s strange b e d - f e l l o w s , received support from Portugal, France and, according to rumour, South Africa. B e t w e e n 1967 and 1969, there w a s a series o f attempts b y the O A U t o b r i n g a b o u t peace, but the Biafrans w e r e suspicious o f a b o d y that for 125

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the m o s t part regarded

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the territorial

1940

i n t e g r i t y o f its e x i s t i n g

m e m b e r s as m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n m i n o r i t y

self-determination;

w h i l e the federal g o v e r n m e n t w a s understandably a n x i o u s not to a l l o w t h e O A U ' s e f f o r t s t o t a k e t h e f o r m o f m e d i a t i o n , let a l o n e T h e final c o l l a p s e o f B i a f r a in J a n u a r y

arbitration.

1970 was

g r e e t e d w i t h r e l i e f b y a l m o s t all O A U m e m b e r s , a n d w a s a v i c t o r y f o r t h e p r i n c i p l e o f t e r r i t o r i a l i n t e g r i t y - b u t it w a s a v i c t o r y w o n b y the N i g e r i a n g o v e r n m e n t , not b y the O A U .

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

A N D T H E

A R M E D

L I B E R A T I O N

S T R U G G L E S

I f the issues o f r e g i o n a l i s m , secessionism and irredentism split or at l e a s t p a r a l y s e d a n d t o s o m e e x t e n t d i s c r e d i t e d P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in the t w e n t y years f r o m 1958, s u p p o r t for national i n d e p e n d e n c e from colonial and white minority regimes w a s something everyone c o u l d a g r e e o n i n p r i n c i p l e . H o w e v e r , as w e h a v e s e e n , t h e i s s u e o f support for and recognition o f the provisional g o v e r n m e n t o f Algeria, during the period w h e n A l g e r i a n independence w a s yet b e i n g contested, d i v i d e d the n e w l y independent

A f r i c a n states.

T h u s e v e n national liberation c o u l d be a d i v i s i v e issue. N o r w a s this the o n l y p r o b l e m faced b y t h o s e e n g a g e d in a r m e d liberation s t r u g g l e s at t h a t t i m e , i n t r y i n g t o e n g a g e t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h o s e w h o had recently benefited from peaceful transfer o f p o w e r . In a revealing anecdote, A m f l c a r Cabral, leader o f the revolutionary liberation s t r u g g l e in P o r t u g u e s e G u i n e a until his m u r d e r b y a P o r t u g u e s e a g e n t in 1 9 7 3 , r e m a r k e d

on:

An incident during the second All-African Peoples' Conference in Tunis during i 9 6 0 , where we had some difficulty in being heard. One African delegate to whom we tried to explain our situation replied in all sympathy: 'Oh, its different for you. No problem there - you're doing all right with the Portu­ guese.' At least it helped us to see that we could count only on ourselves. 1

A t least in C a b r a P s c o u n t r y there w a s o n l y o n e m o v e m e n t , Partido

A f r i c a n o da Independencia

da

Guine

e Cabo

the

Verde

( P A I G C ) , f o r t h e official P a n - A f r i c a n m o v e m e n t t o r e c o g n i s e . I n other places, notably A n g o l a and Rhodesia, the spectacle o f rival liberation

movements

recognition

and

aid.

complicated The

creation

the o f the

whole

problem

OAU's

1

of

Liberation

A m f l c a r C a b r a l , f o r e w o r d t o B a s i l D a v i d s o n , The liberation of Guine: aspects of an African revolution ( L o n d o n , 1969), 9 - 1 0 .

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C o m m i t t e e i n 1963 s i g n i f i e d a s e r i o u s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o e n s u r e t h a t it w o u l d n e v e r h e n c e f o r t h b e b l a n d l y a s s u m e d t h a t a n y o f t h o s e still u n d e r c o l o n i a l a n d m i n o r i t y r u l e w e r e ' d o i n g all r i g h t ' , as w e l l as t o t r y t o r e c o n c i l e d i v i d e d l i b e r a t i o n m o v e m e n t s , o r at l e a s t to decide w h i c h o f such m o v e m e n t s o u g h t to be supported. Based s i n c e i n c e p t i o n in D a r es S a l a a m , t h o u g h w i t h r e g i o n a l b u r e a u x in L u s a k a a n d (till 1 9 7 4 ) i n C o n a k r y , t h e L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e h a d its o w n b u r e a u c r a c y a n d - t h o u g h

quite inadequately

till

1 9 7 4 - its o w n f u n d s . E x e c u t i v e s e c r e t a r i e s w e r e T a n z a n i a n , b u t its m e m b e r s h i p , d r a w n f r o m O A U m e m b e r s t a t e s , at t i m e s

was

fiercely

contested.

Its

fluctuated,

actions, necessarily

and often

confidential or e v e n secretive, s o o n aroused the suspicions o f m o r e c a u t i o u s O A U m e m b e r s , a n d as a c o n s e q u e n c e its a u t o n o m y w a s r e s t r i c t e d a n d all O A U s t a t e s g i v e n o b s e r v e r s t a t u s i n its d e l i b e r a t i o n s in 1 9 6 6 . I f this r e d u c e d o p p o s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e O A U , it c a n n o t b e s a i d to have increased

the Liberation

C o m m i t t e e ' s ability to

give

effective aid, w h i c h r e m a i n e d , in the v i e w o f s o m e , for s o m e years an o b j e c t i v e r a t h e r t h a n a r e a l i t y . I n 1 9 6 6 C a b r a l w a s ' c o n v i n c e d that A f r i c a can and s h o u l d d o m o r e for o u r s t r u g g l e ' , w h i l s t Basil D a v i d s o n , historian for the world-at-large o f the

independence

s t r u g g l e s in P o r t u g u e s e A f r i c a , o b s e r v e d t h a t i n 1 9 6 8 t h e L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e ' m o v e d c l o s e r t o at l e a s t a r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e need for m o r e effective s u p p o r t . . . o n e m i g h t think, n o t time'.

1

before

B u t it w a s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e h a r d c h o i c e s d e m a n d e d

by

the liberation s t r u g g l e in A n g o l a that the L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e stumbled

most. There, Holden Roberto's Frente

Nacional

de

L i b e r t a d o d e A n g o l a ( F N L A ) w a s officially r e c o g n i s e d i n 1 9 6 3 , rather than the M o v i m e n t o P o p u l a r de Liberta£áo de

Angola

( M P L A ) , partly b e c a u s e the M P L A ' s initial r e v o l t , in L u a n d a in 1961, had been a disaster. A l s o , H o l d e n R o b e r t o w a s t h e n better k n o w n t o t h e l e a d e r s o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a , h a v i n g b e e n at t h e 1958

All-African

Peoples'

Conference

and

having

thereafter

established his i m a g e . R e c o g n i t i o n o f the F N L A w a s w i t h d r a w n as its f o r t u n e s w a n e d i n 1 9 6 4 , a n d as it w a s i d e n t i f i e d as m o r e o f a n e t h n i c K o n g o t h a n a P a n - A n g o l a n m o v e m e n t , w h i l e official approval w a s n o w g i v e n to the M P L A . H o w e v e r , in 1972 the FNLA

w a s r e c o g n i s e d again, this time a l o n g s i d e the

MPLA.

R o b e r t o ' s kinship to President M o b u t u Sese S e k o o f Z a i r e , and 1

D a v i d s o n , The liberation of Guiñé 141. y

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Zairean determination

to further

S I N C E

1940

the F N L A ' s

fortunes

at

the

e x p e n s e o f t h e M P L A , i n f l u e n c e d t h i s c o n f u s e d p o l i c y as m u c h as a n y t h i n g , a l t h o u g h t h e r e w e r e c o n t i n u i n g a t t e m p t s t o r e c o n c i l e t h e t w o m o v e m e n t s . T h e n , at t h e m o m e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n c e Angola, Angolan

the

Liberation

movement,

Committee

also recognised

the

for

third

Jonas S a v i m b i ' s U n i á o N a c i o n a l para

a

I n d e p e n d e n c i a T o t a l d e A n g o l a ( U N I T A ) , as a c l i m a x t o O A U efforts t h r o u g h

1974 to persuade the three m o v e m e n t s to n e g o ­

tiate j o i n t l y w i t h the defeated P o r t u g u e s e . T h e r e s o l u t i o n o f the r e s u l t i n g s t r u g g l e f o r p o w e r after i n d e p e n d e n c e o w e d n o t h i n g t o the O A U , and e v e r y t h i n g to the M P L A ' s military v i c t o r y (aided by C u b a n troops and Russian logistical support), o v e r the forces o f U N I T A (backed b y S o u t h African intervention) and the F N L A (backed b y Z a i r e and e m p l o y i n g w e s t e r n freelance mercenaries). T h i s A n g o l a n situation displayed the Liberation C o m m i t t e e , a n d t h e O A U at l a r g e , i n a s i t u a t i o n o f g r e a t d i s a d v a n t a g e , w h i c h w a s to s o m e extent redressed b y the record elsewhere. M o n d l a n e , leader o f the Frente de L i b e r t a d o de

Eduardo

Mozambique

( F R E L I M O ) , w r o t e , n o t l o n g b e f o r e his assassination in 1969, o f the O A U ' s ' i m p o r t a n t w o r k ' t o w a r d s a c h i e v i n g unity w i t h i n the liberation m o v e m e n t s (although stating, * m o r e w o r k needs to be d o n e a l o n g these lines'), and helping ' t o g e t recognition establish contacts w i t h other parts o f A f r i c a ' .

and

1

In N a m i b i a ( S o u t h W e s t Africa), the Liberation

Committee

consistently b a c k e d the S o u t h W e s t Africa P e o p l e ' s O r g a n i s a t i o n ( S W A P O ) . F r o m its i n c e p t i o n i n 1 9 6 3 , t h e O A U m a d e a r o o t and-branch c o n d e m n a t i o n o f the apartheid r e g i m e in S o u t h Africa a n d N a m i b i a , a n d c a l l e d f o r b o t h its m e m b e r s a n d all U n i t e d N a t i o n s m e m b e r s to sever diplomatic relations w i t h , close their ports and airports to, and i m p o s e a trade and arms e m b a r g o on, S o u t h A f r i c a . F r o m 1 9 6 3 , t h e O A U m a d e it its b u s i n e s s t o m a k e life as d i f f i c u l t as p o s s i b l e f o r S o u t h A f r i c a at t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s , a n d in 1 9 7 4 a l m o s t s u c c e e d e d in s e c u r i n g S o u t h A f r i c a ' s e x p u l s i o n , a m o v e t h w a r t e d b y B r i t i s h , F r e n c h a n d A m e r i c a n v e t o e s in the S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l . L i k e w i s e , in 1963 the O A U called u p o n Britain not

to transfer

p o w e r in R h o d e s i a ; w h e n Ian

Smith's illegal

Unilateral D e c l a r a t i o n o f I n d e p e n d e n c e ( U D I ) c a m e in 1965, the OAU 1

a l m o s t at o n c e c a l l e d o n B r i t a i n t o s m a s h t h e

rebellion

E d u a r d o M o n d l a n e , The struggle for Mozambique ( L o n d o n , 1969), 2 1 2 - 1 3 .

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i m m e d i a t e l y o r f a c e t h e b r e a k i n g o f f o f d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s b y all O A U members. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e s e p o l i c i e s p r o v e d far m o r e difficult t h a n their p r o m u l g a t i o n , n o t o n l y b e c a u s e the w o r l d at l a r g e , a n d e s p e c i a l l y t h e w e s t e r n w o r l d , c o n t i n u e d t o t r a d e w i t h a n d sell a r m s t o S o u t h A f r i c a , a n d c o v e r t l y t o s u p p o r t R h o d e s i a t h r o u g h sanctions-breaking companies, but also because o f di­ vided reactions and policies a m o n g O A U m e m b e r s themselves. In the case o f s o m e , there w e r e r e c o g n i s e d t o be e x t e n u a t i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s ; t h u s Z a m b i a ' s g e o g r a p h i c a l p o s i t i o n m a d e it impossible for her to o b s e r v e sanctions w i t h o u t causing her o w n e c o n o m i c collapse, and B o t s w a n a , L e s o t h o and Swaziland were e v e n less able t o b r e a k w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a . B u t the i m p o s i t i o n o f t h e v a r i o u s r e s t r i c t i o n s o n S o u t h A f r i c a ' s air a n d sea t r a n s p o r t , and o n trade w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a , w e r e i m p o s e d p i e c e m e a l and in s o m e c a s e s t a r d i l y o r n o t at all. T h e l e a d i n d e f y i n g O A U p o l i c y was taken by President Hastings K a m u z u Banda o f M a l a w i , w h o i n 1 9 6 7 w e n t s o far as t o e s t a b l i s h d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w i t h S o u t h Africa, a m o v e not universally unpopular with other O A U m e m b e r s , especially the I v o r y C o a s t and a n u m b e r o f the other O C A M p o w e r s , and G h a n a , then reacting strongly against the Pan-African militancy o f the o v e r t h r o w n N k r u m a h g o v e r n m e n t . I n 1 9 7 0 , H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y t o o k t h i s l i n e t o its l o g i c a l c o n c l u s i o n by advocating a policy o f ' dialogue' with South Africa, arguing that the o p e n i n g o f diplomatic and trade relations w o u l d lead to a softening and peaceful r e s o l u t i o n o f racial o p p r e s s i o n w i t h i n S o u t h A f r i c a . T h i s w a s s t r o n g l y r e j e c t e d b y t h e O A U at its 1 9 7 1 S u m m i t in A d d i s A b a b a , b u t G a b o n , L e s o t h o , the M a l a g a s y R e p u b l i c , M a l a w i and Mauritius supported the I v o r y C o a s t , w h i l e D a h o m e y , N i g e r , T o g o and U p p e r V o l t a abstained. In the aftermath, M a l a w i continued to h a v e o p e n relations w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a , P r e s i d e n t B a n d a m a k i n g a n official v i s i t t h e r e i n A u g u s t 1 9 7 1 , and the I v o r y C o a s t d e v e l o p e d informal contacts u p to the h i g h e s t levels. T h e O A U h a d , h o w e v e r , s o m e successes in the b a t t l e a g a i n s t S o u t h A f r i c a , t h e m o s t n o t a b l e b e i n g its t o t a l l y successful policy o f African and international non-recognition o f t h e T r a n s k e i B a n t u s t a n o n its b e i n g g r a n t e d s o - c a l l e d i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e b y S o u t h A f r i c a in 1 9 7 6 , a n d o f o t h e r B a n t u s t a n s s u b s e ­ q u e n t l y declared ' i n d e p e n d e n t ' b y the R e p u b l i c . A s for the R h o d e s i a n question, by 1966 the O A U had already 129

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S I N C E

1940

b e e n r e l u c t a n t l y f o r c e d t o r e c o g n i s e t h e i m p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f its original reaction to Smith's U D I , and to accept the British and United Nations policy o f sanctions, although without conviction. F u r t h e r m o r e , the L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e w a s faced w i t h the split i n t h e A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t s ' o p p o s i t i o n t o U D I , at t h a t t i m e b e t w e e n the Z i m b a b w e A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l U n i o n ( Z A N U ) and the Z i m b a b w e African People's Union ( Z A P U ) . Such divisions c o n t i n u e d t o b e d e v i l the liberation s t r u g g l e in R h o d e s i a , a l t h o u g h in 1975 the L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e w a s able t o r e c o m m e n d substantial assistance to the liberation m o v e m e n t , unified in 1974, under the aegis o f the African National C o u n c i l . O n the other h a n d , it c o u l d n o t p r e v e n t s a n c t i o n s - b r e a k i n g , n o r t h e r a p i d b r e a k d o w n o f the A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l ' s precarious unity. A f t e r 1 9 7 6 it s u p p o r t e d t h e P a t r i o t i c F r o n t ( r e f l e c t i n g t h e i n c r e a s e d influence in the L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e o f P r e s i d e n t S a m o r a M a c h e l o f M o z a m b i q u e , w h o backed R o b e r t M u g a b e ' s faction). T h i s t u r n o f O A U p o l i c y in relation t o R h o d e s i a represented a m o v i n g a w a y f r o m the p o l i c y o f ' d e t e n t e ' . T h e thesis b e h i n d detente w a s that in a situation deteriorating for S o u t h Africa, w i t h the collapse o f the P o r t u g u e s e in M o z a m b i q u e and A n g o l a , and the potentially e x p o s e d p o s i t i o n o f h a v i n g to s h o r e - u p the w e a k e n i n g S m i t h r e g i m e in R h o d e s i a , r e a l i s m w o u l d p r e v a i l in the V o r s t e r g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h m i g h t be persuaded to put pressure o n Ian S m i t h to c o n c e d e an acceptable settlement. S o u t h A f r i c a n s e l f - i n t e r e s t , t h e r e f o r e , w a s t o b e p u t at t h e d i s p o s a l o f Z i m b a b w e ' s l i b e r a t i o n . T h e m a i n a r c h i t e c t s a n d e x p o n e n t s o f this p o l i c y w e r e T a n z a n i a , B o t s w a n a , M o z a m b i q u e a n d Z a m b i a . It w a s n o t t o t a l l y w i t h o u t s u c c e s s , as S o u t h A f r i c a n p r e s s u r e w a s w i d e l y b e l i e v e d t o h a v e b e e n a factor in Ian S m i t h ' s a p p a r e n t a c c e p t a n c e in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 6 o f the principle o f majority rule. H o w e v e r , this w a s s e e n b y t h e d e t e n t e l e a d e r s a n d t h e P a t r i o t i c F r o n t as l i t t l e m o r e than another w h i t e R h o d e s i a n exercise in p l a y i n g for time a n d d i v i d i n g its i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l o p p o n e n t s , o f m a k i n g apparent c o n c e s s i o n s w h i l e retaining the reality o f p o w e r in w h i t e hands. I n g e n e r a l it w o u l d b e t r u e t o s a y t h a t f r o m t h e R a b a t S u m m i t o f 1972, the O A U policy declarations o n liberation b e c a m e m o r e militant, e v e n e x t e n d i n g to the d e c i s i o n in principle that the armies o f African countries o u g h t to be c o m m i t t e d to the armed struggle against colonial and w h i t e minority rule. Far f r o m b e i n g w e l c o m e 130

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THE

A R M E D

L I B E R A T I O N

S T R U G G L E S

to either the O A U ' s radical critics, o r to those leading liberation m o v e m e n t s i n t h e field, t h i s w a s u n i v e r s a l l y r e j e c t e d as u n d e s i r a b l e . P r o b a b l y the Rodney

most

in the

scornful

paper

comments

he prepared

for

were those the

Sixth

of

Walter

Pan-African

C o n g r e s s in 1 9 7 4 :

The record to date exposes the gap between theory and practice on the part of OAU members as far as monetary support to the OAU Liberation Committee is concerned. Recently, the rhetoric has become seemingly more fiery... Take for instance the demagogic appeal that African governments should send armies to the combat zone. Such suggestion is completely out of touch with the concept of a people's war and out of sympathy with the process through which a people prepare themselves for self-liberation. 1

I f R o d n e y w e r e t o b e d i s m i s s e d as a n a r m c h a i r c r i t i c , t h e n t h e c o n t i n u i n g self-reliance in p u r e l y military m a t t e r s o f the l i b e r a t i o n m o v e m e n t s i n t h e final p h a s e o f t h e w a r s a g a i n s t P o r t u g a l w a s e v e n m o r e eloquent. T h e liberation m o v e m e n t s w e l c o m e d aid, but did n o t need or w e l c o m e crusading A f r i c a n armies, w i t h their implications o f outside leadership and c o n t r o l o f the

liberation

process.

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

A N D W O R L D

A F F A I R S

P a n - A f r i c a n i s m after t h e a d v e n t o f t h e e r a o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states b e c a m e p r i m a r i l y t h e c o n c e r n o f A f r i c a ' s l e a d e r s , m o v e ­ m e n t s , p e o p l e s a n d g o v e r n m e n t s , y e t it c a n n o t b e before o r since

understood,

1958, e x c e p t in the c o n t e x t o f certain

global

t h e m e s . P r o t o - P a n - A f r i c a n i s m h a d its r o o t s i n v a s t e v e n t s : t h e transfer

o f A f r i c a n slave l a b o u r o n a colossal scale across

the

Atlantic from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, to w o r k the plantations,

mines and industries

o f the N e w W o r l d ;

the

penetration o f i n c r e a s i n g areas o f A f r i c a b y E u r o p e a n c o m m e r c e in t h e e r a o f * l e g i t i m a t e ' t r a d e t h a t o v e r l a p p e d a n d s u c c e e d e d t h e Atlantic slave trade; the E u r o p e a n partition o f A f r i c a ; and

the

transfers o f p o w e r and liberation s t r u g g l e s since the late 1940s. B y i n v o l v e m e n t in these e v e n t s , A f r i c a w a s t a k i n g part in an e v e n vaster and w o r l d - w i d e historical process. In a few centuries, a small g r o u p o f E u r o p e a n states had risen t o w o r l d - w i d e d o m i ­ nance, and created a plethora

o f doctrines, from crude 9

racial

superiority to paternalistic trusteeship for ' child r a c e s or a ' d u t y 1

Resolutions and selected speeches, 3 1 - 3 . •31

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

9

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

S I N C E

I940

to d e v e l o p the w o r l d in the n a m e o f ' p r o g r e s s ' , in o r d e r to justify their h e g e m o n y . P a n - A f r i c a n i s m w a s o n l y o n e o f a n u m b e r o f m o v e m e n t s in the * d o m i n a t e d ' w o r l d t o c h a l l e n g e that h e g e m o n y , i d e o l o g i c a l l y a n d i n p r a c t i c e , a n d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f its i n t e r n a l contradictions and weaknesses. T h i s w a s well u n d e r s t o o d b y the p i o n e e r P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s o f the earlier t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y ,

who

often anticipated the post-1945 spirit o f A f r o - A s i a n unity. T h u s , i n h i s h e y d a y after t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , M a r c u s G a r v e y s u p p o r t e d G a n d h i and the Indian N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s . D u s e M o h a m e d A l i was almost

as m u c h

an activist for

nationalism, and Indian

and other

Pan-Islamism,

Egyptian

A s i a n n a t i o n a l i s m s , as

for

P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . H e o f t e n s p o k e , as d i d W . E . B . D u B o i s , o f ' t h e darker races', w h o had the same p r o b l e m s , enemies and tasks. I n d e p e n d e n c e at its h e a d y o n s e t c r e a t e d t h e i l l u s i o n t h a t A f r i c a easily and s o o n c o u l d b e freed f r o m external influences. African

states

were to be non-aligned,

plans

for their

The joint

e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t proliferated. A l l o u t s i d e states a c c e p t i n g t h e s e t h i n g s w i t h g o o d w i l l w e r e t o b e r e g a r d e d as f r i e n d s . O t h e r realities h a v e d i s p e r s e d t h e s e e p h e m e r a l d r e a m s . In

the

e c o n o m i c sphere,

modern,

independent

Africa

still

produced agricultural and mineral c o m m o d i t i e s for w o r l d mar­ kets, w i t h o u t m u c h control o v e r the terms o f trade, and

was

heavily dependent o n foreign capital and expertise (often f r o m the old colonial p o w e r s ) to p r o d u c e and market them. In the starkest cases, this m a d e for vitiated i n d e p e n d e n c e . Z a m b i a ' s e c o n o m y w a s almost totally dependent o n the w o r l d price o f copper, for w h i c h the market w a s almost w h o l l y outside A f r i c a ; Mauritania

was

e v e n m o r e bereft o f resources o t h e r than her F r e n c h - d e v e l o p e d mines w h i c h p r o d u c e d totally for export outside Africa; e v e n r e v o l u t i o n a r y A n g o l a r e t a i n e d , as o f 1978, t h e s e r v i c e s o f G u l f O i l to d e v e l o p off-shore oil, despite the use o f A m e r i c a n w a r materials b y the P o r t u g u e s e d u r i n g the i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e , and w i d e l y alleged U S Central Intelligence A g e n c y support for the M P L A ' s e n e m i e s in t h e c i v i l w a r s f o l l o w i n g i n d e p e n d e n c e . A f r i c a n r o a d a n d rail s y s t e m s still m o s t l y f o l l o w e d c o l o n i a l p a t t e r n s , c o n n e c t i n g a n e c o n o m i c hinterland w i t h the nearest port, f r o m w h i c h the hin­ terland's primary c o m m o d i t i e s c o u l d be shipped to the a d v a n c e d i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s . A f r i c a still c o n t a i n e d a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e w o r l d ' s p o o r e s t c o u n t r i e s , t h e o n l y c l e a r e x c e p t i o n t o all t h i s b e i n g t h e R e p u b l i c o f S o u t h A f r i c a , still t h e e c o n o m i c , i f n o 132

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P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

A N D

W O R L D

A F F A I R S

l o n g e r the political, m e t r o p o l i s o f s o u t h e r n Africa. T h i s w a s best illustrated not so m u c h b y the total d e p e n d e n c e o n selling cheap l a b o u r t o S o u t h A f r i c a o f a c o u n t r y l i k e L e s o t h o , s m a l l , p o o r in r e s o u r c e s , a n d s u r r o u n d e d b y S o u t h A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r y , as b y t h e continued e c o n o m i c relations w i t h S o u t h Africa o f independent and Marxist M o z a m b i q u e . B r i e f l y after 1 9 7 3 it s e e m e d at l e a s t t h a t A f r i c a n s t a t e s w i t h substantial oil resources c o u l d be e x e m p t f r o m p o v e r t y and d e p e n d e n c y , a n d finance w i d e s p r e a d d e v e l o p m e n t f o r t h e m s e l v e s a n d a l s o f o r less f o r t u n a t e n e i g h b o u r s . T h e s u c c e s s o f t h e O r g a n i s a t i o n o f P e t r o l e u m E x p o r t i n g C o u n t r i e s ( O P E C ) in v a s t l y i m p r o v i n g its m e m b e r s ' t e r m s o f t r a d e c r e a t e d h o p e s t h a t p r o ­ ducers o f other primary commodities might d o likewise. Such hopes were largely disappointed; improvements w e r e invariably temporary and caused by factors b e y o n d African control. T h u s , A f r i c a n coffee p r o d u c e r s , s u c h as I v o r y C o a s t , E t h i o p i a , K e n y a and U g a n d a , benefited f r o m the s u d d e n steep rise in w o r l d coffee p r i c e s in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , b u t t h i s w a s c a u s e d b y f r o s t i n B r a z i l , t h e w o r l d ' s leading producer, rather than any coordinated African action. S u b s e q u e n t l y , coffee p r o d u c e r s w e r e u n a b l e t o m a i n t a i n a p r i c e p l a t e a u . A s f o r t h e O P E C ' s ' s u c c e s s ' o v e r o i l p r i c e s , it l e d to serious p r o b l e m s for A f r i c a . M o s t A f r i c a n states h a d n o oil o f t h e i r o w n , y e t w e r e p e c u l i a r l y d e p e n d e n t o n it f o r e n e r g y - as m u c h as 9 5 p e r c e n t i n t h e c a s e o f T a n z a n i a , a b y n o m e a n s i s o l a t e d e x a m p l e . T h e a d v a n c e d industrial c o u n t r i e s w e r e in fact m u c h better able to substitute o t h e r fuels, o r in the case o f Britain and N o r w a y , d o m e s t i c a l l y p r o d u c e d o i l as w e l l . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , their e c o n o m i e s stagnated f r o m 1 9 7 3 , and b y 1978 the i m m e d i a t e m a r k e t f o r o i l h a d b e c o m e d e p r e s s e d , a n d its real p r i c e h a d b e e n d r o p p i n g for s o m e time, despite the likelihood o f future oilshortages. T h e m o r e p r o d i g a l O P E C countries, w h e t h e r in o r o u t o f Africa - Nigeria and Iran c o m e to mind - found themselves facing not abundance but debt, w i t h m u c h diminished prospects o f aiding (and influencing) others. M e a n w h i l e , the industrial countries passed o n to A f r i c a n customers for their manufactures t h e i n c r e a s e d c o s t s in o i l . These intrusive processes, African economy, inevitably t o P a n - A f r i c a n i s m , w i t h its A f r i c a n s c o u l d s o l v e all t h e i r

functions o f the w o r l d and n o t the were a profound political challenge optimistic doctrine that together p r o b l e m s . E v e n before the creation 133

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P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

S I N C E

1940

o f the O A U , N k r u m a h attacked the d o m i n a t i o n and manipulation o f A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s b y o u t s i d e c a p i t a l as ' n e o - c o l o n i a l i s m ' , a n d preached e c o n o m i c integration, even if political integration w a s h i s first p r i o r i t y . Y e t u n d e r h i s g u i d a n c e t h e G h a n a i a n e c o n o m y w a s n o t i n t e g r a t e d e v e n w i t h t h o s e o f its n e i g h b o u r s .

Internally

N k r u m a h ' s G h a n a had ' socialist talk w i t h o u t socialist p l a n n i n g . The worst of both worlds'.

1

L i k e w i s e , o n c e the h o p e o f East

African unity faded, Nyerere's Tanzania turned to a policy o f

national

e c o n o m i c and social transformation.

regional e c o n o m i c project,

the

TanZam

Tanzania's biggest

railway, linking

Z a m b i a n C o p p e r b e l t w i t h D a r es Salaam, w a s c o n s t r u c t e d

the with

Chinese capital, technical expertise, capital g o o d s and e v e n skilled labour,

and

by

1978 needed

Chinese aid

to

restore

efficient

o p e r a t i o n . A s f o r t h e O A U , its E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l C o m m i s s i o n ( E S C ) f r o m i n c e p t i o n p l a n n e d s u c h t h i n g s as a c o m m o n e x t e r n a l tariff,

inter-African

transport

systems, increased

inter-African

t r a d e , a n d b e t t e r t e r m s o f t r a d e ; a l l , in 1 9 7 8 , still u n r e a l i s e d , w i t h minor exceptions. A l t h o u g h largely dependent for expertise o n the pre-existing United N a t i o n s a g e n c y , the E c o n o m i c C o m m i s ­ sion for Africa ( E C A ) , the E S C increasingly disliked the

ECA's

s t a n c e o f b e i n g ' a b o v e ' p o l i t i c s . I t s first m a j o r v i c t o r y - a p a p e r victory - was U N broadly,

acceptance in

cooperate

with

the

1969 that the

O A U . In

the

ECA

should,

1970s the

OAU

enthusiastically f o l l o w e d the U N ' s call (1974) for a ' N e w Inter­ national E c o n o m i c O r d e r ' t o benefit the d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s . Its m a i n a c t i o n in that d i r e c t i o n w a s the 1975 L o m é C o n v e n t i o n . T h o u g h o b t a i n i n g better terms for A f r i c a f r o m the E E C , this the nature o f A f r i c a n e c o n o m i c

hardly transformed

relations.

Subsequently, the O A U endorsed the creation o f E C O W A S , and called for similar organisations to be created in other regions o f A f r i c a . N o n e o f t h i s , e v e n at its m o s t u s e f u l , a m o u n t e d t o e c o n o m i c unity

that Pan-Africanism

in t h e o r y

stood

for.

the In

practice, national interests remained u p p e r m o s t . In reality, m o s t of Africa remained p o o r or very poor. T h e original Pan-Africanist g o a l o f political n o n - i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h e x t e r n a l p o w e r b l o c s p r o v e d as e l u s i v e as e c o n o m i c u n i t y . I n d e e d i n s o f a r as c o m m i t m e n t t o A f r o - A s i a n u n i t y as a b r o a d concept was concerned, outside

i n v o l v e m e n t w a s i n fact

en­

thusiastically a c c e p t e d . T h e 1955 B a n d u n g C o n f e r e n c e , t h o u g h 1

M a k o n n e n , Pan-Africanism,

246.

154

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P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

dominated

by

already

A N D

W O R L D

independent

A F F A I R S

Asian powers,

was

also

attended b y African nationalists, and had s o m e influence o n the s u b s e q u e n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . It l o o k e d t o the U N to safeguard universal h u m a n

rights, and especially rights

of

national self-determination. P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in the era o f inde­ p e n d e n t s t a t e s w a s t o d o t h e s a m e . W i t h t h e rise i n t h e n u m b e r o f A f r i c a n m e m b e r s it b e c a m e a f o r m i d a b l e f o r c e i n t h e U N . B u t t h e l i m i t s o n t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f * w o r l d o p i n i o n ' as e x p r e s s e d i n U N G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y majorities w e r e the limits o f w h a t Africa c o u l d a c h i e v e b y s u c h means. A s for the principle that A f r i c a n states s h o u l d be ' n o n - a l i g n e d ' , this hardly s u r v i v e d . In the Africa o f 1 9 7 8 , it w a s e a s y t o m a k e lists o f p o w e r s t h a t w e r e v e r y c l o s e t o either the S o v i e t o r the w e s t e r n b l o c s , e v e n if n o t part o f their formal systems o f alliances. N o o n e d o u b t e d that K e n y a , the I v o r y Coast, Liberia, Zaire, C h a d , the Central African empire, G a b o n , M o r o c c o and U p p e r V o l t a , to name some o b v i o u s examples, w e r e , w i t h variations, close to the western w o r l d . E v e n E g y p t under Nasir, o n e o f the m o s t formidable o p p o n e n t s o f s u c h i n v o l v e ­ m e n t , s u b s e q u e n t l y i n c l i n e d in m a n y w a y s t o the w e s t . E q u a l l y , no one doubted Union,

Cuba

the w a r m t h o f relations b e t w e e n the S o v i e t

and

the

German

Democratic

Republic

(East

G e r m a n y ) , and Ethiopia, M o z a m b i q u e , A n g o l a , Guinea-Bissau, Benin, the C a p e V e r d e Islands, the C o n g o R e p u b l i c , and

the

Malagasy

this

R e p u b l i c . In

the

former

Portuguese

colonies,

closeness w a s a natural o u t g r o w t h o f the substantial military and other aid g i v e n t h e m d u r i n g their i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e s b y the S o v i e t b l o c ; in the case o f A n g o l a , C u b a n a n d S o v i e t aid w a s vital d u r i n g the post-independence civil w a r . In Ethiopia, Russian logistic and troops

from

Ethiopian

material support Cuba

and

government

and

Marxist

military advice, b a c k e d South

Y e m e n , enabled

to win back control

o f the

by the

disputed

O g a d e n a n d h o l d o n t o the E r i t r e a n p o r t o f M a s s a w a in 1 9 7 8 . In t h e s p h e r e o f c o n t i n u i n g l i b e r a t i o n s t r u g g l e s , it w a s c l e a r t h a t t h e Patriotic

Front

and

SWAPO

w e r e also receiving

substantial

S o v i e t - b l o c as w e l l as A f r i c a n a i d . ( T h e e x a m p l e o f A l b a n i a is a n e x e m p l a r y c a u t i o n against s u p p o s i n g that small states are i n v a r i ­ ably dominated

b y p o w e r f u l friends a n d allies.)

Furthermore,

A f r i c a n states w i t h s t r o n g w e s t e r n o r eastern c o n n e x i o n s w o u l d vehemently deny

membership

o f , still l e s s s u b o r d i n a t i o n

to,

f o r e i g n b l o c s . G o o d relations b e t w e e n A f r i c a n states w e r e n o t

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a l w a y s i m p a i r e d b y t h e i r d i f f e r i n g n o n - A f r i c a n c o n n e x i o n s , as w a s s h o w n b y E t h i o p i a and K e n y a . C o n n e x i o n s w i t h the same e x t e r n a l f r i e n d s m i g h t n o t e n s u r e g o o d r e l a t i o n s , as w a s s h o w n b y the case o f Somalia and E t h i o p i a . F o r m e r l y close to the S o v i e t U n i o n , Somalia was estranged by Soviet and C u b a n support for Ethiopia. R e v e a l i n g l y , b y t h e 1 9 7 0 s A f r i c a n states w e r e i n c r e a s i n g l y l o o k i n g to outside p o w e r s for s u p p o r t in b o t h internal and e x t e r n a l d i s p u t e s , as w a s s h o w n b y t h e p r e s e n c e o f f o r e i g n t r o o p s in i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s . T h e C u b a n s w e r e present in substantial strength in A n g o l a and E t h i o p i a , a n d present in smaller n u m b e r s in s e v e r a l o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , n o t a b l y M o z a m b i q u e . F o r m a n y years France g a v e military support to C h a d i n its l o n g w a r w i t h its n o r t h e r n d i s s i d e n t s , a n d b y 1 9 7 8 t h e r e w a s d i s q u i e t e v e n w i t h i n F r a n c e i t s e l f at t h e d e p l o y m e n t o f F r e n c h forces there, and in the w a r against Polisario in Sahara and M a u r i t a n i a . F r e n c h f o r c e s r e m a i n e d i n D j i b o u t i after its i n d e p e n ­ dence. M o s t c o n t r o v e r s i a l o f all, F r e n c h t r o o p s i n t e r v e n e d , t o g e t h e r w i t h the B e l g i a n s and w i t h U S logistic s u p p o r t , in the t r o u b l e s o f S h a b a p r o v i n c e i n Z a i r e i n J u n e 1 9 7 8 . O n c e a g a i n , as in 1 9 6 0 - 2 and the ' S t a n l e y v i l l e D r o p ' o f 1964 w h e n B e l g i a n , A m e r i c a n and British military intervention t o o k place, Zaire p o s e d the acutest, m o s t c o m p l i c a t e d p r o b l e m s for P a n - A f r i c a n i s m . In b o t h 1964 and 1978 the foreign military intervention w a s p r e s e n t e d as a h u m a n i t a r i a n r e s c u e o p e r a t i o n t o s a v e w h i t e r e s i d e n t s f r o m b a r b a r o u s m a s s a c r e s , t h o u g h t h e far m o r e e x t e n s i v e m a s s a c r e s o f A f r i c a n s w e r e m o r e o r less i g n o r e d , e x c e p t t o provide a propaganda picture o f alleged African savagery. Shaba w a s i n v a d e d i n 1 9 7 8 , as it h a d b e e n i n 1 9 7 7 , b y i n s u r g e n t s b a s e d in A n g o l a ( a l t h o u g h the A n g o l a n authorities d e n i e d c o m p l i c i t y ) , s o m e o f w h o m w e r e former m e m b e r s o f the K a t a n g e s e g e n d a r m ­ erie, the military a r m o f K a t a n g e s e secession in the early 1960s. F o r its p a r t , t h e Z a i r e a n g o v e r n m e n t h a d e n c o u r a g e d t h e M P L A ' s internal enemies, n o t a b l y the F N L A , w h i c h had m o u n t e d raids into A n g o l a from Zairean territory. T h e Zairean g o v e r n m e n t w a s r e v e a l e d b y t h e S h a b a i n t e r v e n t i o n as s o w e a k a n d u n p o p u l a r t h a t it h a d t o r e l y o n f o r e i g n e r s , i n c l u d i n g B e l g i a n s , t o m a i n t a i n its existence, a n d in the aftermath h a d to a c c e p t increased w e s t e r n c o n t r o l o v e r Z a i r e ' s finances a n d e c o n o m y as t h e p r i c e o f

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A F F A I R S

c o n t i n u i n g s u p p o r t . C h i n a a l s o r u s h e d t o offer Z a i r e m i l i t a r y a i d , alleging that the episode w a s a S o v i e t - C u b a n plot. N o t h i n g c o u l d h a v e m o r e d i s c r e d i t e d t h e O A U , g i v e n its c e n t r a l f u n c t i o n o f p r e s e r v i n g the i n v i o l a b i l i t y o f m e m b e r states, and r e s o l v i n g disputes b e t w e e n them. C h i n e s e i n v o l v e m e n t reflected increasing C h i n e s e d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o p e r s u a d e as m a n y A f r i c a n s t a t e s as p o s s i b l e to see the S o v i e t U n i o n , C u b a and their A f r i c a n friends as t h e g r e a t e s t t h r e a t t o t h e c o n t i n e n t ' s p e a c e a n d s e c u r i t y . I n t h e i m m e d i a t e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e 1 9 7 8 S h a b a c r i s i s , t h e r e w a s at l e a s t o n e i m p r o v e m e n t in the situation, w i t h A n g o l a a n d Z a i r e agreeing to prevent violations o f each other's territory b y resident exiles. O n o n e o f the other great international issues o f m o d e r n times, the conflict b e t w e e n the Israeli state and the Palestinians, A f r i c a m o v e d o v e r t h e t w e n t y y e a r s after 1 9 5 8 f r o m d i v i s i o n t o w i d e agreement. President Nasir o f E g y p t b e g a n the process o f p e r s u a d i n g t h e m a j o r i t y o f A f r i c a n states t o s u p p o r t t h e A r a b p o w e r s o v e r the Palestine q u e s t i o n , u s i n g his influence w i t h i n the Casablanca g r o u p and the O A U , and u n d o i n g the close relations that an intelligently administered aid p r o g r a m m e had secured for I s r a e l w i t h m a n y A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , i n c l u d i n g G h a n a . A s late as 1967, the O A U refused t o declare that Israel w a s an a g g r e s s o r in the S i x - D a y w a r against E g y p t . In the late 1960s a n d early 1970s this attitude c h a n g e d , w i t h c o n t i n u i n g Israeli o c c u p a t i o n o f E g y p t i a n territory, and a g r o w i n g feeling that the p l i g h t o f the Palestinians w a s a n a l o g o u s to that o f Africans under colonial o r w h i t e m i n o r i t y rule. A m i n o r i t y o f A f r i c a n countries c o n t i n u e d t o resist t h e t r e n d t o w a r d s t h e a n t i - Z i o n i s t c a m p , p r o m i n e n t a m o n g t h e s e b e i n g t h e I v o r y C o a s t a n d M a l a w i . B u t in 1 9 7 3 , all O A U members except M a l a w i , Botswana, L e s o t h o and Swaziland s e v e r e d relations w i t h Israel. T h e e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m that c o n ­ f r o n t e d m a n y A f r i c a n s t a t e s after t h e o i l c r i s i s o f 1 9 7 3 , a n d d i s c o n t e n t at t h e l e v e l o f A r a b e c o n o m i c a i d f o r A f r i c a as a w h o l e (as o p p o s e d t o M u s l i m A f r i c a ) , l e d t o s o m e f e e l i n g t h a t A f r o A r a b cooperation brought Africa only problems. Meanwhile, M i d d l e E a s t e r n o i l c o n t i n u e d t o find its w a y t o R h o d e s i a a n d S o u t h Africa. In 1976, h o w e v e r , a n u m b e r o f e v e n t s rallied A f r i c a n support for the Palestinians. T h e s e included i m p r o v e d d i p l o m a t i c relations b e t w e e n Israel and S o u t h Africa, the s u p p l y

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1940

o f Israeli w a r planes to S o u t h A f r i c a , and the Israeli c o m m a n d o raid o n E n t e b b e a i r p o r t i n U g a n d a t o r e l e a s e J e w i s h h o s t a g e s held there. T h o u g h m a n y A f r i c a n leaders l o o k e d a s k a n c e at Idi A m i n ' s g o v e r n m e n t in U g a n d a , s u c h u n i n v i t e d f o r e i g n

armed

i n t e r v e n t i o n in Africa w a s a h i g h l y sensitive issue and

totally

unacceptable. A t the same time, the supply o f A r a b funds to Africa was

increasing, and in January

1 9 7 7 at t h e C a i r o

Afro-Arab

Summit vast n e w sums were pledged.

P A N - A F R I C A N I S M

A N D

C U L T U R E

F r o m the d a y s o f p r o t o - P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in the nineteenth c e n t u r y , a desire to defend and reassert the v a l i d i t y o f A f r i c a n c u l t u r e w a s a p r e o c c u p a t i o n o f m a n y w i t h i n the P a n - A f r i c a n m o v e m e n t . A s w a s s t a t e d at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h i s c h a p t e r , s u c h m a t t e r s c o n t i n u e d as a n i m p o r t a n t P a n - A f r i c a n i s t c o n c e r n , n o t a b l y e x e m p l i f i e d i n t h e w o r k o f W . E . B . D u B o i s , in t h e l a t e 1 9 3 0 s t o m i d - 1 9 4 0 s . V a l u a b l e t h o u g h s u c h e f f o r t s w e r e as a c o u n t e r - a t t a c k a g a i n s t t h e generally d e r o g a t o r y o p i n i o n o f the then d o m i n a n t w h i t e w o r l d a b o u t A f r i c a n culture and the A f r i c a n past, they

nevertheless

p r o v i d e d w h a t w a s in s o m e w a y s a c o n f u s e d a n d difficult l e g a c y for P a n - A f r i c a n i s m in the m i d - and l a t e - t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y .

To

begin with, such thinking had c o m e from men w h o , h o w e v e r m u c h they desired to present

a sympathetic interpretation

of

African culture, w e r e nevertheless the p r o d u c t s o f E u r o p e a n o r N o r t h A m e r i c a n education. T h e r e w a s n o t h i n g specifically A f r i c a n a b o u t t h e w a y s in w h i c h t h e y a t t e m p t e d t h e i r t a s k , w h i c h i n d e e d o n l y t o o s e l f - e v i d e n t l y , as w a s b o u n d t o b e t h e c a s e , w e r e b a s e d o n the intellectual and cultural traditions o f the w h i t e w o r l d . S e c o n d l y , their a p p r o a c h to the A f r i c a n past - and here the w o r k o f D u B o i s must particularly be born romantic, triumphalist,

to

be

and d e v o i d o f any serious attempt

in m i n d - t e n d e d

to

identify conflict and o p p r e s s i o n w i t h i n A f r i c a n societies. D u B o i s ' s readers w e r e presented w i t h a g l o r i o u s past o f great k i n g s and k i n g d o m s , d i s r u p t e d b y the s l a v e trade and i m p e r i a l i s m . A t least one modern

historian

o f Pan-Africanism, Imanuel

Geiss,

has

r e j e c t e d t h i s l e g a c y as r o m a n t i c in a p e j o r a t i v e s e n s e , r e a c t i o n a r y , and incapable o f p r o v i d i n g present-day Pan-Africanism w i t h the 1

basis for a c o h e r e n t and effective m o d e r n i s i n g i d e o l o g y . T h i r d l y , 1

Geiss, The Pan-African

movement,

114

and

197.

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Pan-Africanism had a legacy, reaching b a c k to the

nineteenth

c e n t u r y , a n d a b o v e all i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e t h o u g h t o f E . W . B l y d e n , o f assuming the existence o f a generalised African culture based o n r a c i a l i d e n t i t y ; B l y d e n h i m s e l f is c r e d i t e d w i t h h a v i n g o r i g i ­ n a t e d t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e ' A f r i c a n p e r s o n a l i t y \ U s e f u l as s u c h i d e a s w e r e i n m a k i n g it m o r e p o s s i b l e f o r p e o p l e s o f A f r i c a n d e s c e n t in t h e d i a s p o r a t o i d e n t i f y w i t h A f r i c a , a n d f o r A f r i c a n s w i t h i n Africa to identify w i t h fellow-Africans from other parts o f the continent, they i g n o r e d the diversity o f African cultures, and e v e n the ethnic diversity o f Africa, a continent w h i c h contains millions o f i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e w h o are n o t b l a c k . E a s i l y t h e m o s t d e t e r m i n e d effort t o r e p r o d u c e a n i d e o l o g y a n d art w h i c h w o u l d b e d e t e r m i n e d l y a u t h e n t i c , w h i c h w o u l d e x a l t a n d g l o r i f y A f r i c a n c u l t u r e a n d m o d e s o f t h o u g h t as o p p o s e d t o E u r o p e a n , o r i g i n a t e d in the w o r l d o f b l a c k s t u d e n t s in Paris in the 1930s. T h i s w a s the b e g i n n i n g o f the c o n c e p t o f

négritude,

o r i g i n a l l y a s e a r c h f o r i d e n t i t y b y i n d i v i d u a l s w h o felt a l i e n a t e d f r o m b o t h t h e i r e t h n i c r o o t s a n d f r o m F r e n c h s o c i e t y . Its m o s t i m p o r t a n t leaders w e r e the M a r t i n i q u a n p o e t , A i m é Césaire, the French G u y a n e s e p o e t L é o n D a m a s , and the Senegalese L e o p o l d S é d a r S e n g h o r w h o , y e a r s l a t e r , as P r e s i d e n t o f S e n e g a l , w a s a b l e to g i v e p o w e r f u l patronage to the m o v e m e n t , a l t h o u g h he w a s eventually t o seem t o lose interest

négritude,

in it. U n d e r

the aegis o f

w h i c h in the p o s t - w a r era a c q u i r e d a political d i m e n s i o n

w i t h claims t o b e an i d e o l o g y o f liberation, a w h o l e s c h o o l o f francophone emerged,

writers

as d i d

Présence Africaine. remained

the

from

both

Africa

and

h i g h l y influential

the

New

Paris-based

Y e t it w o u l d b e b r o a d l y t r u e t o s a y t h a t

a force restricted to francophone

black

World

magazine

négritude

intellectuals

( t o g e t h e r w i t h s o m e w h i t e a d m i r e r s s u c h as J e a n - P a u l S a r t r e ) , a n d i n c r e a s i n g l y u n d e r attack n o t o n l y f r o m b l a c k intellectuals in non-francophone

Africa,

but

even

from

some

francophones

t h e m s e l v e s . T h u s as e a r l y as 1 9 5 2 , t h e M a r t i n i q u a n F r a n t z F a n o n r e m a r k e d t h a t ' t h e m a n w h o a d o r e s t h e N e g r o is as s i c k a s t h e man w h o abominates him

a n d d e s c r i b e d t h e e d u c a t e d N e g r o as

the ' s l a v e o f the spontaneous and c o s m i c N e g r o m y t h ' .

1

Twelve

years later, in an ironic a n d p e r c e p t i v e critique o f the relationship o f the F r e n c h W e s t Indian élite t o Africa o n the o n e h a n d and 1

F r a n t z F a n o n , Black skin, white masks, tr. C h a r l e s M a r k m a n n ( L o n d o n , 1970), 12. O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d a s Peau noire, masques blancs ( P a r i s , 1952).

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to the F r e n c h o n the other, F a n o n stated that ' t h e W e s t Indian, after t h e g r e a t w h i t e e r r o r ,

is n o w l i v i n g i n t h e g r e a t

black

mirage V The

m a i n lines o f attack against

négritude

w e r e t h a t it r o m a n ­

t i c i s e d A f r i c a n c u l t u r e a n d s o c i e t y , a n d t h a t it w a s m e a n i n g f u l o n l y t o a s m a l l é l i t e o f i n t e l l e c t u a l s w h o h a d l o s t t o u c h , at l e a s t i n p a r t , w i t h the African masses to w h o m such doctrines w e r e o f n o c o n c e r n , as t h e y h a d n e v e r b e e n a s s i m i l a t e d t o a n y d e g r e e t o European

négritude

culture.

Such w a s the trend

o f argument

against

o f the South African, Ezekiel Mphahlele, w h o made a

t r e n c h a n t a t t a c k a g a i n s t t h e m o v e m e n t at t h e D a k a r C o n f e r e n c e Black

on

Literature

o f 1963, w h i c h h a d b e e n

sponsored

by

S e n g h o r h i m s e l f . I n d e e d , r a t h e r a s t h e P a n - A f r i c a n i s t s o f t h e 1945 congress

put

the

question

of

national

independence

M p h a h l e l e asserted that national culture m u s t c o m e

first.

first, For

M p h a h l e l e , ' i n a g r e a t e r A f r i c a , w e m a y a r r i v e at a p o i n t w h e r e Pan-African goals d o determine certain national objectives, b u t cultures c a n o n l y contribute t o P a n - A f r i c a n ideals f r o m a position of national s t r e n g t h ' .

2

A n o t h e r eminent anglophone writer, the

Nigerian W o l e Soyinka, had, h o w e v e r , c h a n g e d his attitude to

négritude

b y the mid-1970s.

A s h e p u t it i n

1976, ' f r o m

w e l l - p u b l i c i s e d p o s i t i o n as a n a n t i - N e g r i t u d i n i s t . . .

a

it h a s b e e n

w i t h an increasing sense o f alarm a n d e v e n betrayal that w e h a v e watched

our position

distorted

and exploited to embrace

a

" s o p h i s t i c a t e d " s c h o o l o f t h o u g h t w h i c h . . . repudiates the exist­ ence o f an African w o r l d ! '

3

W h i l e these debates raged, cultural Pan-Africanism, like poli­ tical P a n - A f r i c a n i s m , d e v e l o p e d an institutional e x i s t e n c e in t h e w o r l d o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states. M e n t i o n has b e e n m a d e o f t h e D a k a r C o n f e r e n c e o n B l a c k L i t e r a t u r e i n 1963. B y t h e 1970s, this k i n d o f e v e n t w a s b e c o m i n g a r e g u l a r feature o f w h a t m i g h t b e c a l l e d official o r s e m i - o f f i c i a l c u l t u r e i n A f r i c a , w i t h s u c h e v e n t s as t h e B l a c k A r t s F e s t i v a l i n D a k a r i n 1966, a n d i n L a g o s i n 1977. C u l t u r a l p r o b l e m s w e r e a l s o d i s c u s s e d at t h e U N E S C O C o n f e r ­ ence o n the Influence o f C o l o n i a l i s m o n A f r i c a n Cultures in Dar

e s S a l a a m i n 1972, a n d t h e S i x t h P a n - A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s i n

Dar

e s S a l a a m i n 1974. T h e r e r e m a i n e d , h o w e v e r , s e r i o u s p r o -

1

F r a n t z F a n o n , Toward the African revolution, tr. H a a k o n C h e v a l i e r ( L o n d o n , 1968),

37. 2

E z e k i e l M p h a h l e l e , The African image. 2nd r e v i s e d e d . ( L o n d o n , 1974), 92.

3

W o l e S o y i n k a , Myth, literature and the African world ( C a m b r i d g e , 1976), i x - x .

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b l e m s ; A f r i c a n w r i t e r s still, for the m o s t part, w r o t e in E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e s , w i t h a readership i n e v i t a b l y restricted to A f r i c a n s fully l i t e r a t e in t h o s e l a n g u a g e s o r t o i n t e r e s t e d w h i t e f o r e i g n e r s . T h e i r works

were

usually

published

by

European

or

American

p u b l i s h i n g houses, o r their A f r i c a n subsidiaries. A t the same time, t h e c o n t i n e n t w a s b e i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y p e n e t r a t e d , e v e n at t h e l e v e l o f the masses, b y f o r e i g n culture, spread t h r o u g h the m e d i a o f the c i n e m a , television and radio, despite s p o r a d i c attempts t o use all t h e s e m e d i a t o d e v e l o p a n a u t h e n t i c m o d e r n A f r i c a n p o p u l a r culture. In

the v i e w o f o n e o f the m o s t

perceptive leaders o f

r e v o l u t i o n a r y liberation struggles o f the

1960s a n d

1970s,

the the

p r o b l e m o f culture in m o d e r n A f r i c a w a s in a sense n o p r o b l e m at a l l . T o A m f l c a r C a b r a l , t h i s a t t e m p t t o ' r e t u r n t o t h e s o u r c e s ' was n o more than ' a means to attempt temporary advantages, a conscious or unconscious f o r m o f political o p p o r t u n i s m ' o n the part o f the A f r i c a n l o w e r - m i d d l e classes under c o l o n i a l i s m , unless it i n v o l v e d ' a g e n u i n e c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e fight f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e and a total, definitive identification w i t h the aspirations o f the masses, w h o

contest

not

foreign rule a l t o g e t h e r ' .

1

merely

the

foreigners'

culture,

but

C a b r a l w a s c o n v i n c e d - and this w a s

certainly true o f his native c o u n t r y - that the A f r i c a n masses had (with few exceptions) n e v e r lost their culture and traditions; and t h r o u g h the liberation m o v e m e n t s they w o u l d universally gain the power

not

o f restoring

it o r

preserving

it,

but

o f using

it

c r e a t i v e l y - in his o w n often repeated phrase, o f ' m a k i n g h i s t o r y \ T h i s p r o c e s s , q u i t e different f r o m the search for a c u l t u r a l identity usually associated w i t h the cultural aspects o f Pan-Africanism, w a s o n e w h o s e o u t c o m e r e m a i n e d as y e t 1

undetermined.

A m i l c a r C a b r a l , ' T h e r o l e o f c u l t u r e i n t h e l i b e r a t i o n s t r u g g l e ' , in

toward final victory.

Selected speeches and documents from

Guinea-Bissau:

PAIGC ( R i c h m o n d , B r i t i s h

C o l u m b i a , 1974), 42.

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4

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE

T h e history o f m o s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s since 1940 seems t o r e v o l v e around a single e v e n t : their g a i n i n g o f political i n d e p e n d e n c e . B u t this c l i m a x o f n a t i o n a l i s m m u s t b e set w i t h i n t h o s e s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l c h a n g e s o f w h i c h it w a s s o m u c h t h e p r o d u c t a n d w h i c h w e r e , i n t h e m a i n , c o n f i r m e d i n t h e i r c o u r s e f o r at least a d e c a d e or t w o thereafter. T h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r b o o s t e d a w h o l e v a r i e t y o f social c h a n g e s : the intensification o f cash-crop p r o d u c t i o n , the a c c e l e r a t i o n o f m i g r a t i o n o f all k i n d s a n d t h e r a p i d g r o w t h o f cities, the diversification o f the o c c u p a t i o n a l structure and, e v e n t u a l l y , t h e m o v e m e n t o f A f r i c a n s i n t o its u p p e r e c h e l o n s , a n d t h e e x p a n s i o n o f m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n at all l e v e l s . A l l t h e s e i m p l i e d c h a n g e s in areas m o r e i m m e d i a t e l y c o n s t i t u t i v e o f ' s o c i e t y ' , n a m e l y in h o w p e o p l e i d e n t i f i e d t h e m s e l v e s a n d in t h e i r p a t t e r n s o f social cooperation and conflict. N o w the c o n c e p t o f 'social c h a n g e ' is m o r e t h a n a m e r e u m b r e l l a f o r s e v e r a l p a r a l l e l , p r o b a b l y s o m e h o w - r e l a t e d c h a n g e s in d i v e r s e a s p e c t s o f s o c i a l l i f e ; it d e n o t e s t h e s y s t e m a t i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r s o c i e t y . B u t at w h a t l e v e l d o w e set ' s o c i e t y ' ? T h e d i f f i c u l t y w a s t h a t , t h o u g h t h e p r i m e s o u r c e o f t h e s e c h a n g e s d i d n o t lie w i t h i n t h e m , it w a s still m u c h e a s i e r , as late as t h e 1 9 4 0 s , t o s p e a k o f l o c a l s o c i a l s y s t e m s l i k e t h o s e o f A s a n t e o r t h e L u o as b e i n g societies than w h o l e colonies like the G o l d C o a s t or K e n y a . T h u s the p i o n ­ e e r i n g s t u d y , G . a n d M . W i l s o n ' s The analysis of social change ( 1 9 4 5 ) , t o o k as its u n i t s o f a n a l y s i s t h e s e s m a l l - s c a l e s o c i e t i e s , e v e n t h o u g h the features o f c h a n g e w h i c h they described resulted f r o m the progressive incorporation o f these societies into w i d e r units, o f w h i c h the c o l o n i a l social s y s t e m w a s the m o s t i m p o r t a n t . T h o u g h m a n y o f the elements o f the future national societies w e r e already t h e n p r e s e n t , t h e i r full e m e r g e n c e , r a t h e r t h a n t h e i r t r a n s f o r m ­ a t i o n , w a s t o b e the m a j o r a s p e c t o f s o c i a l c h a n g e i n t h e d e c a d e s t h a t f o l l o w e d . T h i s c h a p t e r , t h e n , is a s o c i o l o g i c a l c o m m e n t a r y o n o n e main aspiration o f the nationalist m o v e m e n t : the creation 142

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S O C I A L

o f national states.

societies

A N D

C U L T U R A L

within

the

C H A N G E

boundaries

o f the

colonial

W e , like the nationalists, m u s t b e g i n f r o m w h a t c o l o n i a l i s m c r e a t e d . C o l o n i a l i s m p r o d u c e d , b e s i d e s t h e g e n e r a l ' i n c r e a s e in social s c a l e ' , the implications o f w h i c h for social relations the W i l s o n s analysed so clearly, a distinctive k i n d o f societal inte­ g r a t i o n . T h i s h a d t w o a s p e c t s , w h i c h w i l l b e c o n s i d e r e d i n t u r n at length b e l o w : a certain ' h o r i z o n t a l ' integration o f the various r e g i o n s , natural and e t h n o l o g i c a l , w i t h i n the state's b o u n d a r i e s ; a n d a ' v e r t i c a l ' i n t e g r a t i o n o f e m e r g e n t s o c i a l s t r a t a in a s o c i a l s y s t e m c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e state. T h e s e t w o d i m e n s i o n s w e r e linked, h o w e v e r , since there tended to e m e r g e a certain hierarchy o f r e g i o n s o r c o m m u n i t i e s , and the c o m p o s i t i o n o f the social strata was not random with respect to regional or ethnic origin. A n A f r i c a n c o l o n y ' s d e v e l o p m e n t w a s a b o v e all a n a s p e c t o f its r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n p o w e r . C o m m u n i c a t i o n s w e r e an e x c e l l e n t i n d i c a t o r o f t h e p a t t e r n o f ' h o r i z o n t a l ' i n t e g r a t i o n : all t a r r e d r o a d s , s o t o s p e a k , l e d t o t h e c a p i t a l , o r at least t o a n o t h e r entrepot, a channel for material or s y m b o l i c i n t e r c h a n g e w i t h the m e t r o p o l i s . Different parts o f the r e g i o n a l and ethnic m o s a i c v a r i e d in t h e e x t e n t o f t h e i r i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h this c e n t r e , d e p e n d i n g o n w h a t t h e y c o u l d offer t o t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d , f o r e x a m p l e c a s h c r o p s , o r w e r e i n t e r e s t e d in r e c e i v i n g f r o m it, f o r example education. T h e primary integration, then, w a s that w h i c h d e v e l o p e d b e t w e e n the regions and the centre, rather than that d i r e c t l y b e t w e e n t h e r e g i o n s . T h e c a p i t a l , as ' c e n t r e ' , w a s n o t t h e c e n t r e o f a p r e f o r m e d s y s t e m o f j o i n t r e l a t i o n s , b u t i m p o s e d as t h e n o d e t h r o u g h w h i c h all r e g i o n s s e v e r a l l y r e l a t e d t o t h e outside. T o the extent that direct inter-regional relations d e v e l ­ o p e d , they w e r e , apart from s o m e continuation o f pre-colonial f o r m s , a n effect o f o n e r e g i o n ' s m o r e d i r e c t r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e c e n t r e , as w i t h t h e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n c a s h - c r o p p i n g areas a n d t h e r e m o t e r areas w h i c h p r o v i d e d m u c h o f t h e i r l a b o u r . O t h e r w i s e , it w a s p r e c i s e l y at t h e o u t w a r d - f a c i n g c a p i t a l , a n d at o t h e r n e w centres established by colonialism, w h e r e s o m e overall integration o f the r e g i o n s and their p o p u l a t i o n s b e g a n to take place. T h e colonial period also introduced altogether n e w kinds o f social relations, especially those b e t w e e n e m p l o y e r and w a g e - or s a l a r y - e a r n e r . A n d it t r a n s f o r m e d , w h e r e it d i d n o t i n t r o d u c e , r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n officials a n d s u b j e c t s . H e n c e d e v e l o p e d t h e

*43

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A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

b e g i n n i n g s o f a n a t i o n a l s y s t e m o f s o c i a l s t r a t i f i c a t i o n . It d o e s n o t necessarily f o l l o w that, because a certain k i n d o f relationship, s u c h as t h a t e n t a i l e d i n w a g e - l a b o u r , w a s i n t r o d u c e d w i t h c o l o n i a l i s m , w e are at o n c e d e a l i n g w i t h a s e g m e n t o f a n a t i o n a l l y i n t e g r a t e d system. B e c a u s e o f the m o d e o f regional integration that w e h a v e already o u t l i n e d , a particular s e g m e n t m a y b e fairly u n i n t e g r a t e d in a n y s y s t e m o f s u c h r e l a t i o n s g o i n g o u t s i d e t h e l o c a l i t y a n d e v e n fairly //^differentiated

f r o m q u i t e different k i n d s o f p u r e l y l o c a l

relations, for example those b e t w e e n m e m b e r s

of two

ethnic

g r o u p s , o r at t h e l e v e l o f l o c a l p o l i t i c a l s t a t u s , b e t w e e n c h i e f a n d client. T h u s class analysis, w h i l e an indispensable t o o l in e x a m i n i n g the e m e r g e n t social structures, m u s t b e c o m b i n e d w i t h a lively appreciation o f t w o features h i g h l y distinctive o f m o s t o f subSaharan A f r i c a : the e n o r m o u s regional variety o f class situations, u n d e r p i n n e d b y cultural d i v e r s i t y ; a n d the crucial role o f the state, w h i c h t o a great extent f o r m e d , rather than reflected, the s y s t e m o f stratification. T h e m o s t unified social strata w e r e those located in t h e n a t i o n a l c e n t r e s , t h e c i t i e s , a n d e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e

directly

e m p l o y e d b y t h e s t a t e itself. T h e ' p r i m a c y o f p o l i t i e s ' , o n w h i c h several social scientists h a v e r e m a r k e d , loose, or

rather distinctive, m o d e

1

is t h u s a n effect o f t h e

o f societal integration

be­

q u e a t h e d b y c o l o n i a l i s m . N k r u m a h ' s i n j u n c t i o n ' S e e k y e first t h e political k i n g d o m ' s h o w s that nationalist politicians appreciated it w e l l . B e c a u s e A f r i c a is s o d i v e r s e a n d d o e s n o t f o r m a s i n g l e s o c i a l system, this a c c o u n t concentrates o n the social p r o c e s s e s typical o f the ' n o r m a l ' A f r i c a n c o u n t r y : an e x - c o l o n y o f W e s t , E a s t o r C e n t r a l A f r i c a w h i c h g a i n e d its i n d e p e n d e n c e 1960s.

The

Republic

countries

of South

o f southern

Africa,

Africa,

while sharing

local-level characteristics w i t h those further merely because o f the l o n g - c o n t i n u e d whites

and

the

in the

1950s o r

and

especially

the

many

cultural

and

n o r t h , differ,

not

presence and p o w e r o f

existence o f significant

interstitial

mestigo

or

c o l o u r e d p o p u l a t i o n s , b u t because their class systems w e r e so m u c h m o r e dominated by w a g e - l a b o u r and locally based capital. B u t t o s e e S o u t h A f r i c a , f o r e x a m p l e , as e c o n o m i c a l l y ' a d v a n c e d ' o r as p o l i t i c a l l y ' b a c k w a r d ' c o m p a r e d w i t h a ' n o r m a l '

African

country - despite the attraction w h i c h such c o n c e p t i o n s h a v e for political actors - w o u l d be to i m p o s e an unjustified 1

H . S p i r o ( e d . ) , The primacy

of politics

( N e w Y o r k , 1966).

144

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unilinear

S O C I A L

A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

p a t t e r n o n a h i s t o r i c a l c o u r s e w h i c h is l i k e l y t o b e as d i s t i n c t i v e in t h e f u t u r e as i n t h e p a s t . E t h i o p i a a n d t h e A r a b c o u n t r i e s o f N o r t h Africa present a m u c h greater p r o b l e m , since they cannot b e p r e s e n t e d as v a r i a n t s o f t h e s u b - S a h a r a n m o d e l . T o t h e e x t e n t that their national societies w e r e f o r m e d in a colonial m o u l d , there are s i m i l a r i t i e s . T h u s b e c a u s e o f a m a s s i v e s e t t l e r p r e s e n c e a n d e x t e n s i v e l a n d e x p r o p r i a t i o n f r o m t h e i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n , it is h e l p f u l t o d r a w p a r a l l e l s b e t w e e n A l g e r i a ' s e x p e r i e n c e o f r u r a l l y based national insurrection w i t h similar m o v e m e n t s in A n g o l a a n d M o z a m b i q u e . E t h i o p i a , o f c o u r s e , h a s as its c o r e a n a n c i e n t c o l o n i s i n g , r a t h e r t h a n c o l o n i s e d , n a t i o n , a n d it h a s b e e n t h e r e s p o n s e s o f its p e r i p h e r y , r a t h e r t h a n t h e f o r m o f its c e n t r e , w h i c h a p p r o a c h the m o d e l . B u t in o t h e r respects, the social a n d cultural f o r m s o f t h e N o r t h A f r i c a n s o c i e t i e s are s o m u c h t h e i r o w n t h a t t h e i r p r i n c i p a l u s e w i l l b e as a f o i l t o h i g h l i g h t t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c experiences o f the b u l k o f A f r i c a t o the s o u t h .

P A T T E R N S

OF

M I G R A T I O N

B y 1940 t h e p a t t e r n s o f h u m a n m i g r a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e colonial period w e r e well established. Despite s o m e continuities w i t h pre-colonial m o v e m e n t s and s o m e o r i g i n in i n d i g e n o u s p r o c e s s e s , s u c h as n o m a d s é d e n t a r i s a t i o n , t h e y w e r e d o m i n a t e d b y t h e w a y s in w h i c h different r e g i o n s o f A f r i c a h a d c o m e t o b e related t o the w o r l d e c o n o m y . T h r e e b r o a d patterns o f m o v e m e n t m a y b e d i s c e r n e d : (i) t o a r e a s o f c a s h - c r o p o r e x p o r t - o r i e n t e d a g r i c u l t u r e , (ii) t o a r e a s o f e m p l o y m e n t i n m i n e s o r i n d u s t r y , (iii) t o g e n e r a l , h e t e r o g e n e o u s e m p l o y m e n t i n c i t i e s . In W e s t Africa any rural-to-urban m o v e m e n t w a s eclipsed b y t h e v a s t flow o f s e a s o n a l , u n s k i l l e d a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r f r o m t h e p o o r e r r u r a l areas o f t h e i n t e r i o r s a v a n n a t o t h e a r e a s w h e r e cash crops w e r e g r o w n b y A f r i c a n farmers. T h e r e w e r e also m o v e m e n t s , c o n t i n u i n g f r o m the early colonial p e r i o d o r e v e n before, o f agricultural c o l o n i s a t i o n f r o m areas o f real land s h o r t a g e i n t o a r e a s o f l a n d a b u n d a n c e , s u c h as t h e C r o s s R i v e r area, the N i g e r i a n M i d d l e Belt a n d the n o r t h e r n I v o r y C o a s t . E x c e p t for N i g e r i a , the m o v e m e n t s in W e s t A f r i c a t e n d e d t o b e i n t e r n a t i o n a l in s c o p e , t h e w h o l e a r e a p r e s e n t i n g t h e a s p e c t o f a sub-continental labour-market. O u t s i d e W e s t A f r i c a , s o m e t h i n g l i k e this p a t t e r n e v o l v e d w i t h 145

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the attraction o f m i g r a n t s f r o m a w i d e area, b u t especially f r o m R w a n d a and B u r u n d i , t o the coffee a n d c o t t o n farms o f U g a n d a . E l s e w h e r e plantations and E u r o p e a n farms d r e w o n local labour, m u c h o f it n o n - s e a s o n a l . B u t t h e m a j o r

flows

within

southern

A f r i c a - f r o m rural areas g e n e r a l l y t o the C o p p e r b e l t , the R a n d and

other

mining centres, and

the ports

and

cities o f

South

A f r i c a - w e r e rather different in character. T h e r e w e r e here continuities

with

pre-colonial

movements;

there

no

were

much

h i g h e r l e v e l s o f i n v o l v e m e n t in m i g r a t i o n than in W e s t

Africa

g e n e r a l l y ; and m e n w e r e absent f r o m their rural h o m e s for m u c h longer, w i t h periods o f 1 0 - 1 5 years b e i n g c o m m o n . B o t h r a t e s a n d i n c i d e n c e s o f m i g r a t i o n a r e s e e n as effects o f t h e relative opportunities

that h o m e

or

rural

circumstances

and

p o t e n t i a l t a r g e t - a r e a s offer p o t e n t i a l m i g r a n t s , e n d o w e d i n p a r ­ ticular w a y s . F r o m the late 1940s, e x c e p t for P o r t u g a l ' s c o l o n i e s w h e r e it l a s t e d u n t i l 1 9 6 2 , d i r e c t p o l i t i c a l c o m p u l s i o n t o l a b o u r , s u c h as e x i s t e d e a r l i e r , w a s a b s e n t ; a n d e v e n w h e r e m i g r a t i o n w a s initially

compelled

by

the

imposition

of

taxes,

it

was

now

u n d e r t a k e n in o r d e r t o satisfy a v a r i e t y o f w a n t s and n e e d s w h i c h h a d b e c o m e ' i n d i g e n o u s ' t o s o c i a l life in t h e r u r a l a r e a s : c a s h t o p r o v i d e s c h o o l fees, c o n s u m e r g o o d s , s u p p l e m e n t s t o traditional d i e t s , c u s t o m a r y o b l i g a t i o n s l i k e b r i d e w e a l t h o r i n s t a l l a t i o n fees f o r c h i e f l y office w h i c h h a d b e c o m e m o n e t i s e d o r i n f l a t e d o r b o t h . C l y d e M i t c h e l l has s h o w n clearly h o w gross

rates o f

f r o m different areas o f R h o d e s i a w e r e a f u n c t i o n

migration

o f levels o f

' agro-ecological disadvantage', there being m o r e migration from areas w i t h p o o r soils, f e w e r E u r o p e a n farms, a n d w a g e s that w e r e 1

l o w e r than the national a v e r a g e . I f an area d e v e l o p e d a significant export

product,

migration

flows

might

be

reversed.

Purely

' c u l t u r a l ' m o t i v e s , s u c h as t h e d e s i r e f o r ' b r i g h t c i t y l i g h t s ' , s e e m quite subordinate to ' e c o n o m i c ' ones. The

incidence

o f migration, however, was more dependent

on

a variety o f social and cultural factors. A c t u a l land shortage, the c l a s s i c ' p u s h ' factor responsible for the e x o d u s o f the p o o r e s t rural c l a s s e s in N o r t h A f r i c a as w e l l as in A s i a a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a , r e m a i n e d u n c o m m o n i n s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a ; t h o u g h it d e v e l o p e d w h e r e significant land-alienation

h a d o c c u r r e d , for e x a m p l e in

K e n y a and S o u t h A f r i c a , and b y the early 1950s w a s responsible 1

J. C . M i t c h e l l , ' F a c t o r s in r u r a l m a l e a b s e n t e e i s m i n R h o d e s i a ' , in D . J . P a r k i n ,

Town and country in Central and Eastern Africa ( L o n d o n , 1975), 9 3 - 1 1 2 .

146

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

P A T T E R N S

for

OF

M I G R A T I O N

s o m e s e a s o n a l m i g r a t i o n , m u c h o f it fairly l o c a l , f r o m

the

close-settled z o n e s o f n o r t h e r n N i g e r i a . It also l a r g e l y a c c o u n t e d for t h e l a r g e s t e x t r a - c o n t i n e n t a l m i g r a t i o n flow, b e g i n n i n g in t h e First W o r l d W a r , o f A l g e r i a n s to metropolitan France, w h e r e they n u m b e r e d o v e r half a million b y 1950. Usually the incidence o f m i g r a t i o n w a s h i g h e r a m o n g the better e d u c a t e d and the skilled, since the r e w a r d s o f urban e m p l o y m e n t tended t o be significantly h i g h e r for t h e m . W h e r e w h o l e areas o r p o p u l a t i o n s w e r e m a r k e d by

relatively h i g h l e v e l s o f s u c h attributes, rates o f m i g r a t i o n

m i g h t b e affected t o o , a n d c o m p l e x p a t t e r n s o f p o p u l a t i o n - s h i f t m i g h t r e s u l t . T h u s m a n y c a s h - c r o p p i n g a r e a s s u c h as Ghana,

w h e r e earlier p r o s p e r i t y

had

encouraged

southern

educational

d e v e l o p m e n t , s h o w e d b o t h h i g h levels o f o u t - m i g r a t i o n (to urban e m p l o y m e n t ) and high levels o f in-migration o f strangers

from

l e s s - f a v o u r e d a r e a s as l a b o u r e r s o r t e n a n t f a r m e r s . The

migratory

flow

w a s also d e p e n d e n t o n the costs o f the

migrants' absence from their h o m e c o m m u n i t i e s not rising t o o high.

1

T h e l o w w a g e levels o f unskilled l a b o u r and the disincen­

tives to permanent settlement w h i c h m a n y migrants encountered, especially

in

their

definition

as

'strangers',

or

the

absence,

w h e t h e r deliberate o r u n p l a n n e d , o f h o u s i n g facilities for their families, s u g g e s t that the subsistence sector c o n t i n u e d t o function. How

c o u l d this be, g r a n t e d the a b s e n c e o f s o m a n y y o u n g m a l e s ?

In b r o a d areas o f W e s t A f r i c a the d o v e t a i l i n g o f the p e r i o d s o f peak l a b o u r d e m a n d in subsistence and in c a s h - c r o p f a r m i n g areas permitted the m i g r a n t to m o v e seasonally b a c k and forth, so that t h e l o c a l s u b s i s t e n c e e c o n o m i e s w e r e m a i n t a i n e d at a m i n i m u m level, t h o u g h they w e r e n o t d e v e l o p e d . In southern Africa such f a c t o r s as t h e p r e v a l e n c e o f f e m a l e a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r s y s t e m s , t h e mobilisation o f kin g r o u p s to carry out periodic male tasks such as b u s h - c l e a r i n g , a n d t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f c o n v e n i e n t n e w c r o p s like cassava, contributed to a situation w h e r e p r o p o r t i o n s o f adult m a l e s a b s e n t at a n y o n e t i m e w e r e c o m m o n l y as h i g h as 50 p e r cent and in s o m e societies in M a l a w i e v e n r e a c h e d 70 p e r cent. But

n o static e q u i l i b r i u m b e t w e e n the s u b s i s t e n c e a n d

w a g e - e a r n i n g sectors w a s e v e r attained. demand

for b o t h

minerals

and

T h e increased

tropical agricultural

the

world

products

1

T h e r e is m u c h d i s a g r e e m e n t o n t h e c o s t s o f m i g r a t i o n t o t h e l a b o u r e x p o r t i n g a r e a . F o r t h e ' o p t i m i s t i c * v i e w , E . J. B e r g , ' T h e e c o n o m i c s o f t h e m i g r a n t l a b o r s y s t e m ' ,

in H . K u p e r ( e d . ) , Urbanisation and migration in West Africa ( B e r k e l e y , 1965); a n d o p p o s e d , S . A m i n ( e d . ) , Modern migrations in Western Africa ( L o n d o n , 1974).

*47

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

S O C I A L

A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

T a b l e 4 . 1 . Estimated population of selected African cities 1940s—1960s (population in thousands). 1940s

Cairo Algiers Dakar Kumasi Kano Lagos Addis Ababa Nairobi Dar es Salaam Kinshasa Salisbury Johannesburg Source:

1947 1948

1950s

2091

i960

473

1954 1955 [i960 1952

1943 1948 [i93i h93i 1948 1948 1948 1940 1940 [1936

W. A. Hance, Population,

78 89]

7] 402

1952 1958

119 69

1957 1952 1950 1958 1951

I 2

49 67

519]

migration

1960s

3349 57o 300 218] 130

4220

1966 1968 1966 1963

943 600 301 2

95 665 620

1963 1968 1969 1967

267 400 222 99 191

478 273 508 380

1966 1968 i960

233 919

and urbanisation

1966

in

ii53

Africa.

induced b y the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , and the h i g h c o m m o d i t y p r i c e s s u s t a i n e d f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s t h e r e a f t e r , at o n c e s t i m u l a t e d greater e m p l o y m e n t in c o m m e r c e and transport

and yielded

surpluses that c o u l d b e d e v o t e d t o educational a n d administrative expansion. I n terms o f the relative o p p o r t u n i t i e s they offered, the s t a g n a n t s u b s i s t e n c e e c o n o m i e s t e n d e d t o fall e v e n f u r t h e r b e h i n d t h e c a s h - c r o p a r e a s ; a n d b o t h fell b e h i n d t h e c i t i e s , w h e r e t h e n e w e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s w e r e c o n c e n t r a t e d . T h e years after 1945 s a w a d r a m a t i c i n c r e a s e i n r u r a l - u r b a n m i g r a t i o n a n d i n t h e r a t e o f u r b a n g r o w t h (cf. T a b l e s 4 . 1 , 4 . 2 ) . F r o m t h e m i d - 1 9 4 0 s , mining centres, like those o n the Copperbelt, w h i c h had b e g u n as l a b o u r c a m p s a n d w h e r e s e t t l e m e n t h a d b e e n r i g i d l y c o n t r o l l e d by the authorities t o p r e v e n t a stable urban p o p u l a t i o n , b e g a n to assume m o r e the character o f t o w n s , w i t h n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s in the informal sector. T h e g r o w i n g t o w n s w e r e equally magnets for the educated and the unskilled, labourers and petty traders. W h e r e m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r y w a s set u p , this w a s also in o r near the existing

urban

centres;

both

because o f the same

locational

a d v a n t a g e s that h a d earlier m a d e t h e m centres o f the i m p o r t - e x p o r t trade and because the d o m e s t i c markets for their

manufactures

w e r e concentrated there a m o n g the urban wage-earners and the national elites. T h u s urban g r o w t h since 1950 w a s particularly concentrated in the national capitals. 148 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

P A T T E R N S

M I G R A T I O N

Total population of selected African countries living in cities inhabitants and (ii) 100000 inhabitants, as proportion of total population.

T a b l e 4.2.

of

O F

(/) 20000

(i)

Egypt Algeria Senegal Ghana Nigeria Kenya Zaire South Africa

(Ü)

c. 1950

c. i960

c. 1950

c. i960

1947- -66 1948- -60 1956- -61 1948- -60 1952- -63 1948- -62

28.9 14.1 19.0 5.0 11.4 3.8

38.2

20.0

21.6 22.5 12.3 14.0

6.6 9.9

29.6 16.4 12.6

1957-"9 1951- 60

7-1 30.8

5-9 9.1 35.1

3-3 4.1 2.2

9-5 8.7

3-5 23.1

5-9 26.5

Source-. U N Economie Commission for Africa, in Economie

5-2

survey of

Africa,

1967.

A n e w feature o f t h e e x p a n s i o n in the 1960s a n d 1970s w a s that m i g r a n t s w e r e less e x c l u s i v e l y a d u l t m a l e s i n s e a r c h o f w o r k . Women

joining

their

husbands

or migrating

o n their o w n

account, and children seeking secondary education, accounted for a b i g g e r share o f r u r a l - u r b a n

migratory

flows

than earlier, a n d

the a g e a n d sex profiles o f u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n s c a m e t o d i v e r g e less from

the national

norms.

1

Significant

urban

unemployment

appeared in the 1960s, a r e m i n d e r that urban j o b o p p o r t u n i t i e s d e p e n d e d in the main o n surpluses g e n e r a t e d in t h e rural sector, w h i c h w a s d e p r e s s e d in m a n y c o u n t r i e s . I n the late 1970s this l e d s o m e A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s s u c h as G h a n a a n d U g a n d a t o e x p e l aliens, thus r e d u c i n g the international gration

flows.

character o f earlier m i ­

A l t h o u g h m i g r a t i o n m i g h t c o n t i n u e f o r as l o n g as

m i g r a n t s c o u l d still r e a s o n a b l y e x p e c t , after a p e r i o d o f u n e m ­ p l o y m e n t , to obtain a superior situation than w a s available in the c o u n t r y s i d e , it b e g a n t o b e e v i d e n t t h a t , w i t h o u t a n e w r e s o u r c e like N i g e r i a ' s o i l , the rates o f u r b a n g r o w t h seen in the t w o d e c a d e s after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r c o u l d n o t b e s u s t a i n e d f o r ever. 1

T h i s is e s p e c i a l l y w e l l d o c u m e n t e d in J. C . C a l d w e l l ' s a n a l y s i s o f t h e i960 G h a n a

C e n s u s , African rural-urban migration ( C a n b e r r a , 1969).

149 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

S O C I A L

T H E

A N D

C U L T U R A L

G R O W T H

OF

C H A N G E

T O W N S

T h e cities o f s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a t e n d e d to c o n t a i n to a m u c h greater extent than those o f other regions o f the T h i r d W o r l d , including N o r t h Africa, a population that continued to m o v e b e t w e e n t o w n and c o u n t r y despite the sharp c l e a v a g e in terms o f e c o n o m i c function, distribution o f resources and formal institu­ t i o n s , b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o s p h e r e s . M i g r a n t s t o all T h i r d W o r l d cities b r i n g rural attitudes, and retain for a w h i l e k i n s h i p links w i t h their o r i g i n s , but rarely h a v e these links and identities c o n t i n u e d as v i t a l l y as t h e y d i d i n A f r i c a . T h e m i g r a n t s ' r e t e n t i o n o f r u r a l land rights contributed v e r y greatly to this; but so did the role o f rurally based identities in adaptation to the d e m a n d s o f t o w n life. T h i s w a s n o less t r u e o f t h e m o s t c a p i t a l i s t c i t i e s - t h o s e o f s o u t h e r n A f r i c a w i t h l a r g e p r o l e t a r i a t s - s i n c e official p o l i c y f o r l o n g s o u g h t to p r e v e n t the consolidation o f a stable urban p o p u l a t i o n . S o m e t o w n s in S o u t h A f r i c a s a w f o u r o r f i v e g e n e r a t i o n s that had r e t u r n e d t o the rural areas after the p e r i o d o f their labour - a circulation w h i c h tended ultimately to be b r o u g h t t o a n e n d b y r u r a l o v e r - p o p u l a t i o n as w e l l as u r b a n l a b o u r - d e m a n d . B u t e v e r y w h e r e s o m e o f the migrants stayed, so t h a t a s o l e l y u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n g r e w , m a k i n g it s e e m l i k e l y t h a t h i g h rates o f i m m i g r a t i o n w o u l d a l s o d e c l i n e a n d u l t i m a t e l y c r e a t e a p e r m a n e n t and firm d i v i s i o n b e t w e e n t o w n s p e o p l e and the rural p o p u l a t i o n s , w i t h all t h a t t h i s m u s t i m p l y f o r t h e c h a r a c t e r o f national social structure. T h e character o f a colonial city w a s d e r i v e d from the operation o f f o u r m a j o r f a c t o r s : its p r e d o m i n a n t f u n c t i o n , its o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e , its p h y s i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n a n d its e t h n i c c o m p o s i t i o n . T h e s e factors w e r e not independent o f o n e another, since function has clear i m p l i c a t i o n s for o c c u p a t i o n a l structure, m i n i n g and p o r t t o w n s h a v i n g m u c h larger true proletariats; while administrative centres have considerably higher proportions o f b o t h wealthier, e d u c a t e d strata and w o r k e r s in the i n f o r m a l sector. P h y s i c a l p l a n n i n g w a s better realised in t h e n e w t o w n s established for a precise function in the c o l o n i a l s y s t e m , w h e r e there w a s n o i n d i g e n o u s city o f traders o r craftsmen, for e x a m p l e N a i r o b i , w h i c h w a s an administrative and railway centre, o r P o r t H a r c o u r t , w h i c h w a s a p o r t a n d r a i l w a y t e r m i n u s , a n d a b o v e all i n t h e m i n i n g t o w n s o f the C o p p e r b e l t . Paradoxically, African urban studies 150

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

THE

G R O W T H

O F

T O W N S

t o o k t h e i r rise f r o m t o w n s - L u a n s h y a i n Z a m b i a b e i n g a c l a s s i c case - w h i c h , b e i n g in their clear p h y s i c a l r e c o g n i t i o n o f socialc l a s s b o u n d a r i e s a l m o s t m o d e l s o f t h e c o l o n i a l s y s t e m itself, w e r e u n u s u a l in the 1950s a n d b e c a m e m o r e s o later. comprised

three

principal

functional,

1

H e r e the t o w n

physical

and

structural elements: the M i n e T o w n s h i p , o w n e d and

social-

organised

b y t h e c o m p a n y f o r its e m p l o y e e s ; t h e G o v e r n m e n t T o w n s h i p , w i t h an o c c u p a t i o n a l l y h e t e r o g e n e o u s p o p u l a t i o n ; and E u r o p e a n residential

areas

housing

those

Europeans

in

supervisory

or

white-collar occupations. Elsewhere,

and

especially w h e r e

there w a s an

indigenous

l a n d o w n i n g c o m m u n i t y , h o u s i n g w a s less a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y c o n ­ trolled and there w a s less residential s e g r e g a t i o n b y o c c u p a t i o n . Instead, indigenous landlords and enterprising i m m i g r a n t s , w h e r e it w a s p o s s i b l e f o r t h e m t o b u y l a n d , b u i l t h o u s e s f o r t h e m s e l v e s o r t o let, s o m e t i m e s

within

the

framework

of a

municipally

p l a n n e d l a y o u t , s o m e t i m e s , as i n t h e o u t e r s u b u r b s o f L a g o s o r parts o f M e n g o - K a m p a l a , subject

to

the

minimum

of

such

control. S o m e s u c h city-areas recalled in their class h e t e r o g e n e i t y — the rich and p o w e r f u l l i v i n g c h e e k - b y - j o w l w i t h those o f the l o w e s t status - the social character o f pre-colonial cities. B u t there also d e v e l o p e d , especially f r o m

the

1960s and

outside

urban

administrative boundaries, shanty t o w n s w h i c h w e r e m o r e h o m o ­ geneous

in

class

terms,

housing

the

lowest

urban

class

of

unskilled, casual and u n d e r - e m p l o y e d w o r k e r s . T h e 1960s t e n d e d to b r i n g a c o n v e r g e n c e o f these t w o polar types o f city. A f r i c a n governments were unwilling or unable to control urban settlement in t h e c o l o n i a l w a y s o t h a t t h e ' i n f o r m a l ' s e c t o r o f c i t i e s t e n d e d to g r o w w i t h continuing in-migration. B u t , o n the other

hand,

as t h e A f r i c a n e l i t e s r e p l a c e d e x p a t r i a t e s i n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e

posts

and o c c u p i e d the former

European

residential preserves,

resi­

d e n t i a l s e g r e g a t i o n b y c l a s s c o n t i n u e d . I n d e e d , it w a s e x t e n d e d , with

the

establishment

of new

housing

estates

for

different

income levels. E t h n i c c o m p o s i t i o n affected u r b a n social structure in s e v e r a l w a y s . S o m e cities clearly possessed a ' h o s t ' ethnic g r o u p , w h i c h was either the g r o u p that * o w n e d the land * o r a g r o u p w h o s e local preponderance

was due

to w e i g h t o f numbers,

1

A . L . E p s t e i n , Politics in an urban African community B a l a n d i e r , Sociologie des Bra^avilles noires ( P a r i s , 1955).

education

(Manchester,

151

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

or

1958); G .

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL C H A N G E

political p o w e r in the national arena. T h e s e c o n d i t i o n s c o i n c i d e d i n t h e c a s e s o f t h e K o n g o i n K i n s h a s a , t h e Y o r u b a in L a g o s o r the G a n d a in K a m p a l a . B u t e l s e w h e r e , the L e b u , for instance, did not d o m i n a t e their native D a k a r n o r the G a A c c r a , w h i l e P o r t H a r c o u r t , situated outside the h o m e l a n d s o f any major

ethnic

g r o u p , w a s successively d o m i n a t e d b y the O w e r r i I b o (from the l a t e 1 9 4 0 s t o 1 9 6 7 ) a n d t h e r e a f t e r , as t h e c a p i t a l o f t h e R i v e r s S t a t e of

Nigeria, by

the

Ijo.

Ethnically

homogeneous

neighbour­

h o o d s o r q u a r t e r s w e r e h a r d l y t o b e f o u n d in C e n t r a l o r s o u t h e r n African cities and w e r e n o t the rule e l s e w h e r e . T h e y w e r e m o r e a feature o f the o l d e r W e s t A f r i c a n cities (e.g. the V a i , K r u , Bassa q u a r t e r s o f M o n r o v i a ) , a n d a t t a i n e d t h e s h a r p e s t d e f i n i t i o n in t h e H a u s a - s p e a k i n g settlements o f M u s l i m n o r t h e r n e r s in Ghana

{%pngo)

or Western Nigeria

{sabo).

southern

Even when developed

in recent d e c a d e s (like S a b o in I b a d a n ) , t h e y d r e w o n p r e - c o l o n i a l c u l t u r a l m o d e l s as w e l l as m o d e r n a d v a n t a g e s . B u t e l s e w h e r e , a n d w i t h t h e p a r t i a l e x c e p t i o n o f t h e ' o l d t o w n s ' o f i n d i g e n e s , w e find only a tendency t o w a r d s the g e o g r a p h i c a l concentration o f fellow t r i b e s m e n . It w a s e n c o u r a g e d , t o s o m e e x t e n t , b y c h a i n - m i g r a t i o n , as n e w

arrivals

sought

out

compatriots

or

kinsmen

already

e s t a b l i s h e d i n t o w n . O t h e r w i s e it t e n d e d t o b e a f u n c t i o n o f t h e income

and

educational

levels,

the

status

and

occupational

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e m e m b e r s o f p a r t i c u l a r e t h n i c g r o u p s . It w a s most marked where they were occupationally h o m o g e n e o u s and o f l o w status. H e n c e the c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f H a y a w o m e n , m a n y o f w h o m were prostitutes, or R w a n d a men, w h o were unskilled labourers,

in

'urban

villages'

in

parts

of Kampala.

Similar

h o u s i n g e s t a t e s , s u c h as S u r u l e r e i n L a g o s o r N a g u r u i n K a m p a l a , attracted disproportionate n u m b e r s o f I b o and L u o respectively, since b o t h g r o u p s included m a n y y o u n g , m o d e r a t e l y educated or s k i l l e d p e o p l e , w h o as i m m i g r a n t s w e r e free f r o m m a n y o f t h e i n v o l v e m e n t s o f t h e l o c a l l y d o m i n a n t Y o r u b a a n d G a n d a in t h e o l d e r parts o f the t o w n . B u t e v e n these ' c o n c e n t r a t i o n s ' w e r e in ethnically m i x e d areas. The

classic studies

demonstrated

o f the

Copperbelt towns

the e x i s t e n c e o f fairly unified u r b a n

in the

1950s

social-status

s y s t e m s , in w h i c h ethnic g r o u p s w e r e r a n k e d in t e r m s o f ad­ v a n c e m e n t in w e a l t h , e d u c a t i o n a n d p o w e r i n t h e m o d e r n s e c t o r . 1

1

S e e e s p e c i a l l y J. C . M i t c h e l l a n d A . L . E p s t e i n , ' O c c u p a t i o n a l p r e s t i g e a n d s o c i a l s t a t u s a m o n g u r b a n A f r i c a n s in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a ' , Africa, 1959, 29, 22-39.

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G R O W T H

O F

T O W N S

T h e r e w a s a l i m i t e d d i v e r g e n c e f r o m this r u l e o n l y i n t h o s e W e s t A f r i c a n cities like F r e e t o w n o r I b a d a n w h i c h had m i x e d M u s l i m Christian

populations

and

where

some

Muslim

groups,

c o n s i d e r a b l y less a d v a n c e d i n m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n a n d its r e w a r d s , continued

to

stress

alternative

status

values associated

with

Islamic learning. B e c a u s e the specific p r o b l e m s and o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f u r b a n life - r e s i d e n c e i n a s l u m - a r e a , e m p l o y m e n t i n a s i m i l a r m a r k e t s i t u a t i o n , c o m m o n n e e d f o r r e c r e a t i o n — s e v e r a l l y affected many hitherto unrelated individuals, the

Gesellschaft o r

voluntary

association existing for a specific e n d w a s e v e r y w h e r e a charac­ teristic u r b a n institution. T r a d e u n i o n s and m o r e i n f o r m a l o r g a n ­ isations based o n the w o r k situation w e r e v i g o r o u s w i t h i n their particular spheres o f relevance. T h e friendship g r o u p s existing o n t h e b a s i s o f l o c a l n e i g h b o u r h o o d , s u c h as h a v e b e e n a n a l y s e d i n d e t a i l in K i s a n g a n i ( S t a n l e y v i l l e ) b y P o n s ,

1

played an i m p o r t a n t

r o l e in e n a b l i n g m i g r a n t s t o a d a p t t o a v e r y h e t e r o g e n e o u s a n d transient e n v i r o n m e n t ; b u t b e c a u s e o f this v e r y c i r c u m s t a n c e , the neighbourhood or

quartier,

e x c e p t in the case o f well-established

cities w i t h stable p o p u l a t i o n s , t e n d e d

n o t to be the basis o f

enduring c o m m i t m e n t s and thus o f long-term social mobilisation. M a n y social a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s h a v e used the c o n c e p t o f

network t o

c h a r a c t e r i s e u r b a n s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s . E a c h i n d i v i d u a l s t a n d s at t h e centre o f a w e b o f possible links (with, for instance, affines,

neighbours,

fellow

tribesmen,

age mates,

kinsmen,

fellow

em­

ployees, fellow church-members, business contacts) and seeks to 2

a c t i v a t e t h o s e p a r t i c u l a r ties w h i c h a r e s i g n i f i c a n t . B u t a m o n g t h e m , e t h n i c i t y h a s a s p e c i a l i m p o r t a n c e . T o u n d e r s t a n d it, w e must m o v e o u t from the city to the w i d e r society w i t h i n w h i c h it is set. C H A N G I N G

BASES

OF

I D E N T I T Y

T h e s e p o p u l a t i o n m o v e m e n t s , i n v o l v i n g a great increase in b o t h the scale o f social relations and the a m o u n t o f interaction w i t h i n s o c i a l l y h e t e r o g e n e o u s e n v i r o n m e n t s , h a d g r e a t effects o n s o c i a l identity and hence o n emergent patterns o f conflict and c o o p e r ­ ation. T w o such bases w e r e especially significant: ethnicity and r e l i g i o n . T h e s e d i d n o t h a v e a n y fixed r e l a t i o n t o t h a t o t h e r m a j o r 1

V . P o n s , Stanleyville: an African urban community under Belgian administration

(London,

1969), e s p . 1 2 7 - 2 1 2 . E s p e c i a l l y t h o s e o f the ' M a n c h e s t e r ' s c h o o l w h o h a v e w o r k e d in C e n t r a l A f r i c a ; 2

see the e s s a y s in J. C . M i t c h e l l ( e d . ) , Social networks in urban situations ( M a n c h e s t e r , 1969).

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A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

s o u r c e o f identity - social rank o r class - b u t m i g h t sustain o r w e a k e n it i n v a r i o u s w a y s . I t is t h e ' w o r l d r e l i g i o n s ' - I s l a m a n d Christianity - that

are

relevant

here

since,

unlike

Africa's

' traditional' religions - those practised uniquely b y the members o f particular small-scale societies — they confer an identity w h i c h is d i s t i n c t f r o m e t h n i c o r c o m m u n a l i d e n t i t y a s s u c h , e v e n w h e n it is c l o s e l y l i n k e d w i t h it. M o r e o v e r , i t is t h e v e r y c o s m o p o l i t a n i s m o f the w o r l d religions w h i c h made them a social i d i o m w h i c h w a s relevant in the n o v e l and heterogeneous situations o f urban and 1

national arenas. E t h n i c i t y , b y contrast, s e e m s t o relate m u c h m o r e to the local and traditional, h a v i n g a base in the m a n y ' tribes' o r 'ethnic

groups'

which

descriptive terms,

comprise

most

African

nations.

and n o t v e r y precise ones, these

As

variously

designate linguistic o r cultural blocs, traditional polities o r g r o u p s o f p e o p l e s linked b y s o m e k e y identity-conferring social institu­ t i o n , s u c h as a n a g e - g r a d e s y s t e m o r i n i t i a t i o n r i t e s . B u t h e r e t h e i s s u e is n o t h o w f a r t h e m e m b e r s o f p a r t i c u l a r e t h n i c

groups

retained c u s t o m a r y usages, b u t rather h o w identities based o n some

such

usages

and symbols

became

important

in

novel

c o n t e x t s . F o r t h e r e is n o g i v e n fixity i n t h e b o u n d a r i e s , n e c e s s i t y in t h e c o n t e n t , o r u n i f o r m i t y in t h e significance o f particular e t h n i c g r o u p labels.

Ethnicity Ethnicity c a m e t o exist in t w o principal m o d e s : w h e r e individuals interacted in urban o r rural situations w h i c h d r e w p e o p l e t o g e t h e r f r o m different e t h n i c o r i g i n s ; a n d w h e r e c o l l e c t i v e i n t e r e s t - g r o u p s , associated w i t h particular areas o f o r i g i n , c o m p e t e d t o secure rewards for their m e m b e r s from the higher-order units w i t h i n w h i c h t h e y c o e x i s t e d - t h e s t a t e a n d i t s s u b d i v i s i o n s . T h e ties w h i c h initially l i n k e d k i n s m e n o r f e l l o w villagers in t o w n , a n d the g r e a t e r ease w i t h w h i c h c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d h e n c e n e w ties c o u l d be established b e t w e e n those o f similar l a n g u a g e a n d c u s t o m s , led to the d e v e l o p m e n t in t o w n s o f n e w , broader stereotypes, w h i c h s h a p e d h o w p e o p l e t h o u g h t o f t h e m s e l v e s as w e l l as o f others. T h e y also p r o v i d e d them with a c o g n i t i v e tool for organising social interaction in a n o n y m o u s , multi-ethnic contexts. It w a s n o t 1

F o r a c o n v i n c i n g t h e o r y relating r e l i g i o u s c o n v e r s i o n t o t h e increase in t h e scale o f s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s s e e R . H o r t o n , ' A f r i c a n c o n v e r s i o n ' , Africa, 1 9 7 1 , 4 1 , 85-108 a n d ' O n t h e r a t i o n a l i t y o f c o n v e r s i o n ' , Africa, 1975, 4 5 , 2 1 9 - 3 5 , 373-99.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

C H A N G I N G

BASES

O F

I D E N T I T Y

always m u c h m o r e than this. T h o u g h 'tribal e l d e r s ' m i g h t a p p l y particularistic

norms

w i t h i n , say, the d o m e s t i c sphere, or

the

n e t w o r k o f ' h o m e - b o y s ' m i g h t be i m p o r t a n t for m u t u a l aid and comfort, c o m m e r c i a l and industrial relations w e r e d o m i n a t e d b y n o n - e t h n i c i d e n t i t i e s , s u c h as t h o s e d e r i v e d f r o m

occupational

r a n k o r c o n t r o l o f r e s o u r c e s in t h e m a r k e t s i t u a t i o n . T h e e t h n i c divisions a m o n g

Africans were quite

overshadowed

by

their

c o m m o n s u b o r d i n a t i o n , i n all s p h e r e s , t o E u r o p e a n s , as in t h e Copperbelt

towns

o f the

1950s, or

urban

South

Africa

R h o d e s i a l o n g after. N o r d i d e t h n i c i t y a l w a y s d o m i n a t e

and social

r e l a t i o n s in m u l t i - e t h n i c r u r a l s i t u a t i o n s . I t s l a c k o f s a l i e n c y , f o r e x a m p l e in c e r t a i n a r e a s o f e a s t e r n a n d c e n t r a l U g a n d a , w h e r e g o o d land-population

ratios attracted

immigrants

from many

ethnic

g r o u p s , seems to h a v e been d u e b o t h to the desire o f established or

potential

big-men

to

attract

followers

and

labourers

of

w h a t e v e r o r i g i n , a n d t o t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f l o c a l r e s i d e n c e as a b a s i s o f i d e n t i t y . I n t h e s e c o n t e x t s e t h n i c i t y h a d its s i g n i f i c a n c e , b u t it w a s h i g h l y s i t u a t i o n a l : it w a s o n e o f t h e ties a n i n d i v i d u a l m i g h t activate in his s u p p o r t b u t n o t necessarily an o v e r r i d i n g o n e , a n d always one that had to be i n v o k e d discreetly, if vital non-ethnic r e l a t i o n s h i p s w e r e n o t t o suffer. Y e t e l s e w h e r e ethnicity d i d b u l k large in interaction

between

m e m b e r s o f d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s - e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e it c o r r e s p o n d e d w i t h e c o n o m i c f u n c t i o n o r residence, this t y p i c a l l y b e i n g l i n k e d w i t h i n t e r - r e g i o n a l p a t t e r n s o f t r a d e , as is c o m m o n i n W e s t A f r i c a . Thus

ethnic

identity,

underscored

in the

1950s b y a

greater

e m p h a s i s o n r e l i g i o u s d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s , has p l a y e d a b i g p a r t in the i n t e r a c t i o n o f H a u s a , as k o l a - o r c a t t l e - t r a d e r s , w i t h t h e p e o p l e s o f the forest z o n e . H e r e ethnicity acted to i m p r o v e the b a r g a i n i n g position o f a g r o u p by excluding cultural outsiders and disciplining insiders. Rural parallels m i g h t exist w h e r e i m m i g r a n t s f o u n d a distinct e c o l o g i c a l niche,

1

as U r h o b o p a l m - w i n e t a p p e r s d i d i n

parts o f Y o r u b a l a n d , or w h e r e they p r o v i d e d w a g e - l a b o u r o n cash-crop farms, the o w n e r s o f w h i c h w i s h e d to e x c l u d e t h e m , as ' s t r a n g e r s ' , f r o m full p r o p r i e t a r y

rights.

1

O n t h e n o t i o n o f ' e c o l o g i c a l n i c h e ' , s e e F . B a r t h , Ethnic groups and boundaries: the social organisation of culture difference ( B e r g e n - O s l o , 1969). T h i s h a s d e e p h i s t o r i c a l r o o t s in W e s t A f r i c a , as w i t n e s s r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n M a n d i n k a dyula a n d A k a n , o r F u l b e p a s t o r a l i s t s a n d s e m i - s e r v i l e M a n d i n k a c u l t i v a t o r s i n F u t a J a l o n ; f o r m o d e r n effects o f

the latter see W . D e r m a n , Serfs, peasants and socialists: a former serf village in the Republic of Guinea ( B e r k e l e y , 1973).

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A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

B u t t h e e t h n i c i t y florescent in P o r t H a r c o u r t a n d m a n y o t h e r s i m i l a r t o w n s in o t h e r p a r t s o f A f r i c a , in t h e late 1 9 5 0 s a n d 1 9 6 0 s , tells a n o t h e r s t o r y . It w a s n o t b a s e d o n t h e e c o n o m i c s p e c i a l i s a t i o n o r residential s e g r e g a t i o n o f ethnic g r o u p s , but o n their general c o m p e t i t i o n for jobs, contracts and licences, indeed, access to any r e s o u r c e s d i s t r i b u t e d b y l o c a l o r n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t . T h u s in Port H a r c o u r t the ethnically m i x e d n e i g h b o u r h o o d s played hardly a n y r o l e in p o l i t i c a l m o b i l i s a t i o n , t h i s b e i n g d o m i n a t e d b y e t h n i c interest-groups. T h i s w a s a p h e n o m e n o n not merely o f certain k i n d s o f c i t i e s b u t o f a c e r t a i n e p o c h in A f r i c a ' s h i s t o r i c a l e v o l u t i o n , w h e n , f r o m t h e late 1 9 4 0 s a n d e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s , t h e nationalist m o v e m e n t s b e g a n to mobilise popular political forces a n d t o t a k e c o n t r o l o f s t a t e p o w e r . T h i s is t h e s e c o n d m o d e o f e t h n i c i t y : a n i n t e r a c t i o n , n o t o f i n d i v i d u a l s in m u l t i - e t h n i c c o n t e x t s , b u t o f o r g a n i s e d e t h n i c - g r o u p i n t e r e s t s r o o t e d in t h e i r h o m e areas. T h e major articulating role, before the creation o f political parties, w a s p l a y e d b y formal and informal tribal associ­ ations that c o m b i n e d m u t u a l aid for i n d i v i d u a l f e l l o w t r i b e s m e n in t o w n s w i t h a g e n e r a l r o l e o f ' c o n s c i o u s n e s s - r a i s i n g ' a n d l o b b y i n g in t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e h o m e a r e a . T h i s d u a l r o l e p r e s u p p o s e s b o t h the retention b y t o w n - d w e l l e r s o f a source o f s e c u r i t y in t h e i r r u r a l s t a t u s e s a n d t h e s t a t e ' s s e r v i n g as d i s t r i b u t o r o f jobs and contracts to urban individuals, and o f public amenities and d e v e l o p m e n t g r a n t s in the rural areas. T h e s e f u n c t i o n s g r e w m a r k e d l y after 1 9 4 5 , a n d s o d i d t h e i r p o l i t i c i s a t i o n , b o t h b e f o r e a n d after n a t i o n a l i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h u s w e h a v e t h e p a r a d o x t h a t ' t r i b a l i s m ' ( t o u s e a t e r m o f w i d e p a r l a n c e in a n g l o p h o n e A f r i c a ) w a s b o t h a p r o d u c t o f nationalism and a threat to national i n t e g r a t i o n ; a n d w h i l e it m i g h t c a l l o n t r a d i t i o n a l s y m b o l s o f e t h n i c i d e n t i t y , it w a s a r t i c u l a t e d b y t h e e d u c a t e d a n d t h o s e in urban e m p l o y m e n t , acting b o t h for t h e m s e l v e s and their regions of origin. T h e earliest f o r m a t i o n o f these ethnic g r o u p s usually p r e c e d e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f ' t r i b a l i s m ' . I n s o m e c a s e s , s u c h as t h o s e o f the A s a n t e , the G a n d a and the L o z i , a clear p r e - c o l o n i a l political and cultural identity w a s consolidated, w i t h distinct privileges to b e d e f e n d e d , in t h e c o l o n i a l o r d e r . O t h e r g r o u p s t e n d e d t o o r g a n i s e i n i m i t a t i o n o f o r in r e a c t i o n t o t h e m , e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e t h e y h a d suffered s o m e f o r m o f ' s u b - i m p e r i a l i s m ' , as d i d t h e T i v and o t h e r peoples o f central N i g e r i a against the Hausa, o r the G i s u 156

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BASES

OF

I D E N T I T Y

and other peoples o f eastern U g a n d a against the G a n d a . In other cases, for e x a m p l e the Y o r u b a , I b o and E w e , the identity w a s fostered b y the a d o p t i o n b y the Christian missions o f a standard l a n g u a g e f o r m that w a s used in c h u r c h e s and s c h o o l s , thus b e c o m i n g a m a j o r s o u r c e o f f e l l o w - f e e l i n g a m o n g an e d u c a t e d élite. C u l t u r a l associations, s o m e t i m e s w i t h w e l f a r e functions t o o , tended to be f o u n d e d in the 1930s and 1940s. B y t h e 1 9 5 0 s e t h n i c g r o u p f o r m a t i o n w a s s h a p e d as m u c h b y t h e p r e s s u r e s o f t h e n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t as b y p r i o r patterns o f association or cultural identity. Entirely n e w ethnic g r o u p s e m e r g e d , like the L u h y a o r K a l e n j i n o f w e s t e r n K e n y a , from t w o congeries o f adjacent peoples, respectively B a n t u speaking and Nilotic-speaking. T h e exact boundaries o f identity w e r e shaped by considerations o f strategy w i t h i n the appropriate a r e n a : w i t h i n N i g e r i a as a w h o l e t h e r e l e v a n t i d e n t i t y w a s I b o , w i t h i n P o r t H a r c o u r t it w a s O n i t s h a o r O w e r r i , w i t h i n O w e r r i it w a s M b a i s e o r . . . T h e s e i d e n t i t i e s , in t h e m i d d l e r a n g e s , d e r i v e d f r o m t h e colonial a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d i v i s i o n s o f N i g e r i a , j u s t a s , after i n d e p e n d e n c e , n a t i o n a l i t y , f o r e x a m p l e as K e n y a n s in U g a n d a o r as M a l a w i a n s in Z a m b i a , c a m e t o s e r v e , in c o n t e x t , as a k i n d o f 'tribe'. T h e principles o f alliance-formation, tending towards a b a l a n c e o f r o u g h l y e q u i v a l e n t o p p o n e n t s at e a c h l e v e l o f t h e h i e r a r c h y , s h o w e d f o r m a l s i m i l a r i t i e s t o t h o s e o p e r a t i v e in s e g ­ m e n t a r y l i n e a g e s o c i e t i e s . It is t h u s p e r h a p s n o t a c c i d e n t a l t h a t s o m e t r a d i t i o n a l l y s e g m e n t a r y p e o p l e s , s u c h as t h e I b o a n d L u o , w e r e a m o n g t h e m o s t s u c c e s s f u l in a d a p t i n g t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s t o t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f tribal u n i o n s t h r o u g h o u t their c o u n t r i e s . A n d in the c a s e o f S o m a l i a , p e r h a p s t h e m o s t c u l t u r a l l y h o m o g e n e o u s o f all A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , t h e t r a d i t i o n a l s e g m e n t a r y c l a n s o r ' l i n e a g e c o n f e d e r a t i o n s ' t h e m s e l v e s t o o k o n n e w r o l e s as i n t e r e s t - g r o u p s r e l e v a n t in p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t a n d t h e s t a t e ' s d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e w a r d . S o ethnicity, sustained b y the political e n v i r o n m e n t o f the state, c a m e t o b e an i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t in t h e n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e s o f m a n y African countries, acting back on patterns o f individual association and action. T h u s , second-generation M o s s i migrants to G h a n a w e r e f o u n d in t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s t o h a v e d e v e l o p e d s o c i a l i d e n t i t y as M o s s i w i t h i n G h a n a , e v e n t h o u g h t h e y h a d l o s t t h e i r c u l t u r a l d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s as M o s s i as w e l l as, v e r y p o s s i b l y , t h e i r a b i l i t y t o re-enter rural M o s s i society. A s a m e a n s o f g a i n i n g political and e c o n o m i c p o w e r , they had to 'find w a y s o f asserting their identity M7

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in a s o c i e t y w h e r e e v e r y o n e , G h a n a i a n o r n o n - G h a n a i a n , h a s a n e t h n i c as w e l l as a n a t i o n a l Yet

i f it

is i m p o s s i b l e

identity'. to

1

dismiss

ethnicity

as

mere

false

consciousness, an aberration from true consciousness o f nation or c l a s s , e q u a l l y it c a n n o t b e r e g a r d e d as a n i n e l u c t a b l e a n d

eternal

effect o f t h e c o l o n i a l i m p o s i t i o n o f states o n e t h n i c m o s a i c s . T h a t is p r o v e d b y its r e l a t i v e u n i m p o r t a n c e

in s o m e countries

and

contexts. T h r e e general conditions h a v e been stressed: the ' d i s ­ t r i b u t i v e s t a t e ' ; t h e s p e c i f i c ties b e t w e e n u r b a n a n d r u r a l and the historical legacy o f traditional

cultures and

areas;

identities.

N o r t h A f r i c a p r o v i d e s a n i n s t r u c t i v e c o n t r a s t t o t h e s i t u a t i o n in m o s t o f sub-Saharan Africa. D e s p i t e the existence o f areas like the K a b y l e r e g i o n o f A l g e r i a w h i c h w e r e distinct b o t h in l a n g u a g e and colonial experience, o r o f c o m m u n i t i e s like the M z a b i t e s , w h o preserved

a

special

religious

and

occupational

character,

' t r i b a l i s m ' , as t h a t is u n d e r s t o o d s o u t h o f t h e S a h a r a , w a s l a r g e l y absent. Cultural heterogeneity w a s indeed declining, w i t h

the

steady A r a b i s a t i o n o f Berbers and the attenuation o f the o l d urban ethnic or religious minorities, J e w s and others, once organised

milets u n d e r

in

the O t t o m a n u m b r e l l a ; b u t this w a s less significant

than a d i v i d e o f rural and urban p o p u l a t i o n s m u c h sharper than that f o u n d s o u t h o f the Sahara, w h i c h restrained the g r o w t h o f a joint interest, ethnic in i d i o m , o f t o w n s m e n and rural regions. I n t h e M a g h r i b t h e p r o b l e m w a s m o r e o n e , as G e e r t z p o i n t s o u t for M o r o c c o , o f social particularism geneity;

mak^in

2

and

its

model

(urban order) and

was

the

sibd

than o f cultural

ancient

antithesis

hetero­ between

(tribal dissidence) that had

been

analysed centuries before by Ibn K h a l d u n . Generally, any cultural legacy seems to have been permissive a n d s u p p o r t i v e , r a t h e r t h a n d e c i s i v e , as far as t h e p r e s e n c e

or

absence o f ethnic consciousness w a s concerned. T h u s Tanzania, c e l e b r a t e d as a c o u n t r y free o f t r i b a l i s m , e n j o y e d t h e a b s e n c e o f g r o s s initial cultural d i v i s i o n s a n d o f d o m i n a n t e t h n i c Furthermore

it n o t o n l y h a d i n S w a h i l i a s u p r a - t r i b a l

communication, National

Union,

but

a ruling

that

was

party,

seriously

the

Tanganyika

committed

to

1

groups. mode of African

regionally

E n i d S c h i l d k r o u t , ' E t h n i c i t y and generational differences a m o n g urban i m m i g r a n t s in G h a n a ' , in A . C o h e n ( e d . ) , Urban ethnicity ( L o n d o n , 1974), 124; o n t h e w i d e r c o n t e x t

J. R o u c h , Migrations au Ghana ( P a r i s , 1956). 2

C . G e e r t z , The interpretation

of culture ( N e w Y o r k , 1973), 246-9.

158

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O F

I D E N T I T Y

disinterested policies. Nevertheless T A N U seemed o n l y to h a v e r e s t r a i n e d e t h n i c i t y r a t h e r t h a n t o h a v e n u l l i f i e d it. If the ' d i s t r i b u t i v e state * w a s a necessary c o n d i t i o n for * tribal­ i s m ' , it w a s far f r o m b e i n g a s u f f i c i e n t o n e , s i n c e t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f jobs m i g h t g o b y other channels, for instance ethnically m i x e d factions o r religious interest-groups, w h i l e liquid resources m i g h t b e d i v i d e d b y c l a s s e x c l u s i v e l y . T h u s in S e n e g a l t h e r e w e r e ' c l a n polities', the ' c l a n s ' b e i n g shifting factions led b y m e m b e r s o f the political élite, but recruited t h r o u g h a variety o f allegiances, o f which

the

home-base

w a s only one and

religious

fellowship

another. T h i s national political style g r e w from the urban politics o f the

quatre communes

before

1940 and recalls other locales o f

f a c t i o n a l p o l i t i c s s u c h as t h e m i c r o - p o l i t i c s o f t r a d e u n i o n s

as

reported f r o m U g a n d a , o r the s m a l l - t o w n politics o f K i t a in M a l i in t h e 1 9 6 0 s , w h e r e n o s i n g l e c a t e g o r y o f i d e n t i t y d o m i n a t e d . I f it w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y t y p i c a l o f p a r t s o f t h e W e s t A f r i c a n s a v a n n a zone, there w e r e g o o d reasons for it: the universalist,

homo­

g e n i s i n g i d e o l o g y o f I s l a m s u p p o r t e d it, b u t m o r e p o t e n t w a s t h e fact t h a t t h e s e w e r e a r e a s , S e n e g a l e s p e c i a l l y , w h i c h h a d e x p e r i ­ enced

during

the

previous

century

a

fair

'scrambling'

of

populations, with extensive m o v e m e n t s o f piecemeal agricultural colonisation and the l o o s e n i n g o f c u s t o m a r y tenures. T h e r e w a s t h u s less b a s i s f o r t h e a l i g n m e n t o f r u r a l - r e g i o n a l a n d u r b a n - e t h n i c interest w h i c h so u n d e r p i n n e d the p o w e r o f ethnicity e l s e w h e r e .

Religion R e l i g i o n m a y either be aligned w i t h other identities o r cross-cut and s u b d i v i d e them. T h e i m p o s i t i o n o f colonial rule accelerated the spread o f b o t h Christianity and Islam.

1

Islam's advance, with

s o m e e x c e p t i o n s , s u c h as p a r t s o f t h e W e s t A f r i c a n f o r e s t b e l t o r i n w a r d f r o m the S w a h i l i coast, w a s a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h a d e e p e r social penetration some

cases

for

w i t h i n a r e a s w h e r e it h a d a l r e a d y e x i s t e d , i n centuries,

as a

religious

idiom

restricted

particular status g r o u p s — traders, m e m b e r s o f royal c o u r t s ,

to or

r e l i g i o - m e d i c a l s p e c i a l i s t s . F o r C h r i s t i a n i t y , it w a s m u c h m o r e a g e o g r a p h i c a l a d v a n c e i n t o f r e s h a r e a s f r o m its e a r l i e s t b a s e s a l o n g 1

T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n c o l o n i s a t i o n a n d c o n v e r s i o n w a s far f r o m a s t r a i g h t ­ f o r w a r d o n e . F o r a c o m p a r a t i v e s t u d y , J. D . Y . P e e l , ' C o n v e r s i o n a n d t r a d i t i o n i n t w o A f r i c a n s o c i e t i e s : I j e b u a n d B u g a n d a ' , Past and Present, 1977, 77, 108-41.

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the coasts and in a handful o f interior k i n g d o m s like B u g a n d a , Merina,

Lozi,

and

Kgatla, where

prescient

local rulers

had

s p o n s o r e d it. B u t l a t e r , it t o o s p r e a d t h r o u g h t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e to categories initially unattracted

b y it. M o s t n a t i o n s

included

p e o p l e s at d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s o f i n f l u e n c e b y t h e w o r l d r e l i g i o n s a n d , except for peoples w h o w e r e solidly M u s l i m or Christian

well

b e f o r e t h e c o l o n i a l i s t p e r i o d , l i k e t h e K a n u r i o r t h e A m h a r a , it w a s the p e o p l e s m o s t i n v o l v e d in the c o l o n i a l o r d e r w h o s h o w e d the greatest penetration b y the w o r l d religions. A fair r e l i g i o u s v a r i e t y c a m e t o e x i s t i n m o s t A f r i c a n l o c a l i t i e s : in M u s l i m areas often s e v e r a l c o m p e t i n g b r o t h e r h o o d s

turuq),

in

mixed

or

exclusively Christian

areas,

[tariqa, p i .

usually

the

historically dominant missions — Catholic and one or m o r e forms o f P r o t e s t a n t i s m - as w e l l as a v a r i e t y o f i n d e p e n d e n t

churches.

T h e r e is s o m e e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e v a r i o u s c o n f e s s i o n s m i g h t a p p e a l to distinct status constituencies and t o g e t h e r f o r m a differentiated system o f religious provision. But attempts

to interpret

that

v a r i e t y o f r e l i g i o u s e x p r e s s i o n p r i m a r i l y in t e r m s o f its c o r r e ­ s p o n d e n c e , o r ' e l e c t i v e affinity', to the r a n k e d statuses o r class p o s i t i o n s o f a d h e r e n t s , o n a n a n a l o g y w i t h t h e r e l i g i o u s stratifi­ cation

of Europe,

differences

came

to

are

often

exist

misleading.

between

the

Where

social

members

of

status

different

churches (or m o r e importantly, b e t w e e n M u s l i m s and Christians), they w e r e m o s t often the

consequences o f

a v a r i e t y o f different, often

a c c i d e n t a l , attributes o f the r e l i g i o n s : the fact that t h e y c a m e early o r late t o an a r e a ; h a d a c o r e o f m e m b e r s f r o m p a r t i c u l a r parts of

the

country;

or

possessed

historical

advantages

such

C h r i s t i a n i t y ' s s c h o o l s , I s l a m ' s r o l e as a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l

as

trading

n e t w o r k in certain areas, o r the ' e s t a b l i s h m e n t ' status a c c o r d e d C a t h o l i c i s m in the B e l g i a n C o n g o o r I s l a m in N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a . T h e c a s e is e a s i e s t t o m a k e f o r s o m e o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t , l o c a l l y d e v e l o p e d c h u r c h e s - Z i o n i s t s in S o u t h A f r i c a , A l a d u r a in W e s t Africa - w h i c h typically enjoyed a l o w e r standing and some o f w h i c h w e r e at t i m e s a v e h i c l e f o r e x p r e s s i n g c l a s s d i s c o n t e n t . they frequently also attracted

elite m e m b e r s and

1

But

sympathisers,

especially since i n d e p e n d e n c e ; and their main religious aim w a s to relate Christianity t o s u c h i n d i g e n o u s r e l i g i o u s c o n c e r n s 1

as

F o r s t a t e m e n t s o f t h i s v i e w a n d c a s e s t u d i e s , R . K a u f m a n , Millenarisme et acculturation ( B r u s s e l s , 1964), a n d P a r t I I I , ' R e l i g i o u s e x p r e s s i o n s o f d i s c o n t e n t ' , o f R . I. R o t b e r g

a n d A . A . M a z r u i ( e d s . ) , Protest and power in Black Africa ( N e w Y o r k , 1970).

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healing and divination. T h e trend o f the p e r i o d w a s rather for the various religious g r o u p s to c o m e to resemble one another more in t h e i r m e m b e r s h i p , j u s t as t h e r e w a s a t e n d e n c y t o offset t h e c l a s h o f s p e c i f i c d o c t r i n e s a n d p r a c t i c e s w i t h t h e a t t i t u d e t h a t all w e r e concerned w i t h the same general morality and the same G o d . Since the general level o f personal religious o b s e r v a n c e c o n ­ tinued so h i g h in A f r i c a , o n e m i g h t ask w h y r e l i g i o n w a s m u c h less i m p o r t a n t as t h e b a s i s o f l e g i t i m a t i o n t h a n it h a s b e e n e l s e w h e r e , f o r e x a m p l e in E u r o p e ; o r w h y r e l i g i o n , w i t h s o m e s i g n i f i c a n t e x c e p t i o n s , w a s r e l a t i v e l y u n i m p o r t a n t as a g e n e r a l a x i s o f s o c i a l c o n f l i c t . T h e m a i n a n s w e r t o t h e first q u e s t i o n is straightforward: there w a s t o o m u c h religious variety to permit r e l i g i o u s l e g i t i m a t i o n e x c e p t in the m o s t v a g u e terms. Signifi­ c a n t l y , w h i l e I s l a m w a s s o u s e d in t h e A r a b c o u n t r i e s o f N o r t h Africa, especially L i b y a , M o r o c c o and to a smaller extent A l g e r i a , similar attempts to use I s l a m in the o l d N o r t h e r n R e g i o n o f N i g e r i a o r C h r i s t i a n i t y in E t h i o p i a w e r e , b e c a u s e o f a c t u a l religious variety, probably counter-productive. T h e widespread Islam o f countries like Senegal, Mali or Somalia, w h i l e linked to valued national traditions, contributed to a c o m m o n social idiom, for instance the S w a h i l i i d i o m o f T a n z a n i a , rather than furnishing an e x p l i c i t i d e o l o g y o f l e g i t i m a t i o n . T h e a n s w e r t o t h e s e c o n d q u e s t i o n is m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d . T h e churches, and to a lesser extent Islam, o r M u s l i m b r o t h e r h o o d s , were organised and c o m p e t i n g corporate interest-groups, some­ t i m e s in b i t t e r r i v a l r y f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s u p p o r t . C h u r c h s c h o o l s w e r e o f t e n a s o u r c e o f p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t , as i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a in t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , t h o u g h i n c r e a s e d g o v e r n m e n t c o n t r o l o f s c h o o l s since independence tended to r e m o v e that important source o f c h u r c h politics. B u t b e y o n d this, w h y w e r e c h u r c h e s n o t m o r e i m p o r t a n t as ' c o m m u n a l ' i n t e r e s t - g r o u p s , a c t i n g o n b e h a l f o f t h e i r m e m b e r s ' , r a t h e r t h a n j u s t t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n a l , i n t e r e s t s ? It is w o r t h r e c a l l i n g t h e c a s e o f S e n e g a l , w h e r e r e l i g i o u s a l l e g i a n c e , s p e c i f i c a l l y t o t h e M u s l i m b r o t h e r h o o d s , f u n c t i o n e d in a w a y a n a l o g o u s t o e t h n i c i t y , as a c o n s t i t u e n t o f p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t - g r o u p s . U g a n d a w a s m o r e e x c e p t i o n a l , b u t its v e r y d i v e r g e n c e h i g h l i g h t s t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f r e l i g i o n ' s s m a l l p o l i t i c a l w e i g h t e l s e w h e r e . Its pattern w a s an e x t e n s i o n o f that w h i c h d e v e l o p e d d e c a d e s earlier i n t h e B u g a n d a k i n g d o m , its c o r e r e g i o n , w h e r e t w o c o n d i t i o n s o b t a i n e d : first, w i t h i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l o r d e r , l o c a l ties w e r e 161

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C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

e c l i p s e d i n i m p o r t a n c e b y v e r t i c a l ties o f c l i e n t a g e f o c u s s e d o n t h e court, chieftaincy tending to be d i v o r c e d from lineage or regional bases; secondly, c o n v e r s i o n w a s led b y rising m e m b e r s o f the p o l i t i c a l élite a n d r e s u l t e d i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h r e e c o n f e s s i o n a l interest-groups - A n g l i c a n s , Catholics and Muslims. Religion and r e g i o n a l o r i g i n cross-cut, a n d in the relative u n i m p o r t a n c e o f r e g i o n , r e l i g i o n w a s a b l e t o e m e r g e , at least f o r a t i m e , as t h e dominant criterion o f political allegiance. B u t m o s t l y , w h e r e r e l i g i o n a n d e t h n i c i t y c r o s s - c u t , it w a s t h e l a t t e r w h i c h p r e d o m i n a t e d as a s o u r c e o f i d e n t i t y w i t h i n t h e nation, since a c o m m o n g e o g r a p h i c a l base w a s so fundamental to the definition o f g r o u p interests. W h e r e a particular f o r m o f religion w a s s t r o n g l y associated w i t h o n e ethnic g r o u p to the e x c l u s i o n o f o t h e r s , it o f t e n s e r v e d as an i d i o m f o r , o r a n o r g a n i s a t i o n a l a i d t o , a n e t h n i c o r r e g i o n a l i n t e r e s t - g r o u p , as t h e Tijàniyya order did for the Hausa o f Ibadan against their Y o r u b a hosts, or the K i m b a n g u i s t c h u r c h , linked w i t h the A B A K O party, for K o n g o interests w i t h i n Z a i r e . B e c a u s e , in t h e m a i n , m o s t e x p r e s s i o n s o f t h e w o r l d r e l i g i o n s tended to be unidentified w i t h the main interest-groups, w h e t h e r e t h n i c o r c l a s s , t h e y w e r e a v a i l a b l e i n a diffuse f o r m as a m e d i a t i n g e l e m e n t , relatively neutral g r o u n d , in social and political conflict. Religious institutions w e r e therefore generally accorded respect b y t h e p o l i t i c a l é l i t e , p r o v i d e d t h a t t h e y d i d n o t a p p e a r as a r i v a l f o c u s o f a u t h o r i t y t o t h e state. I f t h e y d i d , l i k e A l i c e L e n s h i n a ' s L u m p a c h u r c h i n N o r t h e r n Z a m b i a i n t h e late 1 9 6 0 s o r t h e R o m a n C a t h o l i c c h u r c h i n s e v e r a l c o u n t r i e s ( f o r i n s t a n c e , Z a i r e in t h e 1960s, A n g o l a in the 1970s) since i n d e p e n d e n c e , they m i g h t e x p e c t t o find t h e p o w e r o f t h e s t a t e m o b i l i s e d a g a i n s t t h e m .

C L A S S

F O R M A T I O N

W e turn n o w to that other, ' v e r t i c a l ' , d i m e n s i o n o f social structure, the c o n s e q u e n c e o f the social d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r and the h i e r a r c h y o f p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l t h a t is s o a m b i g u o u s l y c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h the system o f regional and cultural divisions. G r e a t t h o u g h t h e effects o f c o l o n i a l r u l e h a d b e e n o n t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s o f A r a b N o r t h A f r i c a , w e c a n still a p p r o a c h t h e m as t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o f pre-existing systems o f relations b e t w e e n social categories: peasants, pastoralists and n o m a d s , l a n d o w n e r s , urban ' b o u r g e o i s ' 162

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CLASS

F O R M A T I O N

g r o u p s l i k e m e r c h a n t s , officials o r I s l a m i c i n t e l l i g e n t s i a

('ulamd'),

and lower-class traders, craftsmen, labourers and the urban p o o r . T o these h a v e been a d d e d a m o d e r n - e d u c a t e d stratum, t e n d i n g to be d r a w n f r o m the o l d ' b o u r g e o i s i e ' , w h i c h has taken o v e r the main part o f r u n n i n g industrial

proletariat,

state and

military institutions;

especially in

E g y p t and

in

and

an

a city like

Casablanca. A l g e r i a , because o f the h e a v y presence o f the F r e n c h settlers o v e r m a n y d e c a d e s , has c o m e nearest

to a

complete

r e w o r k i n g o f its p r e - c o l o n i a l s o c i a l s y s t e m , w h i l e M o r o c c o , b r i e f l y and l i g h t l y c o l o n i s e d , has the least. B u t the national societies o f sub-Saharan Africa w e r e made, rather than remade. S u c h carry­ o v e r as t h e r e h a d b e e n f r o m p r e - c o l o n i a l s y s t e m s o f i n d i g e n o u s stratification, o u t s i d e v e r y local spheres, w a s m o s t m a r k e d in the case o f a few v e r y c o h e r e n t polities, n o t a b l y the emirates Northern

Nigeria and

Buganda, which managed

to

of

reach

a

9

p r i v i l e g e d p o s i t i o n as t h e ' c o r e o f a c o l o n y ; b u t b e y o n d t h a t , t h e continuity was m o r e a matter o f attitudes to rank and inequality (a n o t o r i o u s l y e l u s i v e f a c t o r ) o r o f s u c h s p e c i f i c p o l i t i c a l r o l e s as that o f chief, w h i c h m i g h t radically c h a n g e their c o n t e n t s . T h e alleged classlessness o f m u c h o f pre-colonial Africa, w h i l e relating in m a n y c a s e s t o s o m e r e a l d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n A f r i c a n

and

1

E u r o p e a n o r A s i a n s o c i e t i e s , w a s r e l e v a n t as a n i d e o l o g y o r a n aspiration,

not

as

an

explanation

of

what

developed

with

nationalism. T o the extent that class expresses o c c u p a t i o n , g r o s s e m p l o y m e n t statistics g i v e s o m e i m p r e s s i o n o f the g r e a t r e g i o n a l v a r i a t i o n in t h e s i z e o f p a r t i c u l a r c l a s s c a t e g o r i e s , as t h e y h a d c o m e t o e x i s t a r o u n d i 9 6 0 , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y o f t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h , as m e a s u r e d by

wage employment,

populations

had

especially outside

then m o v e d from

agriculture,

African

l i v i n g in c o m m u n i t i e s

p r e d o m i n a n t l y s u b s i s t e n c e c u l t i v a t o r s (cf. t a b l e 4 . 3 ) . T h e

of

figures

d o n o t s u g g e s t a n y s i n g l e p a t h o f c h a n g e , in w h i c h t h i s s i n g l e indicator, the e m p l o y m e n t pattern, systematically correlates w i t h other

aspects o f social change. W e s t and

Central Africa

had

r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e r t o t a l l a b o u r f o r c e s , n o d o u b t as a r e s u l t o f t h e g r e a t e r e c o n o m i c r o l e o f w o m e n . S o u t h e r n A f r i c a , a n d a b o v e all 1

L . A . Falters, Inequality: social stratification reconsidered ( C h i c a g o , 1973) is a v a l u a b l e

d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t r a d i t i o n a l a n d m o d e r n s t r a t i f i c a t i o n , b o t h in B u g a n d a and generally. See t o o , M . G . S m i t h , 'Pre-industrial stratification s y s t e m s ' ,

in M . J. S m e l s e r a n d S. M . L i p s e t ( e d s . ) , Social structure and mobility in economic development ( C h i c a g o a n d L o n d o n , 1966).

163

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S O C I A L

T a b l e 4.3.

A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

Employment in Africa, by region,

Labour force as % of total population Wage-earners as % of labour force Agricultural wage-earners as % of labour force Non-agricultural wageearners as % of labour force Non-wage-earners, as % of labour force

i960.

North

East

Central

South

West

34.6

36.5

42.1

35.5

45.8

33-*

15.4

15.2

63.3

6.1

12.8

5.3

3.6

13.3

0.09

20.4

IO.I

11.6

50.0

5-2

66.8

84.6

84.8

36.7

93-9

K. C. Doctor and H. Gallis, 'Size and characteristics of wage em­ ployment in Africa', International labour review, 1966, 93, 166-7.

Source:

the R e p u b l i c o f S o u t h Africa, had easily the m o s t w a g e - e a r n e r s , p r e d o m i n a n t l y in n o n - a g r i c u l t u r a l j o b s , b e i n g f o l l o w e d here b y North

Africa. Within N o r t h

Africa,

Egypt, populous,

highly

urbanised and partially industrialised, contributed m o r e than the o t h e r s t o t h i s p i c t u r e . O u t s i d e t h e s e a r e a s , M o z a m b i q u e w i t h 30.5 p e r c e n t , a n d A n g o l a w i t h 27 p e r c e n t h a d t h e h i g h e s t p r o p o r t i o n s of wage-earners. East and Central Africa had c o m p a r a b l e profiles t h r o u g h o u t , w i t h l e v e l s o f w a g e - e a r n i n g , b o t h in a g r i c u l t u r e and o u t s i d e it, w e l l b e l o w N o r t h a n d S o u t h , b u t s i g n i f i c a n t l y a b o v e W e s t Africa. W e s t Africa, with few plantations and overall l o w i s h l e v e l s o f f a c t o r y o r m i n i n g e m p l o y m e n t , s h o w e d i t s e l f as

the

s t r o n g h o l d o f the peasant farmer and the petty entrepreneur.

Peasantisation? Discussion o v e r the

past

t w o decades o f the

changing

class

character o f the A f r i c a n rural p o p u l a t i o n has largely b e e n c o n ­ cerned

with whether

'peasants'.

1

Such

a

it is t o b e c o n s i d e r e d claim

goes

beyond

the

as c o m p o s e d

of

unexceptionable

1

D i s c u s s i o n t o o k t h i s t u r n in t h e 1960s, t h o u g h t h e t e r m pay san i n t h e F r e n c h literature, used earlier, n e v e r b e c a m e the f o c u s o f debate a b o u t the character o f rural t r a n s f o r m a t i o n in q u i t e t h e s a m e w a y as it d i d i n t h e E n g l i s h . S e e L . A . F a l l e r s , ' A r e A f r i c a n c u l t i v a t o r s t o b e c a l l e d " p e a s a n t s " ? ' , Current Anthropology, 1961, 2, 1 0 8 - 1 0 ; R. S t a v e n h a g e n , Social classes in agrarian societies ( G a r d e n C i t y , 1975), 6 4 - 7 1 , 1 1 9 - 6 2 o n

164

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CLASS FORMATION

assertion that the v a s t m a j o r i t y o f a g r i c u l t u r a l enterprises in A f r i c a d u r i n g o u r period - e x c e p t for large capitalist estates,

whether

p r i v a t e l y o r state o w n e d - t e n d e d t o c o i n c i d e w i t h d o m e s t i c units, s o t h a t t h e d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r w a s still l a r g e l y e x p r e s s e d t h r o u g h the kinship structure.

It i n s i s t s o n t h e i m p o r t a n t

consequence

that m o s t s u c h p r o d u c i n g units w e r e , to an e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g extent, politically and economically subordinated to non-producers, and, d r a w i n g an a n a l o g y w i t h the large agrarian societies o f Eurasia (as

such

c a t e g o r i e s as

'middle

peasants'

and

even

'kulaks'

1

declare), implies that certain definite relations and actions w o u l d e m e r g e . T h e c e n t r a l i s s u e s t o b e c o n s i d e r e d a r e , first, w h a t k i n d o f differentiation w a s o c c u r r i n g w i t h i n rural c o m m u n i t i e s

and,

secondly, the nature o f the links b e t w e e n the rural c o m m u n i t i e s and external or higher-order

institutions.

I n m o s t a r e a s o f A f r i c a at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d l a n d w a s p l e n t i f u l in r e l a t i o n t o p o p u l a t i o n n e e d s , s o c o n t r o l o f it as a s c a r c e r e s o u r c e w a s n o t t h e b a s i s o f s o c i a l h i e r a r c h y . S i n c e p r o d u c t i o n w a s geared to the h o u s e h o l d ' s c o n s u m p t i o n needs, the a m o u n t o f land required and w o r k e d tended to v a r y w i t h the size o f this unit, a n d family-failure, rather than l a n d - s h o r t a g e , w a s the s o u r c e o f e c o n o m i c difficulty. C h i e f s and

lineage-heads

were

' o w n e r s ' o f the land o n l y in that they held the right to allocate land to actual o r potential m e m b e r s o f their c o m m u n i t i e s ; but, with a few conspicuous exceptions like Ethiopia, R w a n d a , B u ­ rundi o r s o m e societies in the w e s t e r n S u d a n , t h e y d i d n o t m a k e heavy levies o n agricultural production or maintain a radically different l i f e - s t y l e . T h e a u t h o r i t y o f c h i e f s , as o f h o u s e h o l d

or

lineage heads, required a h i g h degree o f redistribution o f w h a t resources c a m e their w a y . A s there w a s n o landlessness, there w a s no wage-labour. S o m e t h i n g like these c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l e d in a g o o d m a n y areas o f A f r i c a as late as t h e 1 9 5 0 s , t h o u g h it h a d b e g u n t o p a s s o u t t h e A g n i o f I v o r y C o a s t ; K . P o s t , ' P e a s a n t i s a t i o n a n d r u r a l p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t s in

W e s t e r n A f r i c a ' , Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 1972, 1 3 , 223-54. 1

F o r ' m i d d l e p e a s a n t s ' (this b e i n g an a l l u s i o n t o the g r o u p w h o s e s u p p o r t w a s c l a i m e d critical for M a o in C h i n a ) , G . W i l l i a m s , ' P o l i t i c a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s a m o n g the I b a d a n p o o r ' , in E . d e K a d t a n d G . W i l l i a m s ( e d s . ) , Sociology and development ( L o n d o n , 1974), 1 3 0 - 1 . ' K u l a k s ' w a s u s e d b y G . A r r i g h i a n d J . S . S a u l , ' S o c i a l i s m a n d

d e v e l o p m e n t in t r o p i c a l A f r i c a ' , Journal of Modern African Studies, 1968, 6 , 1 4 1 - 6 9 , a n d s i n c e t h e n v e r y g e n e r a l l y b y M a r x i s t w r i t e r s o n E a s t A f r i c a , s u c h as M . M a m d a n i ,

Politics and class formation

in Uganda ( L o n d o n , 1976), w h o m a k e s t h e s u r p r i s i n g c l a i m

t h a t it ' i s t h e p o p u l a r u s a g e in E a s t A f r i c a ' ( p . 10).

165

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S O C I A L

A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

o f e x i s t e n c e as e a r l y as t h e 1900s in t h o s e p a r t s o f W e s t A f r i c a w h e r e c a s h - c r o p f a r m i n g first d e v e l o p e d o n a l a r g e s c a l e . C a s h - c r o p f a r m i n g , a n d t h e l a n d s h o r t a g e o f t e n l i n k e d w i t h it, s t i m u l a t e d t w o kinds o f differentiation w i t h i n local c o m m u n i t i e s : b e t w e e n farmeremployers and wage-labourers, and b e t w e e n richer and

poorer

f a r m e r s . S t u d i e s in Z a m b i a a n d K e n y a h a v e s h o w n h o w e n t e r ­ prising cash farmers b r o k e w i t h m a n y o f the c o m m u n a l

norms,

w h i c h enjoined redistribution and so restrained e c o n o m i c polar­ isation, and discerned parallels w i t h E u r o p e ' s ' P r o t e s t a n t E t h i c ' . L a n d titles g e n e r a l l y b e c a m e m o r e i n d i v i d u a l i s e d , a n d

1

labour

s y s t e m s less d e p e n d e n t o n c o r p o r a t e k i n g r o u p i n g s . S t u d i e s o v e r a w i d e area h a v e c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e a d v a n c e m e n t o f s u c c e s s f u l farmers tended to be consolidated b y the local intervention o f the state, w h o s e e x t e n s i o n s e r v i c e s , l o a n s c h e m e s a n d s o o n b e n e f i t e d them rather than the p o o r e r farmers. B u t despite these tendencies, a m a r k e d rural polarisation w a s s l o w to e m e r g e . T h i s w o u l d be a process sustained o v e r several generations and few historical

studies

have

been

done.

adequate

Polly Hill, h o w e v e r ,

has

d o c u m e n t e d , in a H a u s a v i l l a g e e x h i b i t i n g l a n d s c a r c i t y , c o m ­ m e r c i a l a g r i c u l t u r e a n d a m a r k e t in l a n d , w h a t h a s e l s e w h e r e b e e n c a l l e d ' c y c l i c a l m o b i l i t y ' - t h e rise a n d fall o f f a r m i n g f a m i l i e s , as l a r g e r l a n d h o l d i n g s w e r e b r o k e n u p (a p r o c e s s g r e a t l y a s s i s t e d in Africa b y the p o l y g y n y o f the w e a l t h i e r farmers), w h i l e p o o r e r farmers

either

themselves up.

dropped 2

out

o f the

rural c o m m u n i t y

or

built

E v e n in B u g a n d a , w h e r e s o m e t h i n g l i k e a l a n d e d

g e n t r y w a s m a n u f a c t u r e d u n d e r t h e 1900 A g r e e m e n t , t h e s o - c a l l e d

mailo

estates had been largely b r o k e n u p b y the 1950s, and, w h i l e

t h e r e w a s c o n s i d e r a b l e i n e q u a l i t y in l a n d h o l d i n g , t h e r e w a s a s p e c t r u m f r o m l a r g e t o s m a l l o w n e r s , as w e l l as a c o m p l e x o f o t h e r k i n d s o f ties l i n k i n g t h e m . I n m a n y a r e a s o f W e s t A f r i c a , w h e r e cash-crop migrants

farmers often

unconditionally, 1

e m p l o y e d strangers

as w a g e - l a b o u r e r s ,

the

w e n t o n t o a c q u i r e l a n d , e i t h e r as t e n a n t s to

produce

cash crops

themselves.

In

or

most

N . L o n g , Social change and the individual ( M a n c h e s t e r , 1968) o n t h e r o l e o f J e h o v a h ' s

W i t n e s s e s a m o n g t h e Z a m b i a n L a l a in l e g i t i m i s i n g a b r e a k w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l u s e s o f

l a b o u r , o r D . J. P a r k i n , Palms, wine and witnesses ( L o n d o n , 1972) o n h o w s u c c e s s f u l G i r i a m a c o p r a - p r o d u c e r s in K e n y a u s e I s l a m i c c o n v e r s i o n t o d i s t a n c e t h e m s e l v e s f r o m their fellows. 2

P o l l y H i l l , Rural Hausa: a village and a setting ( C a m b r i d g e , 1972), e s p e c i a l l y c h a p t e r s

1 0 - 1 3 . S i m i l a r p r o c e s s e s w e r e n o t e d in late n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y R u s s i a , w h o s e k u l a k s w e r e less l i k e E n g l i s h y e o m e n o f a n e a r l i e r p e r i o d t h a n h a s b e e n a s s u m e d ; cf. T . S h a n i n ,

The awkward class ( O x f o r d , 1972).

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C L A S S

F O R M A T I O N

A f r i c a n rural areas b y t h e 1970s, then, w h e r e there h a d n o t b e e n l a r g e - s c a l e e x p r o p r i a t i o n o f l a n d f r o m A f r i c a n s as a r e s u l t o f c o l o n i a l p o l i c y , w e find a n o v e r l a p p i n g a n d s h i f t i n g o f e c o n o m i c statuses: small farmers

employing occasional migrant

labour,

migrants establishing quite large enterprises, individuals m o v i n g t h r o u g h different e c o n o m i c statuses. S o despite incipient class differences, a fundamental ality o f c o n d i t i o n s f o r a l l ' p e a s a n t s ' e n d u r e d .

common­

In the bid for

amenities s u c h as a tarred r o a d o r a d a m f r o m t h e state, t h e m o r e prosperous

farmers

movements

o r political parties

inevitably provided,

through

cooperative

o r local g o v e r n m e n t ,

general

leadership o f their c o m m u n i t i e s . T h a t leadership tended t o b e linked w i t h s o m e c o n f o r m i t y t o traditional n o r m s o f redistri­ b u t i o n , s e c u r e d p e r h a p s b y e x t e n s i v e k i n s h i p a n d affinal t i e s . I t w a s ironic that T a n z a n i a ' s r u l i n g party, o n e o f w h o s e roots lay in t h e c o o p e r a t i v e societies o f the agriculturally a d v a n c e d area near L a k e V i c t o r i a , s h o u l d c o m m i t itself, i n t h e n a m e o f o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e polarisation o f ' k u l a k s ' a n d p o o r peasants, to policies w h i c h i g n o r e d this p a t t e r n i n g o f local interest

vis-a-vis t h e

s t a t e . Its

ujamaa

p o l i c i e s a p p e a l e d less t o t h e p o o r e r p e a s a n t s a g a i n s t t h e r i c h e r t h a n t o t h e p o o r e r r e g i o n s - t h o s e less a d v a n c e d i n c a s h - c r o p p i n g — as against the richer o n e s like the C h a g a o r the S u k u m a . It w a s misleading, particularly granted marked regional unevenness in d e v e l o p m e n t , t o identify these rural g r a d a t i o n s as t h e g e r m s o f national social classes. The

1

w i d e r national

though

environment

it p r o v i d e d s o m e s u p p o r t

o f the rural

community,

to the larger-scale

peasant

p r o d u c e r s , also d i s c o u r a g e d the e m e r g e n c e o f a landed u p p e r class in o t h e r w a y s . I n g e n e r a l , s o p o o r w e r e t h e r e w a r d s o f f a r m i n g relative t o s o m e other o c c u p a t i o n s that p r o s p e r o u s farmers w e r e soon

likely

to divert

much

investment

outside

agriculture,

b r a n c h i n g into transport o r c o m m e r c e and educating their children for

bureaucratic e m p l o y m e n t . I n s u m , they o r their

children,

1

T h e e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e ujamaa p o l i c y is c o n t e n t i o u s , s i n c e m u c h i d e o l o g y h a s b e e n i n v e s t e d in it, b u t see D . F e l d m a n , ' T h e e c o n o m i c s o f i d e o l o g y : s o m e p r o b l e m s o f a c h i e v i n g r u r a l s o c i a l i s m i n T a n z a n i a ' , i n C . T . L e y s ( e d . ) , Politics and change in developing countries ( C a m b r i d g e , 1969), 8 5 - 1 1 1 ; L . C l i f f e , ' T h e p o l i c y o f Ujamaa Vijijini a n d t h e c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n T a n z a n i a ' , i n L . Cliffe a n d J. S . S a u l ( e d s . ) , Socialism in Tanzania ( N a i r o b i , 97 )> ° l - 1» 1 9 5 - 2 1 1 a n d , a m o s t u s e f u l c o m p a r i s o n w i t h r u r a l p o l i c y i n N i g e r i a i n the l i g h t o f theories o f t h e peasantry, G . W i l l i a m s , ' T a k i n g t h e part o f p e a s a n t s ' , in l

z

v

P . C . W . G u t k i n d a n d I. W a l l e r s t e i n ( e d s . ) , The political economy of Africa ( N e w Y o r k ,

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w i t h o u t a b a n d o n i n g l a n d - r i g h t s o r s o c i a l ties w i t h t h e c o u n t r y s i d e ( w h i c h m i g h t be politically valuable), aspired to join an essentially u r b a n élite, n o t e v e n d e p e n d e n t o n rural rents. T h e m a i n , and perhaps significant e x c e p t i o n to the d i v o r c e o f the national urban élite f r o m s i g n i f i c a n t d i r e c t i n v o l v e m e n t i n a g r i c u l t u r e o c c u r r e d i n G h a n a , K e n y a a n d s o m e o t h e r c o u n t r i e s in t h e late 1960s a n d early 1970s, w h e r e , w i t h f o o d shortages, inflation and c o n s e q u e n t h i g h p r i c e s , s o m e m e m b e r s o f t h e é l i t e b e g a n t o m o v e i n t o fairly large-scale capitalist farming o f f o o d c r o p s , intended for urban c o n s u m p t i o n , using their influence to acquire surplus land and g e t t i n g financial s u p p o r t f r o m s t a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s . F o r t h o u g h n a t i o n a l i s m d e r i v e d its m a i n r u r a l s u p p o r t i n c a s h - c r o p a r e a s , a n d its l e a d e r s w e r e o f t e n d r a w n f r o m t h e f a m i l i e s o f p r o s p e r o u s p e a s a n t f a r m e r s ( s o t h a t a n affinity o f t h e r u r a l p e t t y c o m m o d i t y p r o d u c e r a n d t h e n a t i o n a l i s t state s e e m e d l i k e l y ) , a n d t h o u g h m o s t states c o n t i n u e d t o b e d i s p o s e d t o offer s o m e , r e l a t i v e , r e w a r d t o the larger peasant farmers (if o n l y to secure the c o m p l i a n c e o f m e n w h o represented the o r g a n i s e d local interests o f peasants g e n e r a l l y ) , t h e n a t i o n a l i s t state w a s n o t t h e state of t h i s r u r a l stratum. T h e g a p b e t w e e n the farmers and the non-agricultural sectors o f society remained crucial. T h e p e a s a n t m o v e m e n t s o f t h e 1960s m u s t b e set i n a l o n g tradition o f rural unrest, w h o s e a m b i g u o u s and protean character h a s m a d e it difficult t o i n t e r p r e t . T h e r e h a d b e e n w i d e s p r e a d o p p o s i t i o n , o f n o particular class character, to the i m p o s i t i o n o f c o l o n i a l rule - the chiefs' loss o f w i d e discretionary p o w e r s , f o r c e d l a b o u r , l e v y i n g o f t a x - o f w h i c h t h e last r e m a i n e d a k e y f e a t u r e o f n e a r l y all s u b s e q u e n t p e a s a n t o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e state, w h e t h e r c o l o n i a l o r national. In the 1910s and 1920s these t h e m e s continued, often to blend w i t h w h a t w e r e essentially m o v e m e n t s o f c u l t u r a l r e i n t e g r a t i o n after t h e first s h o c k s o f c o l o n i a l s o c i a l change. T h e i r concerns had often been religious and included witch-finding, faith-healing and suchlike, but had sometimes assumed a m o r e political tone if they w e r e subject to harsh r e p r e s s i o n . T h e 1 9 3 0 s a n d 1940s h a d s e e n w i d e s p r e a d r e s i s t a n c e t o t a x , w h e n i n c o m e l e v e l s fell d u r i n g t h e d e p r e s s i o n , as w e l l as t o t h e c o l o n i a l r e g u l a t i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r e in t h e f o r m o f c o m p u l s o r y c r o p - p l a n t i n g , a n d s a n i t a r y o r i n o c u l a t i o n m e a s u r e s . It h a d a l s o seen the establishment b y farmers o f c o o p e r a t i v e s to reduce their d e p e n d e n c e o n m i d d l e m e n in m a r k e t i n g . T h e l a t e r c o l o n i a l states 168

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had tried unsuccessfully to depoliticise c o o p e r a t i v e societies, and a l s o t r a d e u n i o n s , w h i c h p l a y e d , at l e a s t i n f o r m a l l y , a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e in n a t i o n a l i s t m o b i l i s a t i o n f r o m t h e l a t e 1 9 4 0 s . T h i s f a c i l i t a t e d t h e i r v i r t u a l a p p r o p r i a t i o n b y t h e g o v e r n i n g p a r t i e s as a n i n s t r u ­ m e n t to c o n t r o l the rural p o p u l a t i o n . A further d e v i c e for the e x p l o i t a t i o n o f f a r m e r s , s o c o n v e n i e n t t h a t it h a s b e e n a d o p t e d v e r y w i d e l y in s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a , w a s the m a r k e t i n g b o a r d , b y w h i c h t h e s t a t e , t h r o u g h m o n o p s o n i s t fixing o f p r o d u c e r p r i c e s , c o u l d t a x p e a s a n t f a r m e r s at w i l l . T h e r e w e r e s e v e r a l r e a s o n s w h y this e x p l o i t a t i o n i n i t i a l l y m e t w i t h s o little p r o t e s t : it w a s a w e l l - c o n c e a l e d f o r m o f i m p o s t c o m p a r e d w i t h r e n t s o r t a x e s ; it w a s i n t r o d u c e d at a t i m e w h e n , o w i n g t o t h e h i g h l e v e l o f w o r l d p r o d u c e r prices, sustained f r o m the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r into the late 1 9 5 0 s , m o s t f a r m e r s w e r e a b s o l u t e l y b e t t e r o f f t h a n t h e y h a d e v e r been. A p r o p o r t i o n o f w h a t w a s taken w a s redistributed in the f o r m o f c o m m u n a l welfare g o o d s v a l u e d b y the farmers, and a b o v e all i n t h e f o r m o f i n c r e a s e d e d u c a t i o n a l s e r v i c e s . A n d t h e r e w a s a diffuse s p i n - o f f f r o m t h e s p e n d i n g o f t h e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s and the n o n - a g r i c u l t u r a l sector. B u t t h e 1960s s a w a r e v i v a l o f a g r a r i a n d i s c o n t e n t , e s p e c i a l l y in s o m e o f the earliest and w e a l t h i e s t c a s h - c r o p g r o w i n g areas like the Y o r u b a c o c o a areas and the g r o u n d n u t r e g i o n o f S e n e g a l . W o r l d p r i c e s h a d s l u m p e d , a n d it w a s difficult f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t s to reduce the bureaucracies they had e x p a n d e d w i t h the m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s ' r e s e r v e s . T h e s i t u a t i o n in N i g e r i a w a s a g g r a v a t e d b y t h e financial s t r a i n o f its c i v i l w a r . T h e S e n e g a l e s e p e a s a n t s r e s p o n d e d by shifting back to subsistence crops, thus r e d u c i n g the p r o p o r t i o n o f their o u t p u t w h i c h c o u l d be taxed, and c a u s i n g a major crisis in t h e n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y . T h e Y o r u b a p e a s a n t s , r e l u c t a n t t o a b a n d o n the l o n g - t e r m i n v e s t m e n t w h i c h c o c o a trees represent, b a c k e d u p their d e m a n d s for r e d u c e d taxes and better p r o d u c e r p r i c e s w i t h a t t a c k s o n g o v e r n m e n t offices a n d a v i r t u a l t a k e - o v e r o f the c o u n t r y s i d e r o u n d Ibadan. S u c h responses m i g h t be c o m p a r e d t o t h e r e s i s t a n c e o f s o m e r u r a l a r e a s t o t h e ujamaa p r o g r a m m e in T a n z a n i a in t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s , l e a d i n g t o v i o l e n c e b o t h b y a n d a g a i n s t t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f a ' s o c i a l i s t ' state. It is very doubtful whether such actions should be taken to indicate the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a w i d e s p r e a d and solidary ' p e a s a n t ' class c o n s c i o u s n e s s , o v e r r i d i n g o t h e r i d e n t i t i e s , o r t h a t p e a s a n t s as s u c h w e r e in t h e p r o c e s s o f b e c o m i n g a d i s t i n c t p o l i t i c a l f o r c e , r a t h e r 169

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than m e r e l y the s o u r c e o f sporadic pressures o n the political elite. F o r the relations o f the f a r m i n g p o p u l a t i o n w i t h the rest o f s o c i e t y w e r e t o o c o m p l e x and ambivalent. T h e urban sector and the a g e n c i e s o f t h e state m i g h t rest o n r e s o u r c e s e x t r a c t e d f r o m farmers, but they p r o v i d e d crucial general conditions for the existence and d e v e l o p m e n t o f the rural c a s h - e c o n o m y t o w h i c h the farmers w e r e c o m m i t t e d . A t a m o r e c o n c r e t e and individual l e v e l , b e c a u s e o f t h e ties w h i c h l i n k e d f a r m e r s a n d t h e i r k i n s f o l k i n t o w n s , f a r m e r s l o o k e d t o t h e u r b a n s e c t o r as o n e p o s s i b l e s o u r c e o f support. Because agrarian conditions tended to be regionally fairly s p e c i f i c , t h e d e m a n d s o f f a r m e r s b l u r r e d i n t o t h e d e m a n d s o f r e g i o n s and ethnic g r o u p s ; a n d , in g e n e r a l , t h e y d e p e n d e d o n ethnic politicians or urban political b r o k e r s to negotiate their interests.

The entrepreneurial hierarchy W i t h the w i d e s p r e a d d e v e l o p m e n t o f small-scale export-oriented a g r i c u l t u r e , a n e x t e n s i v e t r a d i n g h i e r a r c h y d e v e l o p e d . It h a d t w o sides, b u y i n g agricultural p r o d u c e and selling manufactured g o o d s , w h i c h , b y t h e 1920s a n d 1 9 3 0 s , b o t h t e n d e d t o b e d o m i n a t e d b y the same large E u r o p e a n enterprises. In W e s t Africa, w h e r e cash-cropping w a s m o s t a d v a n c e d , and rural i n c o m e s h i g h e s t , t h e h i e r a r c h y t y p i c a l l y h a d s e v e r a l t i e r s : (i) l o c a l h e a d office, c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e a c t u a l i m p o r t a n d e x p o r t o f g o o d s ; (ii) b r a n c h e s at k e y l o c a l c e n t r e s f o r c o l l e c t i o n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n , r u n b y E u r o p e a n s w h o m a d e a r r a n g e m e n t s w i t h (iii) l o c a l a g e n t s , usually m e n o f s o m e standing, to w h o m they advanced cash to buy p r o d u c e and g o o d s to sell; and (iv) smaller m e n , w i t h o u t substantial capital or property, w h o actually contacted the farmers or h a w k e d r o u n d the villages. In those areas, especially o f East, Central and southern Africa, w h e r e rural c a s h - i n c o m e s w e r e m o s t l y derived from urban remittances, trading was m o r e focussed o n t h e s m a l l s t o r e t h a t , a l o n g w i t h t h e boma a n d l a t e r t h e dispensary, b e c a m e the focal p o i n t o f an area o f dispersed settlement. T h e p r o d u c e - c o l l e c t i o n side o f the t r a d i n g hierarchy in W e s t A f r i c a m e a n t t h a t t h e b u y i n g a g e n t s a n d t h e s o - c a l l e d ' m i d d l e m e n ' t e n d e d t o b e n a t i v e s , t h a t is, m e n w i t h l o c a l c o n n e x i o n s . B u t o t h e r w i s e traders w e r e often strangers; partly, n o d o u b t , b e c a u s e t h e h i e r a r c h y w a s set u p f r o m o u t s i d e a n d h a d penetrated into the rural localities, and partly because there w e r e 170

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operational advantages in being culturally distinctive and free from local communal pressures. Some African peoples became k n o w n as traders, like the K w a h u in G h a n a o r the Ijebu in Nigeria. M o r e c o n s p i c u o u s w e r e the Syrians (Lebanese) in W e s t Africa and Indians in East Africa. T h e Indians were found at every level from substantial shopkeepers in the large cities to tiny up-country storekeepers; the Syrians were more to be found in the middle-to-high levels o f the hierarchy b u y i n g p r o d u c e and selling cloth. In A n g o l a , this kind o f role w a s often taken up by small Portuguese traders, often recent immigrants. F r o m the late 1930s this hierarchy began to change its character. T h e development o f m o t o r transport and better roads enabled some local b u y i n g agents to branch out into transport. T h e war caused a reorganisation o f the marketing arrangements, and the large expatriate concerns tended to w i t h d r a w from the middle levels o f the produce-buying hierarchy, leaving them to African or Asian enterprises. In the late 1940s rising entrepreneurs were an important base o f the nationalist m o v e m e n t , t h r o u g h w h i c h they made accusations against b o t h the colonial state and expatriate firms and banks for limiting their opportunities, especially by credit restrictions and oligopolistic agreements at higher levels. T h e same period in East Africa saw the emergence o f a really significant African g r o u p o f small traders and transporters, w h o s e antipathy to the Asians became an enduring strand o f nationalism. T h e nationalist success in the 1950s initially meant a definite improvement in the environment for traders: rapid urban g r o w t h which expanded their potential markets; loans made available for transport and other d e v e l o p m e n t s , provided from agricultural surpluses; and in East Africa, administrative measures against Asians. T h e arena for entrepreneurs at all levels shifted m u c h more towards the middling and large t o w n s . T h e larger commercial magnates stood at the apex o f a pyramid o f wealth and status w h i c h ran d o w n , w i t h many gradations, to the urban p o o r ; labourers, drivers, small traders and petty c o m m o d i t y producers o f all kinds. M a n y traditional crafts were undermined by imported manufactures and changed needs, but the cities p r o v i d e d large markets for n e w , m o r e informally 1

.' D. L. Wheeler and R. Pelissier, Angola (London, 1971), 64, 14) emphasise that 'the ordinary Portuguese inhabitant of Angola was not a farmer or industrialist, but a petty trader, a strtaiujo (storekeeper), whose ambitions were limited to owning a laberna or store'. «7I

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o r g a n i s e d c r a f t s , s u c h as t h o s e c o n c e r n e d w i t h s u p p l y i n g p r e p a r e d food and clothing, servicing vehicles, constructing a n d maintain­ i n g buildings, furniture a n d other appliances. H e r e there w e r e n o f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n a l b a r r i e r s t o e n t r y , a n d little initial c a p i t a l w a s needed. T h e master m i g h t have apprentices, and also e m p l o y s o m e extra labour, in a situation o f intense c o m p e t i t i o n a n d small profit margins. S u c h w e r e the capital, technical a n d m a n a g e m e n t obstacles t o e x p a n d i n g a single enterprise's scale o f p r o d u c t i o n b e y o n d a certain point, that successful petty c o m m o d i t y p r o d u c e r s a s p i r e d i n s t e a d t o m o v e u p t h e distributive h i e r a r c h y , t o b e c o m e traders in their o w n supplies, a n d then t o b r a n c h o u t into transport, building contracting, and distribution o f consumption g o o d s like beer o r tinned foods. C o m m e r c i a l success w a s largely a m a t t e r , at t h e u p p e r e n d , o f s e c u r i n g m o n o p o l i s t i c a d v a n t a g e o v e r competitors t h r o u g h contacts w i t h expatriate suppliers and g o v e r n m e n t officials, a n d a l s o , at t h e l o w e r e n d , o f m a n a g i n g relations w i t h a range o f occasional o r full-time e m p l o y e e s , sub-contractors, apprentices, personal clients, junior partners and tenants. T h i s h a d implications f o r the pattern o f class relations w i t h i n the informal urban sector. D e s p i t e the various w a y s in w h i c h t h e b i g e n t r e p r e n e u r m i g h t b e said t o e x p l o i t h i s s u b o r ­ dinates, his continued operation d i d ultimately d e p e n d o n his m a i n t a i n i n g h i s n e t w o r k o f s u b o r d i n a t e s a n d his w i d e r r e p u t a t i o n . C o n s e q u e n t l y h e h a d t o d i s p l a y p e r s o n a l g e n e r o s i t y , offer h e l p a n d l o a n s t o i n d i v i d u a l s a n d c o m m u n a l l e a d e r s h i p , e s p e c i a l l y vis-à-vis the agencies o f g o v e r n m e n t . T h e c o m m e r c i a l m a g n a t e , rather than the manufacturer o r the bureaucrat, needed a n d w a s able t o sustain in t o w n s o m e t h i n g o f the o p e n - h a n d e d ethic o f traditional chiefship. Despite his wealth, he w a s likely t o be a m a n o f h u m b l e o r i g i n s a n d s m a l l e d u c a t i o n w h o s e r v e d as a r o l e - e x e m p l a r , a paradigm o f success, to the youthful urban poor. A paradoxical d e v e l o p m e n t in S o u t h Africa in t h e 1950s w a s h o w s u c h entre­ preneurs tended to displace the o l d educated leadership o f the A f r i c a n u r b a n c o m m u n i t y , s u c h as t h e t e a c h e r s o r c l e r g y , s i n c e t h e s e latter w e r e c o m p r o m i s e d b y b e i n g m a d e e l e m e n t s i n t h e regime's system o f control. T h i s a c c o u n t o f the social structure o f the informal urban sector h a s , it is t r u e , l a r g e l y b e e n d e r i v e d f r o m t h e i n s t a n c e o f N i g e r i a , w h o s e s i z e a n d w e a l t h as a n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y c r e a t e d , f r o m t h e 1950s a n d e s p e c i a l l y after 1 9 7 0 , a p a r t i c u l a r l y c o m p l e x e n t r e p r e 172

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neurial hierarchy. S o m e t h i n g similar also e m e r g e d in o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , s u c h as K e n y a o r t h e I v o r y C o a s t , w h i c h w e r e r e l a t i v e l y rich and espoused a 'capitalist' or ' m i x e d ' e c o n o m i c policy. P o v e r t y , p e r h a p s m o r e t h a n p r o f e s s e d ' s o c i a l i s m ' , l i m i t e d its d e v e l o p m e n t i n s u c h c o u n t r i e s as T a n z a n i a o r M a l i . T h e n a t i o n a l i s t e p o c h b o t h g a v e s c o p e to this i n d i g e n o u s c o m m e r c i a l class a n d set b o u n d s t o it. A w h e e l c a m e full c i r c l e : t h e e n t r e p r e n e u r s , h a v i n g s u p p o r t e d the nationalist m o v e m e n t to c h a l l e n g e the c o l o n i a l state and the expatriate trading c o m p a n i e s , a g a i n f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s s u b o r d i n a t e d t o the state, n o w A f r i c a n i s e d , and t o the expatriate enterprises. E x c e p t f o r t h e s m a l l e s t a n d p o o r e s t c o u n t r i e s , after t h e 1 9 4 0 s internal markets came to be able to support s o m e local m a n u ­ facturing industries, and policies o f i m p o r t substitution w e r e w i d e l y adopted. T h e s e w e r e neither basic n o r h e a v y industries but were concerned with light manufacturing and assembling, and depended to a great extent o n foreign capital and the c o n t i n u e d importation o f parts or semi-raw materials. F e w locals possessed the capital o r the skills t o d e v e l o p s u c h industries. L o c a l entre­ p r e n e u r s a d a p t e d t o t h i s as d i s t r i b u t o r s o f t h e i r p r o d u c t s o r as small-scale p r o d u c e r s o f cheap c o n s u m p t i o n g o o d s for their w o r k e r s a n d t h e rest o f t h e u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n . A s t o i n d i g e n o u s s o c i a l c l a s s e s , t h e t o p s a l a r i e d s t a t e officials far e c l i p s e d l o c a l entrepreneurs. Nigeria, almost alone, provided a number o f c o n s p i c u o u s exceptions. In the nationalist ruling parties o f socialist countries like M a l i and T a n z a n i a , traders, despite their e a r l y s u p p o r t f o r t h e n a t i o n a l i s t c a u s e , c o n s i s t e n t l y l o s t , in ideological and factional struggle, to bureaucrats and party officials. E v e n i n c o u n t r i e s w h i c h e n d o r s e d ' c a p i t a l i s m ' i n s o m e f o r m , t h e j o b - s e c u r i t y , h i g h s a l a r i e s a n d a b o v e all s t a t e a u t h o r i t y w h i c h officials p o s s e s s e d , e n d o w e d t h e m w i t h u n c h a l l e n g e d a d v a n t a g e s . T h e y allocated the resources o f the state and they w e r e the g a t e w a y t h r o u g h w h i c h expatriate enterprise had to enter t h e A f r i c a n c o u n t r y . H i g h p u b l i c office b e c a m e a b a s e f r o m w h i c h 1

1

O n the cultural h e g e m o n y o f the bureaucrat o v e r the entrepreneur, P. Marris and A . S o m e r s e t , African businessmen ( L o n d o n , 1971), 224-6, s p e a k o f t h e e n t r e p r e n e u r ' s ' d r i v i n g a m b i t i o n t o realise t h r o u g h his o w n enterprise an a c h i e v e m e n t that w i l l c o m m a n d t h e s a m e r e s p e c t as t h e o c c u p a t i o n s o f t h e h i g h e s t s t a t u s . . . t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d p o l i t i c a l e l i t e f r o m w h i c h h e is e x c l u d e d . H e t h e r e f o r e e m p h a s i s e s t h o s e p u r p o s e s w h i c h business shares w i t h g o v e r n m e n t . . . for h i m e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p expresses the spirit o f African socialism*.

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they c o u l d c u t into capitalist enterprises, b u y i n g s t o c k a n d acquiring directorships. T h u s developed a 'national bourgeoisie', r e c r u i t e d f r o m s e n i o r state officials, t h e A f r i c a n m a n a g e r s o f w h o l l y o r p a r t l y f o r e i g n - o w n e d e n t e r p r i s e s , as w e l l as t h e v e r y élite o f t h e m i n u t e l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n d i g e n o u s e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l hierarchy. Workers and unions In contrast w i t h the v a r i e g a t e d mass o f p e o p l e e m p l o y e d o r semi-employed in the informal sector stood those in regular w a g e or salaried e m p l o y m e n t . A v e r y h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f these, e x c e p t for the m i n i n g a n d m o s t h i g h l y industrial e c o n o m i e s , w e r e e m p l o y e e s o f the g o v e r n m e n t o r public corporations. O f these the unionised w o r k e r s - those w h o most resembled the proletariat o f a m o d e r n industrial country - maintained an ambivalent b u t important relationship to the urban poor. A certain F a n o n e s q u e tradition, m o s t c o n v i n c i n g l y represented by A r r i g h i , w i t h primary reference to Central a n d southern Africa, held that these w o r k e r s constituted an 'aristocracy o f l a b o u r ' , a p r i v i l e g e d g r o u p set against the rural a n d urban p o o r . It a r g u e d t h a t t h e y e n j o y e d h i g h e r a n d s e c u r e r i n c o m e s t h a n o t h e r w o r k e r s ; that their v e r y existence d e p e n d e d o n the particular forms o f exploitation o f the rural p o p u l a t i o n ; that their strategic i m p o r t a n c e w i t h i n t h e o r g a n s o f t h e state e n a b l e d t h e m t o m a k e effective d e m a n d s o n the national p r o d u c t ; a n d that in c o n s e q u e n c e o f these interests they identified u p w a r d s w i t h those h i g h e r in the o c c u p a t i o n a l h i e r a r c h y a n d e v e n t h e p o l i t i c a l é l i t e . B u t n o t all s u c h c l a i m s w e r e justified. A b o v e all t h e e v i d e n c e o n w a g e - e a r n e r s ' l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s is n o t e n t i r e l y c l e a r . S o m e s t u d i e s h a v e s u g g e s t e d that, despite h i g h e r w a g e levels, h i g h e r urban l i v i n g costs a n d the pressure o f greater numbers o f dependants o n wage-earners meant that they h a d n o t b e e n significantly a d v a n t a g e d ; o n the other h a n d , t h e v e r y fact o f u r b a n m i g r a t i o n a n d t h e r e p o r t e d a p p e a l 1

2

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G . A r r i g h i , 'International corporations, labor aristocracies and e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p ­ m e n t in t r o p i c a l A f r i c a ' , in G . A r r i g h i a n d J. S . S a u l , Essays on the political economy of Africa ( N e w Y o r k a n d L o n d o n , 1973); s e e t o o , r e s p o n d i n g t o m u c h c r i t i c i s m o f t h e t h e s i s , m o s t l y f r o m t h e left, J. S . S a u l , ' T h e " l a b o u r a r i s t o c r a c y " t h e s i s r e c o n s i d e r e d ' , in R. S a n d b r o o k a n d R. C o h e n ( e d s . ) , The development of an African working class ( L o n d o n , 1975). C f . G . P f e f f e r m a n , Industrial labour in Senegal ( N e w Y o r k , 1968), d i s c u s s e d in ( L o n d o n , 1974), 1 8 7 - 9 1 . R. C o h e n , Labour and politics in Nigeria ipjj-ip/i 2

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o f factory and other w a g e e m p l o y m e n t seemed to indicate that m o s t wage-earners w e r e better situated than the mass o f the rural and urban population. B u t e v e n i f t h e s e a d v a n t a g e s w e r e s e c u r e d i n p a r t at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e r u r a l o r u r b a n p o o r , it d o e s n o t f o l l o w t h a t t h e i r identification and action necessarily lay w i t h the h i g h e r social classes. T h e distinction b e t w e e n w a g e - e a r n e r s and peasants o r t h o s e i n t h e i n f o r m a l u r b a n s e c t o r is e a s i e r t o m a k e a n a l y t i c a l l y than concretely. T h r o u g h o u t the p e r i o d , w a g e - e a r n e r s remained c l o s e l y l i n k e d b y ties o f k i n s h i p a n d r e s i d e n c e w i t h m e m b e r s o f these o t h e r g r o u p s ; h o u s e h o l d s and w i d e r c o r p o r a t e kin g r o u p s frequently d e r i v e d i n c o m e f r o m several class s o u r c e s ; w a g e earners m o v e d in and o u t o f o t h e r class situations, and frequently h o p e d to use their s a v i n g s to enable t h e m to b e c o m e c a s h - c r o p f a r m e r s o r e n t r e p r e n e u r s . I n t h e t o w n s all t h e n o n - é l i t e g r o u p s a n d t h i s i n c l u d e d m a n y w h i t e - c o l l a r w a g e - e a r n e r s , s u c h as m i n o r c l e r k s o r t e a c h e r s as w e l l as t h e g r e a t b u l k o f t h e e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l hierarchy - shared m a n y o f the same v e x a t i o n s : price inflation, w r e t c h e d l i v i n g conditions and p o o r public amenities. D e s p i t e the w a g e - e a r n e r s ' e c o n o m i s t i c pursuit o f d e m a n d s against their e m p l o y e r s , w h e r e parallels w i t h the b e h a v i o u r o f E u r o p e a n w o r k e r s w e r e close, a distinctive and enduring 'proletarian' identity w a s s l o w to e m e r g e ; and, outside the industrial situation, m e r g e d in a diffuse p o p u l a r c o n s c i o u s n e s s , o f t h e m a s s o f o r d i n a r y p e o p l e in t h e t o w n s a g a i n s t t h e p o l i t i c a l é l i t e . H e r e , as i n t h e nationalist m o b i l i s a t i o n against c o l o n i a l rule in the late 1940s, unionised w o r k e r s had a special role to play. U n i o n i s e d w o r k e r s w e r e the m o s t organised s e g m e n t o f a w o r k - f o r c e t h a t , d e s p i t e t h e h o m o g e n e i t y o f its b a s i c c i r c u m ­ s t a n c e s , w a s still v e r y f r a g m e n t e d . T o t h e p r e v a i l i n g c u l t u r e o f individualised, clientelist class-relations, they b r o u g h t f r o m their particular w o r k situation a conception o f confrontation together w i t h t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s t o e x p r e s s it. M o r e o v e r , b e c a u s e t h e g o v e r n ­ m e n t w a s the principal e m p l o y e r and m a n y o f the m o s t firmly established unions represented public-sector w o r k e r s (railway, post and telegraph o r electricity w o r k e r s , teachers, l o w e r salaried staffs), t h e p u r s u i t o f m e m b e r s ' n a r r o w e r o c c u p a t i o n a l d e m a n d s 1

Cf. M a r g a r e t Peil, ' A s p i r a t i o n s and social structure: a W e s t African e x a m p l e ' , Africa, 1968, 38, 7 1 8 .

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against an e m p l o y e r c o u l d w e l l b r o a d e n into a c h a l l e n g e to the g o v e r n m e n t and b e c o m e a vehicle for expressing the g r i e v a n c e s o f the larger mass o f the non-unionised urban p o p u l a t i o n against t h e i r r u l e r s . T h i s w a s first e v i d e n t i n late c o l o n i a l A f r i c a , w h e r e t h e e m p l o y e r s , w h e t h e r i n t h e p r i v a t e o r p u b l i c s e c t o r w e r e , in a d d i t i o n , i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l p o w e r . I n t h e late 1940s a n d e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s t h e s e v e r a l d e m a n d s o f w o r k e r s i n u n i o n s , a n d o f c a s h - c r o p f a r m e r s a n d e n t r e p r e n e u r s , all ran p a r a l l e l in t h e n a t i o n a l i s t m o v e m e n t . I n s o m e c a s e s , s u c h as G u i n e a , t h e u n i o n s w e r e the p r i n c i p a l n a t i o n a l i s t b a s e , o r , as i n K e n y a , a v e r y m a j o r c o m p o n e n t ; in o t h e r s , s u c h as N i g e r i a , w h e r e u n i o n s w e r e f r a g m e n t e d in d i v e r s e w a y s , n o clear relationship d e v e l o p e d b e y o n d a g e n e r a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o n a t i o n a l i s t a w a r e n e s s ; in o t h e r s a g a i n , s u c h as G h a n a o r Z a m b i a , a n e a r l i e r c l o s e l i n k b e t w e e n t h e u n i o n s and the nationalist party b e c a m e attenuated, as, w i t h the a p p r o a c h o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , an i n d i g e n o u s é l i t e b e g a n t o t a k e h o l d o f t h e r e i n s o f state a n d its c o n c e r n s d i v e r g e d f r o m t h o s e o f t h e unionised w o r k e r s . After independence, the a m b i g u o u s place o f u n i o n s a n d t h e i r m e m b e r s in t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e — w h i c h nationalism seemed for a while to have resolved - tended to r e - e m e r g e . T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e 1 9 6 4 g e n e r a l s t r i k e in Nigeria, for example, w e r e m a r k e d l y like those o f 1945. W o r k e r s , and especially those in k e y o r strategic sectors, like m i n e r s o r p o r t and electricity w o r k e r s , did h a v e s o m e p o w e r to p u s h their o w n p a r t i c u l a r d e m a n d s , at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s o w n intentions, w h e t h e r these stressed the p r i v i l e g e s o f the élite o r a m o r e w i d e l y redistributive p r o g r a m m e . In s o m e countries, such as Benin - t h e f o r m e r D a h o m e y - w h e r e t h e y c o n t r o l l e d t h e c o m m e r c i a l centre o f C o t o n o u , the unions played an effective role in n a t i o n a l p o w e r p o l i t i c s . B u t u n i o n l e a d e r s , t h a t is t h e l e a d e r s o f national labour congresses rather than local shop-floor militants, c o u l d b e c o o p t e d b y the political élite and the u n i o n s used m o r e as i n s t r u m e n t s o f c o n t r o l b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t , e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e , as in T a n z a n i a , o n l y o n e c e n t r a l l y o r g a n i s e d u n i o n w a s p e r m i t t e d ; and this frequently led to the disaffection o f o r d i n a r y m e m b e r s from u n i o n leaders. W h a t e v e r e c o n o m i c advantages unions m i g h t s e c u r e f o r t h e i r m e m b e r s , t h e y d i d n o t g o n e a r l y far e n o u g h f o r the mass o f w a g e - e a r n e r s to be c o - o p t e d to the élite; and w o r k e r s ' organisations, if they were permitted reasonable freedom o f action, w e r e likely to conjoin the pursuit o f their m e m b e r s ' particular d e m a n d s w i t h the intermittent critique o f g o v e r n m e n t 176 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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p o l i c i e s in t h e n a m e o f t h e ' c o m m o n m a n \ T h e i r s t a n c e w a s m o r e a reaction to the e v o l u t i o n o f urban c o n d i t i o n s than the active presentation o f a lower-class alternative to prevailing regimes. A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s w e r e still t o o u n d e v e l o p e d , t h e w a g e - l a b o u r f o r c e s t o o s m a l l in m o s t c a s e s , f o r t h i s t o b e p o s s i b l e . C o n v e r s e l y , as t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s at S o w e t o a n d e l s e w h e r e in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s suggested, S o u t h Africa remained the o n e c o u n t r y w h e r e , o w i n g t o its o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e a n d t h e v i r t u a l e x c l u s i o n o f A f r i c a n s from the ranks o f capitalists, a social r e v o l u t i o n based o n the mass o f w a g e - e a r n e r s w a s at all l i k e l y . H e r e , u n l i k e t h e c o u n t r i e s t o t h e north, mass African nationalism had n o choice but to be, w h a t e v e r its l e a d e r s h i p , o v e r w h e l m i n g l y a m o v e m e n t r o o t e d a m o n g u r b a n wage-earners. The bureaucratic hierarchy T h e b u r e a u c r a c y d i d n o t f o r m a c l a s s o r a n o c c u p a t i o n as s u c h , b u t an a v e n u e o f a s c e n t , p a r a l l e l t o t h a t o f t r a d e , b u t n o w g r e a t l y o v e r s h a d o w i n g it. T h e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m w a s c r u c i a l h e r e , f o r t w o r e a s o n s . F i r s t , b e c a u s e t h e c o l o n i a l state, w h o s e e x p a t r i a t e officials h a d n o i n d e p e n d e n t s t a n d i n g w i t h i n l o c a l s o c i e t y , p r e ­ ceded and d o m i n a t e d the e m e r g e n t national society, the ability to a s s u m e b u r e a u c r a t i c office, a n d h e n c e e d u c a t i o n , w a s c r u c i a l f o r A f r i c a n s t o a t t a i n p o w e r . S e c o n d l y , in t h e a b s e n c e o f f o r m e d national social classes or status g r o u p s that w e r e in a p o s i t i o n t o m o n o p o l i s e it, m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n w a s f o r i n d i v i d u a l s , o v e r a generation o r m o r e , the g a t e w a y to social p o w e r rather than the fruit o f it. T h e f e w c a s e s w h e r e e d u c a t i o n w a s p r o v i d e d f o r r e c r u i t s s e l e c t e d o n o t h e r p r i n c i p l e s , s u c h as m e m b e r s h i p o f a t r a d i t i o n a l r u l i n g e s t a t e , as i n N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a , o n l y s e r v e t o u n d e r l i n e this g e n e r a l r u l e f o r t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d . E x c e p t for those, m o s t l y Islamic, areas w h e r e c o l o n i a l g o v e r n ­ m e n t s d e l i b e r a t e l y set o u t t o p r o v i d e s o m e s e c u l a r e d u c a t i o n , western education w a s for l o n g o v e r w h e l m i n g l y linked w i t h the missions. A t the b e g i n n i n g , the incidence o f education a m o n g A f r i c a n s w a s l a r g e l y a n effect o f t h e v a g a r i e s o f m i s s i o n a r y presence and success — hence the early a d v a n c e m e n t o f s o m e coastal peoples like the Fante o r those m o s t receptive to the G o s p e l , like the T o n g a o f M a l a w i o r the G a n d a . E d u c a t e d A f r i c a n s in t h e late n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y o c c u p i e d a d i s t i n c t n i c h e , as p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c g o - b e t w e e n s , b u t e d u c a t i o n d i d n o t confer a general social p o w e r . Indeed, for a generation f r o m the l

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1890s, e d u c a t e d A f r i c a n s , e s p e c i a l l y i n W e s t A f r i c a a n d in A n g o l a , suffered a s e t b a c k , s e e i n g t h e m s e l v e s d i s p l a c e d e i t h e r b y E u r o p e a n officials o r b y i n d i g e n o u s r u l e r s . A g e n e r a l a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e v a l u e o f e d u c a t i o n , at least a m o n g t h e y o u n g , a n d a c o n s e q u e n t a t t r a c t i o n t o t h e c h u r c h e s t h a t p r o v i d e d it, b e g a n t o d e v e l o p w i t h the penetration o f the c o l o n i a l administration and the c o m m e r c i a l e c o n o m y . T h e r e a f t e r , a n d m o s t p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e 1920s w h e n both Britain and France p r o d u c e d key statements on c o l o n i a l e d u c a t i o n p o l i c y , it d e v e l o p e d a m o n g t h e w e a l t h i e r cash-cropping peoples. E d u c a t i o n w a s needed to p r o v i d e b o t h g o v e r n m e n t and the c o m m e r c i a l c o m p a n i e s w i t h clerks, so mission s c h o o l s , b e i n g the most ready means to p r o d u c e them, were therefore subsidised by the c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s and g r e a t l y e x p a n d e d . In the s t r a t u m o f educated y o u n g m e n , c o n s c i o u s bearers o f n e w values, the social impact o f teachers w a s especially i m p o r t a n t , since they w e r e m o s t w i d e l y spread a m o n g the rural population. T h e y tended to be a m o n g s t the m o s t p o o r l y remunerated o f their stratum but, since teacher-training w a s the m o s t c o m m o n f o r m o f post-primary education, their profession w a s often a g a t e w a y to the m o r e l u c r a t i v e p o s t s in g o v e r n m e n t o r c o m m e r c i a l s e r v i c e . T h e i r discontent w a s c o m p o u n d e d b y their e x c l u s i o n , until the 1940s, f r o m the local political structure, e x c e p t in informal capacities, and there was often a divide, b o t h cultural and generational, b e t w e e n the ' o l d é l i t e ' , represented by chiefs w h o held local political authority, and the alternative status-hierarchy o f the educated y o u n g . I n F r e n c h c o l o n i e s at t h i s t i m e , t h e e d u c a t e d t e n d e d t o b e f e w e r a n d t h e y w e r e e n c o u r a g e d m u c h m o r e t h a n in t h e B r i t i s h colonies to identify t h e m s e l v e s w i t h the colonial administrative hierarchy, from w h i c h they w e r e not entirely excluded and w h i c h reached m u c h further d o w n , often displacing local chiefs f r o m l e v e l s at w h i c h t h e y w e r e a c t i v e i n , s a y , N i g e r i a . I n t h e B e l g i a n C o n g o t h e évolués w e r e c o n t a i n e d f o r m u c h l o n g e r , u n t i l t h e mid-1950s, w h e n their n u m b e r s b e g a n to m o u n t rapidly. T h e Second W o r l d W a r created a m u c h tighter vertical integration o f the c o l o n i a l societies : a h i g h e r level o f i n t e r c h a n g e b e t w e e n l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t h e state a n d , in c o n s e q u e n c e , a greater rivalry b e t w e e n t h e m for access to the resources o f the state. T h i s m e a n t b o t h t h a t l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s c a m e t o d e p e n d o n their e d u c a t e d sons, rather than o n their m o r e locally oriented 178

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c h i e f s , as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s b e f o r e t h e w i d e r e n v i r o n m e n t o f t h e c o l o n i a l state ; a n d t h a t t h e e d u c a t e d c a m e t o d e m a n d a l a r g e r p l a c e in t h e c o n t r o l o f t h a t state. T h u s it w a s t h a t t h e l o c a l rise o f t h e e d u c a t e d l e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e i r a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e k e y r o l e in t h e m o v e m e n t for national independence. Since nationalism e v e r y ­ w h e r e c o m p r i s e d a coalition o f particular e m e r g e n t class interests, the e x a c t p l a c e w i t h i n it o f t h e e d u c a t e d v a r i e d c o n s i d e r a b l y . It w a s n o t u s u a l l y as c l e a r - c u t as in T a n z a n i a , w h e r e T A N U g r e w from the T a n g a n y i k a African A s s o c i a t i o n , consisting o f clerks and teachers, or Z a i r e , w h e r e the parties g r e w f r o m associations o f évolués. I n t h e G o l d C o a s t , o l d e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s , e s p e c i a l l y l a w y e r s , joined w i t h chiefs ( m a n y o f w h o m w e r e e d u c a t e d ) in the U n i t e d G o l d C o a s t C o n v e n t i o n , w h i l e a y o u n g e r a n d g e n e r a l l y less w e l l - e d u c a t e d g r o u p f o r m e d the c o r e o f a m o r e p o p u l i s t party in t h e C o n v e n t i o n P e o p l e s P a r t y ; t e a c h e r s a n d e x - t e a c h e r s d o m i ­ n a t e d the N i g e r i a n A c t i o n G r o u p , a n d s o o n . T h e e d u c a t e d m a d e a d e c i s i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o n a t i o n a l i s m in their articulation o f a p r o g r a m m e ; a n d t h e y w e r e a l s o its m o s t d e f i n i t e b e n e f i c i a r i e s , i n that, w h a t e v e r the g e n e r a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t for peasants, traders or w o r k e r s , they w o u l d inherit the h i g h e r political and administrative posts vacated b y expatriates and c o u l d create m o r e posts o f the same kind. T h e Africanisation o f the bureaucracy w a s thus a foremost c o m p o n e n t o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n as w e l l as n a t i o n a l i s t a d v a n c e ; a n d s i n c e it m e a n t t h e a s s u m p t i o n b y A f r i c a n s o f t h e h i g h e s t p o s t s , f o r m e r l y o c c u p i e d o n l y b y E u r o p e a n s , it r e q u i r e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s e c o n d a r y a n d t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n . N e w u n i v e r s i t i e s w e r e set u p in E a s t a n d W e s t A f r i c a s h o r t l y after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , a n d secondary-school expansion o c c u r r e d steadily t h r o u g h the post­ w a r period. E v e n so, the process w a s v e r y u n e v e n , the lead b e i n g taken by those parts o f the E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g countries o f W e s t A f r i c a w h i c h , in a d d i t i o n t o b e i n g w e a l t h i e r , h a d t h e l o n g e s t t r a d i t i o n s o f s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n . S o w h i l e T a n z a n i a , o n its i n d e p e n d e n c e , h a d less t h a n 100 g r a d u a t e s , N i g e r i a at t h e s a m e time must have had several thousands, t h o u g h these w e r e most unevenly distributed w i t h i n the country, and G h a n a , relative to its p o p u l a t i o n , c o u n t e d e v e n m o r e . T h e p r o c e s s o f A f r i c a n i s a t i o n b e g a n late a n d w e n t v e r y fast. I n t h e s i x y e a r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f N i g e r i a n s i n t h e i r c o u n t r y ' s officer c o r p s r o s e f r o m 18 p e r c e n t t o n e a r l y 100 p e r c e n t . W i t h f e w x

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T a b l e 4.4. Educational expansion in selected African countries, c. 19 jo to c. 1970; percentage of age-cohort enrolled in education institutions at appropriate level.

Primary, 6—11

Egypt Algeria Senegal Ghana Nigeria Kenya Tanzania Zaire

Secondary, 12-18

1950

i960

1970

1950

26

40 28

69

7 5

21 8

I

4

I

9 4

I

3 3 4 2

I

3

9

7 *9 16 26 10 33

17 40

75 43 61

37

34

I

49

64 35 88

2

l

9

43

i960

1970 33 11 10

9 3

Tertiary, 19-24 1950

i960

1970

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

4.86

7.92 1.70 1.46

n/a 0.50 0.24

n/a n/a n/a n/a

0.83 0.30 0.79 0.17 0.65

UNESCO, Statistical Yearbooks, 1963, 1964, 1975. Thefiguresare subject to numerous notes and reservations expressed in this source.

Source:

e x c e p t i o n s in F r e n c h Africa, A f r i c a n s o n l y rose t o b e ministers o r t o p c i v i l s e r v a n t s i n t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s o r e v e n later. R e g u l a r s e n i o r technical and professional posts w e r e Africanised m o r e slowly, a n d E u r o p e a n s c o n t i n u e d t o b e e n g a g e d o n a c o n t r a c t b a s i s as t h e demand for such posts expanded. A s Africans came in, they took o v e r e x i s t i n g salary levels, as w e l l as a l l o w a n c e s a n d perquisites, and thus vastly o u t s t r i p p e d their non-elite c o m p a t r i o t s in i n c o m e levels. A consequence o f these signal rewards w a s that the general d e m a n d f o r e d u c a t i o n w a s g r e a t l y increased. T h e richest areas G h a n a and N i g e r i a ' s W e s t e r n R e g i o n — used their c o c o a r e v e n u e s t o p r o v i d e free p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n f o r a l l a n d t h i s m a j o r s o c i a l policy fuelled further d e m a n d for secondary education since the numbers o f primary leavers soon outstripped the supply o f jobs. C o u n t r i e s l i k e K e n y a , w i t h its H a r a m b e e s c h o o l s o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s f o l l o w e d fast b e h i n d t h e l e a d e r s ; a n d e v e n T a n z a n i a , d e s p i t e t h e d e l i b e r a t e a t t e m p t t o r e d u c e t h e financial p r i v i l e g e s o f g o v e r n m e n t office after t h e A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n i n 1 9 6 7 , s h o w e d s o m e t h i n g o f t h e s a m e i n f l a t i o n a r y t r e n d (cf. t a b l e 4.4). A t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e pressure for jobs from the m o d e s t l y educated tended to lead, in m o s t countries, t o sharp increases in the n u m b e r o f g o v e r n m e n t p e r s o n n e l i n t h e y e a r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e s o c i a l p r e - e m i n e n c e o f t h o s e at t h e a p e x o f t h i s h i e r a r c h y 180

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had t w o c o m p l e m e n t a r y aspects: political, t h r o u g h the h o l d i n g o f g o v e r n m e n t a l p o w e r , a n d c u l t u r a l , t h r o u g h t h e i r ' m o d e r n i t y '. O f c o u r s e there w e r e v a r i a t i o n s , in time and place, in the precise c o m p o s i t i o n o f the élite. T h e civilian r e g i m e s w h i c h a s s u m e d p o w e r at i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e p e r h a p s m o r e h e t e r o g e n e o u s i n m e m b e r s h i p t h a n t h o s e w h i c h d e v e l o p e d l a t e r , i n c l u d i n g , as t h e y did, party-bosses or c o m m u n a l c h a m p i o n s w h o rose t h r o u g h trade, a u g m e n t e d b y political influence, rather than t h r o u g h the bureaucracy. In some countries religious leaders, like the heads o f M u s l i m b r o t h e r h o o d s , o r t r a d i t i o n a l r u l e r s o f little w e s t e r n education, m i g h t be o f national importance, t h o u g h the general stance o f the nationalist élites w a s against t h e m - chieftaincy a b o l i s h e d in G u i n e a a n d T a n z a n i a , t h e U g a n d a n k i n g d o m s d i s s o l v e d ; t h e g o v e r n m e n t in Z a m b i a m o v i n g a g a i n s t b o t h p r o m i n e n t chiefs and religious leaders. B u t political leaders w e r e o v e r w h e l m i n g l y men o f some education, usually former clerks or teachers; and senior civil servants w e r e m o r e so. T h o u g h the élites at i n d e p e n d e n c e t h u s h a d t h e s e s e v e r a l p o i n t s o f e n t r y , t h e y b e c a m e m o r e h o m o g e n e o u s t h e r e a f t e r a n d t h e i r s p e c i f i c a l l y bureau­ cratic c o m p o n e n t s t r o n g e r . I n d e p e n d e n t t r a d e r s w h o c a m e t o t h e p o l i t i c a l élite t h r o u g h p a r t y p o l i t i c s t e n d e d t o b e e c l i p s e d b y bureaucrats w h o branched into trade o r property o r b y the African managers o f expatriate enterprises, m e n m o r e like bureau­ crats than traders. T h e m o s t s t r i k i n g n e w p r e s e n c e w a s that o f the military, but soldiers w e r e bureaucrats o f a kind, and, u n d e r the g l o s s o f the military ethos, shared the predilections o f the educated generally. Military regimes either c o - o p t e d academics, l a w y e r s a n d c i v i l s e r v a n t s o n t o d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g b o d i e s as i n N i g e r i a o r , as w a s m o r e t h e c a s e i n G h a n a , t e n d e d t o a p p r o p r i a t e administrative functions t h e m s e l v e s , thereby e x c i t i n g inter­ professional enmity. T h e r e w a s thus a general tendency for different s e c t i o n s o f t h e é l i t e t o m o v e i n t o e a c h o t h e r ' s s p h e r e s and to a d o p t c o m m o n attitudes and life-styles. T h e t o u c h s t o n e w a s c o n t r o l o f t h e r e s o u r c e s o f t h e state, t h r o u g h p o l i t i c a l office o r e m p l o y m e n t in p u b l i c i n s t i t u t i o n s . E d u c a t i o n p r o v i d e d t h e p r i n c i p a l m o d e o f a c c e s s a n d , t h o u g h t a k e n as a b a d g e o f e l i g i b i l i t y , w a s i t s e l f v a l i d a t e d b y t h e fruits w h i c h it c o n f e r r e d . A l t h o u g h t h o s e at t h e t o p o f t h e b u r e a u c r a t i c h i e r a r c h y w e r e s o d i s t a n c e d f r o m t h e rest o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , t h e r e still r e m a i n e d , as t h e w i d e s p r e a d d e s i g n a t i o n ' é l i t e ' i m p l i e s , a m a r k e d r e l u c t a n c e 181

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t o s e e t h e m as f o r m i n g a d o m i n a n t s o c i a l c l a s s , t h a t is as a s t r a t u m w h o s e attributes necessarily create an antagonistic relationship w i t h l o w e r strata. R a t h e r , t h e i r d i s t i n c t i v e a t t r i b u t e s w e r e c o n ­ c e i v e d as b e i n g e s s e n t i a l l y c u l t u r a l , a n d t h i s e n a b l e d t h e m t o b e at once b o t h an example o f w h a t the non-élite m i g h t b e c o m e and l e a d e r s o f t h e w h o l e s o c i e t y in its a t t e m p t t o a c h i e v e a b e t t e r life. T h e intense pride s h o w n b y m e m b e r s o f the élite in the a p ­ p u r t e n a n c e s o f t h e i r s t a t u s is a t o k e n t h a t , far f r o m b e i n g m e m b e r s o f an u p p e r class w i t h s o m e g e n e a l o g i c a l d e p t h a n d an established c l a s s c u l t u r e , t h e y w e r e still, as m a n y p o l i t i c i a n s ' a u t o b i o g r a p h i e s d e t a i l , s o c i a l l y n o t far r e m o v e d f r o m t h e r u r a l a n d u r b a n p o o r . W h i l e they w e r e not usually the children o f subsistence farmers, still less o f u n s k i l l e d l a b o u r e r s , b u t r a t h e r o f c l e r k s , c a t e c h i s t s , teachers, traders o r c a s h - c r o p farmers, their grandparents w e r e typically p o o r , rural a n d illiterate; a n d g r a n t e d the extent o f African k i n g r o u p s , their w i d e r range o f relations usually c o v e r e d a considerable social spectrum. T h e i r o w n social ascent usually m e a n t n o t j u s t g r e a t p e r s o n a l effort a n d o f t e n p a r e n t a l s a c r i f i c e , but often contributions and support from other m e m b e r s o f the kin g r o u p , to w h o m they w e r e thus obligated. T h e y remained linked t o their o r i g i n s in a variety o f w a y s : b y m a i n t a i n i n g o r ' training ' p o o r e r kinsfolk in their houses a n d b y s e n d i n g m o n e y h o m e ; b y participating in family o r c o m m u n i t y associations; b y c h a m p i o n i n g in urban a n d political arenas the interests o f their regions and communities o f origin ; and by patronising individual co-originaires. T h e r e w e r e , o f c o u r s e , l i m i t s as t o h o w far this redistribution o r c o m m u n a l responsibility w e n t and there w e r e n o d o u b t many individuals w h o defaulted o r performed only a s h a d o w o f w h a t w e r e felt as t h e i r o b l i g a t i o n s ; b u t t o t h e e x t e n t that élite m e m b e r s w e r e thus r e s p o n s i v e t o the d e m a n d s o f their k i n a n d t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s , it w a s n o t j u s t f r o m a p e r s o n a l r e s i d u e o f traditional n o r m s b u t because this base o f s u p p o r t c o n t i n u e d to b e o f value t o them. O n l y thus c o u l d they b e sure o f m a i n t a i n i n g title t o l i n e a g e l a n d ( a n i n t e r e s t w h i c h w a s p e r h a p s c o m i n g t o s e e m o f g r e a t e r m o m e n t i n t h e 1 9 7 0 s t h a n it w a s i n t h e 19 5 o s ) , a n d o n l y t h u s c o u l d t h e y h o p e t o a c h i e v e p o l i t i c a l office in elected r e g i m e s . T h e fact that a m a n w a s a ' l e a d e r o f t h o u g h t ' or a recognised c o m m u n a l leader m i g h t significantly advance his chances e v e n within a bureaucratic hierarchy w h e r e there w a s

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c o n c e r n , in t h e n a m e o f ' n a t i o n a l i n t e g r a t i o n ' , t o b a l a n c e c o m ­ munal representation. Y e t u n d o u b t e d l y there w e r e strong tendencies for these links to b e c o m e attenuated, and for the interests and experiences o f the élite a n d t h e n o n - é l i t e t o d i v e r g e . C r u c i a l t o t h i s w e r e t h e c o m b i n e d effects of, first, a s l o w i n g d o w n in t h e r a t e o f g r o w t h o f élite p o s t s after t h e b o o m c a u s e d b y b e l a t e d c o l o n i a l A f r i c a n i s ation and subsequent administrative expansion and, s e c o n d l y , the elite's a b i l i t y t o e n s u r e t h a t its o f f s p r i n g g o t t h e l i o n ' s s h a r e o f fresh o r v a c a n t élite p o s t s i n f u t u r e . T h e latter d e r i v e d f r o m t h e elite's d o m i n a t i o n o f t h e g a t e w a y t o élite s t a t u s : t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m . It w a s a l r e a d y s h o w n in t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s , n o t o n l y t h a t children o f professional parents had m u c h better chances o f c o m p l e t i n g secondary education than children o f farmers or, e v e n m o r e so, o f unskilled w o r k e r s , but also that the chances o f u p w a r d mobility t h r o u g h education could vary widely. T h e y w e r e , for e x a m p l e , s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o w e r in G h a n a t h a n in n e i g h b o u r i n g I v o r y C o a s t - an effect o f G h a n a ' s t h e n b e i n g m o r e ' d e v e l o p e d ' i n b o t h the size o f its élite a n d in t h e m a t u r i t y o f its s e c o n d a r y - e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m . E d u c a t i o n w a s d e m a n d e d b y t h e n o n - é l i t e as t h e m a i n k e y t o u p w a r d m o b i l i t y a n d its free p r o v i s i o n at p r i m a r y l e v e l , a c h i e v e d in a f e w c o u n t r i e s , s e e m e d t o p r e s e r v e t h e o r i g i n a l e q u a l i t y o f o p p o r t u n i t y . B u t s i n c e p o s t s w e r e l i m i t e d in r e l a t i o n to the n u m b e r s o f p r i m a r y certificate holders, the critical level o f s e l e c t i o n s h i f t e d h i g h e r . It w a s at t h e l e v e l o f s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n t h a t t h e real c o n s t r i c t i o n o f o p p o r t u n i t y o c c u r r e d a n d h e r e t h e élite w a s a b l e t o p r o v i d e t h e c o n d i t i o n s - financial, c u l t u r a l a n d w h a t e v e r else - f o r t h e s c h o l a s t i c s u c c e s s o f its c h i l d r e n . T h e r e are n o r e a s o n s t o s u p p o s e t h a t t h e s e b a s i c m e c h a n i s m s w e r e in a n y w a y affected b y a p a r t i c u l a r c o u n t r y ' s p r o f e s s i o n o f ' s o c i a l i s m ' o r b y s u c h a p o l i c y as t h a t o f T a n z a n i a a t t e m p t i n g t o l i m i t t h e e c o n o m i c r e w a r d s o f its é l i t e . S o in all c o u n t r i e s t h e élite t e n d e d t o a c q u i r e a d i s t i n c t i v e class-culture, shifting from b e i n g an a g g r e g a t e o f individuals f r o m d i v e r s e c o m m u n i t i e s w h o h a d a c q u i r e d e d u c a t i o n a n d office, t o b e i n g a fairly b o u n d e d s o c i a l s t r a t u m . I n c r e a s i n g l y its m e m b e r s , in a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r w e a l t h a n d p o w e r , h a d a d i s t i n c t l i f e - s t y l e , married a m o n g themselves, recruited from within their ranks and consolidated their order b y material and cultural inheritance. A

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n e w social class w a s in f o r m a t i o n . A t t i t u d e s t o this p r o c e s s o f t h o s e o u t s i d e the ranks o f the élite w e r e d e e p l y a m b i v a l e n t . W i t h i n a f e w years o f independence there w a s expressed, particularly a m o n g the youthful urban p o o r , sharp criticism o f the rich and p o w e r f u l a n d o f t h e state p o l i c i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e m ; b u t t h e r e w a s also m u c h acceptance o f hierarchy p r o v i d e d that the superior s h o w e d p a t r o n a g e t o c o m m u n i t y a n d i n d i v i d u a l c l i e n t s . B u t it m a y b e v e r y m i s l e a d i n g t o i n t e r p r e t t h e s e d i v e r g e n t a t t i t u d e s as definite e v i d e n c e o f a trend f r o m a clientelist t o an antagonistic p a t t e r n o f c l a s s r e l a t i o n s . C l a s s a c t i o n (as i n s t r i k e s ) w a s far f r o m b e i n g a f r e s h d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p e r i o d ; it c o u l d co-exist o r alternate w i t h clientelist responses b y the non-élite. T h e system o f regional integration, with a hierarchy o f c o m m u n i t i e s o r regions oriented to i m p r o v e d access to the national centre, entailed the dependence o f communities o n educated-bureaucratic patrons. It w a s thus that the p r i v i l e g e s o f the élite, despite the class a n t a g o n i s m w h i c h they stimulated, w e r e also c o m b i n e d w i t h a pattern o f conflict w h i c h c u t across the axis o f class. S T A T E

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I n a n y s o c i e t y t h e d e s i g n a t i o n g i v e n t o t h o s e w h o h o l d p o w e r is usually symptomatic, b u t in sub-Saharan Africa the sheer variety o f t e r m s u s e d — é l i t e , p o l i t i c a l c l a s s o r classe dirigeante, n a t i o n a l i s t b o u r g e o i s i e o r e v e n petite bourgeoisie o r n e w m i d d l e c l a s s - s u g g e s t t h e u n c e r t a i n t i e s . B u t o f t h e s e t e r m s , ' p o l i t i c a l c l a s s ' is p e r h a p s t h e m o s t h e l p f u l s i n c e it p o i n t s t o t h e fact t h a t s o c i a l p o w e r w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g l y t h e p r o d u c t o f p o l i t i c a l o r state b u r e a u c r a t i c office r a t h e r t h a n o f a n y m a t e r i a l r e s o u r c e h e l d i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f it. C a p i t a l a n d l a n d w e r e t o o e x i g u o u s , u n c o n c e n t r a t e d o r localised - o r else in the hands o f f o r e i g n a g e n t s - for their p o s s e s s o r s t o b e nationally p o w e r f u l b e c a u s e o f t h e m ; o r t h o s e w h o held such resources w i t h i n local arenas w e r e t o o culturally h e t e r o g e n e o u s , t o o m u c h their possessors o n purely local terms, or t o o d e v o i d o f the m o d e r n cultural resources necessary for o p e r a t i o n as a t r u l y n a t i o n a l c l a s s . S o u t h A f r i c a a n d E t h i o p i a , at least until its social r e v o l u t i o n in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , w e r e e x c e p t i o n s , in t h a t t h e y were t h u s c o n t r o l l e d b y s u c h a p r o p e r t y - o w n i n g c l a s s . T h e p o s i t i o n i n A r a b states w a s h i s t o r i c a l l y m o r e a m b i g u o u s . W h i l e , traditionally, there w a s n o private property in land and the 184

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ruling elites w e r e a political class o f external p r o v e n a n c e ( M a m l u k , T u r k , Berber), the nineteenth century did tend t o see the establishment o f a l a n d h o l d i n g aristocracy o f p o w e r f u l fam­ ilies. B u t c o l o n i a l i s m u n d e r m i n e d o r d e s t r o y e d o u t r i g h t t h i s s o c i a l s t r a t u m , a n d s o c i a l d o m i n a n c e t e n d e d t o p a s s t o a n e w classe dirigeante, t h e h o l d e r s o f p o l i t i c a l , m i l i t a r y a n d b u r e a u c r a t i c office, as i n s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a . T h e p o w e r o f the political class d i d n o t just h a v e t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n t h a t n o o t h e r c o h e r e n t s o c i a l c l a s s e s e x i s t e d at t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l . I t i n v o l v e d m o r e t h a n its m e m b e r s ' e d u c a t i o n a n d technical o r administrative skills, important t h o u g h these m i g h t be for the ascent o f individuals; for these only conferred p o w e r because o f the structural importance, e v e n the ' o v e r d e v e l o p ­ m e n t ' , o f t h e state as t h e l i n k b e t w e e n t h e n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y a n d the outside w o r l d . F o r these external c o n n e x i o n s , mediated t h r o u g h t h e . state, w e r e i n d i v e r s e w a y s a p r i m e s o u r c e o f t h e n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y ' s i n t e g r a t i o n - a n d t h a t n o t o n l y , as M a r x i s t ' u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t ' theory implies, for those societies closely i n v o l v e d in trading links w i t h the capitalist w e s t . L o c a l c o m ­ munities d e p e n d e d o n external markets for their cash c r o p s , a n d the state i n t e r v e n e d t o c o n t r o l t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p ; e x t e r n a l a l l i a n c e s , m o r e a v a i l a b l e t o states t h a n t o f o r c e s o f i n s u r r e c t i o n , y i e l d e d t h e means o f c o e r c i v e c o n t r o l w h e n political classes w e r e u n a b l e o t h e r w i s e t o d o m i n a t e their societies. O i l , for a f e w states, w a s a r e s o u r c e w h i c h fell d i r e c t l y t o t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s w i t h n o f u r t h e r i n t e r v e n t i o n in s o c i e t y . T h e s t r u c t u r a l g r o u n d s f o r t h e h e g e m o n y o f t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s w e r e , aufond, t h e s a m e f o r A l g e r i a a n d K e n y a , Liberia and Angola. 1

B u t i n t e r n a l f e a t u r e s o f s o c i e t y d o s e e m t o h a v e h a d s o m e effect o n h o w the political classes influenced the course o f social c h a n g e . F i r s t , a l t h o u g h t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s a s s u c h l a c k e d its o w n c o n s t i t u ­ e n c y i n s o c i e t y , it f o u n d t h e t a s k o f g o v e r n i n g m u c h e a s i e r w h e n 1

T h i s is t h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f C o l i n L e y s , ' T h e " o v e r d e v e l o p e d " p o s t - c o l o n i a l s t a t e : a r e - e v a l u a t i o n ' , Review of African Political Economy, 1976, 5, 39-48, w h o t h u s c o n f r o n t s i n a n i d i o m o f t h e left t h e s a m e s e t o f p r o b l e m s t h a t o t h e r s c h o l a r s d e n o t e b y e x p r e s s i o n s l i k e ' t h e p r i m a c y o f p o l i t i e s ' . S e e t o o J. S. S a u l , ' T h e s t a t e i n p o s t - c o l o n i a l s o c i e t i e s T a n z a n i a ' , The Socialist Register ( L o n d o n , 1974) a n d ' T h e u n s t e a d y s t a t e : U g a n d a , O b o t e a n d G e n e r a l A m i n ' , Review of African Political Economy, 1976, 5, 1 2 - 3 8 . S a u l ' s c o n c e p t o f a ' p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s s t a t e ' c o n f u s e s , s i n c e it i s n e v e r q u i t e c l e a r w h e t h e r t h i s s t a t e is considered ' p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s ' because o f the political class's origins a n d / o r internal c o n n e x i o n s , o r b e c a u s e it is ' p e t t y ' i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e real, o v e r s e a s b o u r g e o i s ( o w n e r s o f m u l t i - n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s e t c . ) i n w h o s e real i n t e r e s t s it is s a i d t o b e g o v e r n i n g .

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it e s t a b l i s h e d a l l i a n c e s w i t h p a r t i c u l a r f o r m e d i n t e r e s t - g r o u p s , s o m e o f w h i c h w e r e m o r e capable o f f o r c i n g their attentions o n t h e state t h a n o t h e r s . T h e s e m i g h t b e e t h n i c g r o u p s , p o s s e s s e d o f s t r a t e g i c r e s o u r c e s s u c h as e d u c a t i o n a l a d v a n c e m e n t , w h i c h i n t u r n w a s l i k e l y t o b e a n effect o f e a r l i e r p r o m i n e n c e i n c a s h c r o p p i n g ; o r o c c u p a t i o n a l o r class categories. A n i n d i g e n o u s b o u r g e o i s i e , f o r e x a m p l e , m i g h t b e closely allied w i t h t h e political c l a s s , as i n N i g e r i a , o r o p p o s e d b y it, as i n T a n z a n i a ; a m a j o r e t h n i c g r o u p , l i k e t h e L u o o f K e n y a , m i g h t at o n e t i m e b e o n g o o d t e r m s w i t h t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s , at a n o t h e r t i m e e s t r a n g e d f r o m it. I t is difficult t o g e n e r a l i s e a c r o s s A f r i c a a b o u t t h e g e n e r a l t e n d e n c y o f these alliances since they arose o u t o f conjunctures that w e r e h i g h l y s p e c i f i c as t o b o t h t i m e a n d p l a c e . B u t s u c h a l l i a n c e s h a d t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r i m p a r t i n g a l o n g - t e r m effect o n t h e p a t t e r n o f s o c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n , as t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s b e c a m e p r o g r e s s i v e l y c o m m i t t e d t o a particular pattern o f ethnic a n d class s u p p o r t , a n d less a n d less a b l e t o t a k e a p u r e l y u n c o m m i t t e d a n d p r a g m a t i c attitude t o possible alliances. S e c o n d l y , t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s m i g h t b e i n c l i n e d , b e c a u s e o f its o w n social c o m p o s i t i o n , t o m o v e in particular directions. T o s u g g e s t t h i s is t o g o b a c k s o m e w h a t o n t h e e a r l i e r p o i n t t h a t o n e e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e o f a political c l a s s is p r e c i s e l y t h a t its c h a r a c t e r d e r i v e s f r o m t h e s t r u c t u r a l p o s i t i o n its m e m b e r s h a v e c o m e t o o c c u p y , rather than f r o m their social o r i g i n s . T h e ' p l a s t i c i t y ' o f élites in sub-Saharan A f r i c a m a y n o d o u b t b e partly attributed t o their h e t e r o g e n e o u s o r i g i n s . B u t the v e r y i n c o n c l u s i v e n e s s o f the debate about E g y p t ' s so-called ' n e w middle class', w h o s e m e m b e r s ' social o r i g i n s clearly lay in t h e ' rural m i d d l e class a n d its u r b a n o f f s h o o t s ' , i n d i c a t e s h o w r e f r a c t e d t h e l i n k s b e t w e e n s o c i a l c l a s s o r i g i n s a n d p o t e n t i a l f o r a c t i o n at t h e l e v e l o f t h e state c o u l d b e . B u t i f the interests generated b y its m e m b e r s ' particular c l a s s o r i g i n w e r e l i k e l y , b e c a u s e l o c a l , t o b e fairly i r r e l e v a n t t o the directions o f the political class's p o l i c y , the cultural values that d e r i v e d f r o m this o r i g i n c o u l d p l a y a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e at t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l . T h u s t h e * petit bourgeois b a c k g r o u n d o f t h e c o r e o f t h e A l g e r i a n p o l i t i c a l c l a s s w a s r e l e v a n t t o s u b s e q u e n t state p o l i c y less b e c a u s e o f t h e d i r e c t o p e r a t i o n o f a 'petit bourgeois c l a s s interest than because that w a s t h e milieu o f t h e religio-social reformist m o v e m e n t inspired b y B e n Badis, w h o s e i d e o l o g y nicely s u s t a i n e d I s l a m i c n a t i o n a l i s m , as w e l l as t h e l e g i t i m a t i o n o f t h e 9

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urban political centre against the h e t e r o d o x y and dissidence o f the hinterlands and the social h e g e m o n y o f m o d e r n i s i n g functionaries. It is p e r h a p s less l i k e l y t h a t s u c h s o c i a l l y s p e c i f i c e x i s t i n g c u l t u r a l traditions s h o u l d b e as distinctly relevant t o the d i r e c t i o n o f a political class's initiatives in B l a c k A f r i c a as in A r a b A f r i c a , w h e r e cultural idioms w e r e m o r e widespread. B u t the insistency o f c u l t u r a l d e b a t e in B l a c k A f r i c a - w h e t h e r i n n o v e l s a n d p l a y s , i n academic historiography o r the pursuits o f Institutes o f African S t u d i e s - c l e a r l y testifies t o t h e s e n s e a m o n g t h e e d u c a t e d e l i t e , f r o m w h i c h t h e p o l i t i c a l c l a s s is l a r g e l y r e c r u i t e d , a n d w i t h w h o m it m o s t n e e d s t o e s t a b l i s h r e l a t i o n s , t h a t c u l t u r e is h i g h l y r e l e v a n t to the question: w h a t kind o f society d o w e w a n t t o create?

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I n this a n a l y s i s o f s o c i a l c h a n g e , o n e c o m m o n l y h e l d v i e w h a s b e e n d e l i b e r a t e l y a v o i d e d : t h a t its e s s e n c e h a s b e e n t h e t r a n s m u t a t i o n of'traditional' societies into ' m o d e r n ' ones t h r o u g h the ever w i d e r adoption o f m o d e r n cultural values, propagated a m o n g their co-nationals b y a m o d e r n i s i n g elite. S o m e t h i n g like this has certainly been an i m p o r t a n t element in the self-representation o f A f r i c a n elites. B u t there are t o o m a n y a m b i g u i t i e s a n d difficulties f o r this a c c o u n t t o b e a d e q u a t e a s a n e x p l a n a t i o n o f s o c i a l actuality. M a n y o f the values alleged t o b e m o d e r n m a y also b e t r a d i t i o n a l a n d ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' b e h a v i o u r m a y p r o c e e d less f r o m traditional values than from rationally p e r c e i v e d a d v a n t a g e s in the c o n t e m p o r a r y situation; the m o s t ' m o d e r n ' m a y retain p o w e r f u l traditional attachments, a n d the ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' m a y s o m e t i m e s b e harnessed f o r ' m o d e r n ' e n d s ; m u c h o f the empirical variation that w e h a v e to describe, for e x a m p l e in national policies r e g a r d i n g development strategy or wealth distribution o r constitutional f o r m , w o u l d s e e m t o fall r i g h t o u t s i d e a n y ' t r a d i t i o n - m o d e r n i t y ' c o n t i n u u m . T h e t h e o r y t e n d s t o lift c u l t u r e f r o m i t s c o n t e x t s a n d 1

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D . E . A p t e r has perhaps b e e n the m o s t influential p r o p o n e n t o f s u c h a p e r s p e c t i v e , b o t h in h i s m o n o g r a p h s o n G h a n a a n d U g a n d a a n d , m o r e g e n e r a l l y , in The politics of modernisation ( C h i c a g o , 1965). S e e , t o o , D . N . L e v i n e , Wax and gold: tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture ( C h i c a g o , 1965), w h i c h p r e s e n t s a s u b t l e d e s c r i p t i v e a c c o u n t , using the ' t r a d i t i o n - m o d e r n i t y ' f r a m e w o r k , o f the personal d i l e m m a s o f social c h a n g e . R . A . L e V i n e , Dreams and deeds: achievement motivation in Nigeria ( C h i c a g o , 1966) seeks stimuli t o m o d e r n i s a t i o n in e l e m e n t s o f traditional cultures, b u t his characterisation o f the ' m o d e r n ' s e e m s u n d u l y l i m i t e d ; cf. c r i t i q u e o f S. R . B a r r e t t , ' M o d e l c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d m o d e r n i s a t i o n in N i g e r i a ' , Sociological Review, 1969, 1 7 , 2 5 1 - 6 6 .

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t r e a t s it as q u i t e a u t o n o m o u s , w h e r e a s in fact t h e a d o p t i o n o f ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' o r ' m o d e r n ' s y m b o l s is m o r e o f t e n a f u n c t i o n o f context, rather than o f individual predispositions. F o r Africa exhibits a hierarchy o f social levels o r contexts, from the local or r e g i o n a l in w h i c h a p a r t i c u l a r t r a d i t i o n a l i d i o m w i l l t e n d t o p r e d o m i n a t e , t o t h e n a t i o n a l w h e r e , as a r u l e , n o s u c h i d i o m w i l l be able t o p r e v a i l and w h e r e , in a d d i t i o n , social f u n c t i o n s w i t h n o local o r traditional a n a l o g u e are p e r f o r m e d . A g e n e r a l increase o f ' m o d e r n i t y ' in c u l t u r e w a s t h u s l a r g e l y a n effect o f t h e g r e a t e r d o m i n a t i o n o f all s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s b y its s o u r c e , t h e n a t i o n a l s p h e r e . Y e t t r a d i t i o n is n o t w h o l l y a b a n d o n e d e v e n b y t h o s e w h o s e l i v e s are m o s t l y p a s s e d i n t h i s s p h e r e , f o r it r e m a i n s a c r u c i a l s o u r c e o f personal identity; and because o f the patterns o f integration w i t h i n t h e n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y , it r e t a i n s i m p o r t a n c e as o n e p r i n c i p a l i d i o m o f v e r t i c a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e élite a n d t h e i r r u r a l dependants. T h e e d u c a t e d é l i t e is m u c h m o r e i n t e n s e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h c u l t u r e - t h a t is w i t h t h e f o r g i n g o f a c o n s i s t e n t c u l t u r a l s y n t h e s i s r e l e v a n t t o all l e v e l s a n d r e g i o n s o f t h e n a t i o n a l s o c i e t y - t h a n t h o s e o r d i n a r y p e o p l e w h o m o v e to and fro b e t w e e n social c o n t e x t s creating their o w n personal balances, w h e t h e r unified o r compartmentalised, b e t w e e n the various cultural options o p e n to t h e m . S o c i e t a l p r o b l e m s w e r e e c h o e d in t h e d i l e m m a s o f t h e i r personal experience. W h a t balance w a s to be struck b e t w e e n local values, those associated w i t h family and c o m m u n i t y o f origin, and the m o r e universal and c o s m o p o l i t a n ones o f formal education, w o r k - p l a c e and the national political arena? H o w w a s the educated African to square those aspects o f ' E u r o p e a n ' culture w h i c h d e p r e c i a t e d A f r i c a a n d l e g i t i m i s e d its s u b o r d i n a t i o n , w i t h t h o s e w h i c h h a d m a d e h i m w h a t h e w a s , as an e d u c a t e d m a n , a n d u n d e r l a y his c l a i m t o l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s w i t h i n h i s o w n e m e r g e n t national society? T h e s e personal and cultural questions became m u c h m o r e political in i m p o r t w h e n the nationalist m o v e m e n t c a m e t o m a t u r i t y i n t h e late 1940s a n d t h e e d u c a t e d b e g a n t o m o v e i n t o p o s i t i o n s o f p o l i t i c a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . Négritude, t h e s o m e w h a t d e l a y e d r e s p o n s e in F r e n c h A f r i c a to s o m e o f these issues, w a s from the b e g i n n i n g a synthesis o f the n a r r o w l y ' c u l t u r a l ' w i t h n a t i o n a l i s t p o l i t i c s . S i n c e t h e c o l o n i a l state w a s n o w t a k e n as g i v e n , the task w a s to define a level o f national culture against b o t h the micro-loyalties o f the tribe and the c o s m o p o l i t a n culture 188

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o f the c o l o n i a l p o w e r s . T h e p o s i t i o n o f the élite w a s intensely e q u i v o c a l ; f o r as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e state, m e d i a t o r s b e t w e e n it a n d t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d , t h e y w e r e s i n c e r e l y c o m m i t t e d t o its i n t e g r i t y , b u t as c o m m u n a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t h e y w e r e a l s o s u s c e p ­ tible to centrifugal o r ' t r i b a l i s t ' attachments. O n e acute cultural p r o b l e m w a s that the s y m b o l s o f A f r i c a n n e s s w h i c h c o u l d be m o s t r e a d i l y set a g a i n s t c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e w e r e a l s o in t h e m a i n i d e n t i f i e d w i t h p a r t i c u l a r e t h n i c s u b - g r o u p s . N o w h e r e is this m o r e e v i d e n t than w i t h that classic s y m b o l o f n a t i o n h o o d , a c o m m o n and d i s t i n g u i s h i n g l a n g u a g e , for in s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a linguistically h o m o g e n e o u s states a n d s u p r a - e t h n i c l a n g u a g e s s u c h as S w a h i l i are s o f e w . Y e t u n d o u b t e d l y t h e d e c a d e s after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r d i d see a definite e n l a r g e m e n t o f t h e c o m m o n c u l t u r a l s t o c k w i t h i n the national societies. L i n g u a francas c o n t i n u e d to e x t e n d their r a n g e . E v e n e t h n i c i t y f o s t e r e d a n d b e t o k e n e d it - d e s p i t e its t e n d e n c y t o h e i g h t e n some c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s as d i a c r i t i c a l e t h n i c s y m b o l s - s i n c e it w a s e s s e n t i a l l y a c o m p e t i t i o n b e t w e e n e t h n i c categories b r o u g h t together under c o m m o n conditions for c o m m o n ends. A n d ethnic g r o u p s learnt f r o m o n e another. T h e great spread o f primary education generalised many concerns and experiences, and the c o n t i n u e d e x p a n s i o n o f the w o r l d religions i n d i c a t e d a p r o g r e s s i v e d e c l i n e in t h e s u f f i c i e n c y o f p r e d o m i n a n t l y l o c a l r e l i g i o u s s y m b o l s . It is s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e m o s t t e n a c i o u s elements o f ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' religion, the m o s t likely to s u r v i v e migration to t o w n s , w e r e those that t o u c h e d a c o m m o n b e d r o c k o f African traditional religions: the individual's c o n c e r n for divinatory and m a g i c o - m e d i c a l assistance. T h e independent churches and n e w religious m o v e m e n t s , w h i c h continued to e x p a n d w e l l after t h e v a r i o u s d i v e r s e c r i s e s t h a t b e g o t t h e m h a d subsided, w e r e h i g h l y s y m p t o m a t i c o f the dual aspect o f general cultural c h a n g e . O n the o n e hand they represented an indigenisation o f missionary religion, a c l o s i n g o f the cultural g a p b e t w e e n t h e o l o g i e s o f élite and external o r i g i n and the r e l i g i o u s c o n c e r n s o f o r d i n a r y p e o p l e , an ecclesiastical forerunner t o the m o v e m e n t a m o n g educationalists for a m o r e truly vernacular c u r r i c u l u m . O n the other, n o d o u b t because they b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r a universal idiom with attention to widespread popular concerns, they s h o w e d a r e m a r k a b l e a b i l i t y t o a t t r a c t m e m b e r s f r o m different ethnic g r o u p s and to spread from one ethnic g r o u p to another. 189

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It is n o a c c i d e n t t h a t t h e 1 9 5 0 s b r o u g h t s u c h a n e f f l o r e s c e n c e o f t h e n o v e l - t h a t c u l t u r a l f o r m w h i c h is s o m u c h ' a b o u t ' m o d e r n social c h a n g e , b o t h a mirror a n d a g u i d e - a n d that the novelists were so d r a w n to themes o f culture contact: I b o b o y meets Y o r u b a girl, o r t h e difficulties o f m e e t i n g t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s o f o n e ' s k i n s f o l k as w e l l as t h o s e o f t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e . S o y i n k a ' s first n o v e l , a b o u t a g r o u p o f intellectuals' responses t o their society and t o their social relations in a n d outside a university, w a s m o s t aptly n a m e d The interpreters. A n d it is p e r h a p s a l s o i n d i c a t i v e o f a real socio-cultural a d v a n c e that b y the 1970s m a n y o f the m o s t serious novelists - Soyinka, A c h e b e , N g u g i - had m o v e d o n to themes less p u r e l y ' c u l t u r a l ' a n d m o r e p o l i t i c a l , less t o d o w i t h t h e relations b e t w e e n Africans a n d ' E u r o p e a n ' culture, and m o r e to d o w i t h those b e t w e e n t h e n e w political class a n d the mass o f the population. 1

' C u l t u r a l r e v i v a l ' , w i t h its e c h o e s o f négritude, b e c a m e a r a l l y i n g c r y i n t h e 1960s a n d 1 9 7 0 s , c u l m i n a t i n g i n t h e S e c o n d W o r l d B l a c k and African Festival o f A r t s and Culture held in L a g o s in 1977. D e s p i t e its o v e r t s t a n c e , t h i s w a s h i g h l y a m b i v a l e n t t o w a r d t h e t r a d i t i o n s it c e l e b r a t e d ; a n d n e c e s s a r i l y s o , s i n c e t h e n a t i o n a l élite w h o s e p r o j e c t it w a s h a d as a c o n d i t i o n o f its o w n e x i s t e n c e t h e p r o g r e s s i v e destruction o f those social contexts that h a d p r o d u c e d it. C o n d u c t e d u n d e r t h e s p o n s o r s h i p o f t h e state, it t e n d e d t o w a r d s t w o m a j o r effects. F i r s t , it d e l o c a l i s e d t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r a l forms, w r e s t i n g t h e m from their p r o p e r contexts o f use, subjecting them to the requirements o f appeal to m u c h wider g r o u p s , turning them into ' folklore ' and g i v i n g t h e m a m o r e national character. Secondly, b y thus appropriating forms w h o s e m o s t authentic b e a r e r s w e r e still m e m b e r s o f s m a l l r u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s a n d e v e n m a k i n g itself necessary t o their s u r v i v a l , t h e élite l e g i t i m i s e d itself in t h e eyes o f those w h o w e r e largely d e p r i v e d o f those ' m o d e r n ' c u l t u r a l a n d p o l i t i c a l r e s o u r c e s w h i c h g a v e a c c e s s t o state p o w e r . C u l t u r e thus assisted a national integration against the incipient d i v i s i o n s o f c l a s s a s w e l l as t h o s e o f e t h n i c i t y . T h e r e remains culture that w a s provenance: the kind o f national

o n e important source o f the emergent national neither universal n o r purely ethnic o r local in ideas o f the nationalist leadership a b o u t w h a t society they wished to have. T h e general form

1

E . g . C . A c h e b e , A man of the people ( L o n d o n , 1966); W . S o y i n k a , Season of anomy ( L o n d o n , 1973); N g u g i w a T h i o n g o , Petals of blood ( L o n d o n , 1977).

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o f t h e ' c u l t u r a l p r o b l e m \ as s k e t c h e d a b o v e , w a s c o m m o n t o m o s t countries o f sub-Saharan A f r i c a ; the origins and constitution o f their elite g r o u p s w e r e b a s i c a l l y s i m i l a r ; t h e y f a c e d t h e s a m e international e n v i r o n m e n t and, w i t h few e x c e p t i o n s , c o n f r o n t e d s i m i l a r o b s t a c l e s t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h t h e y all d e s i r e d . It m a y be asked here w h y the political cultures and d e v e l o p m e n t ideologies o f S e n e g a l and G u i n e a , G h a n a and the I v o r y C o a s t , U g a n d a , K e n y a and T a n z a n i a w e r e so diverse. T h i s diversity c o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n p r e d i c t e d in 1 9 5 0 . A n d it is n o t v e r y e n l i g h t e n i n g in s e e k i n g a n e x p l a n a t i o n m e r e l y t o r e f e r in g e n e r a l t e r m s t o t h e d i v e r s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s in w h i c h p a r t i c u l a r c o u n t r i e s w o n their i n d e p e n d e n c e and the equally diverse political c o n ­ junctures w h i c h d e v e l o p e d since. B u t the v e r y variety o f responses s u g g e s t s that w e m a y h a v e a n o t a b l e case o f the relative a u t o n o m y o f i d e a s b e f o r e w h i c h t h e d e t e r m i n i s m o f s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e falters. W h a t r e m a i n s t o b e s e e n is w h e t h e r this c u l t u r a l a u t o n o m y w i l l be matched b y any l o n g - t e r m cultural influence o n social s t r u c t u r e s ; o r w h e t h e r it w i l l t u r n o u t t o b e fairly e p i p h e n o m e n a l , w h i l e the intransigent w e i g h t o f external c i r c u m s t a n c e s forces A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s a n d p e o p l e s t o a d v a n c e in c o n f o r m i t y t o i t . 1

1

In p r e p a r i n g this c h a p t e r , I r e c e i v e d v a l u a b l e h e l p f r o m P r o f e s s o r E r n e s t G e l l n e r , w h o g a v e a d v i c e o n N o r t h A f r i c a , a n d f r o m D i A . J. P e a c e , w h o c o m m e n t e d o n a n earlier draft.

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5

THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION DEVELOPING AFRICA

OF

T h e t r e a t m e n t o f A f r i c a as a n e c o n o m i c e n t i t y n e e d s t o b e a p p r o a c h e d w i t h c a u t i o n , f o r it is a c o n t i n e n t o f g r e a t n a t u r a l diversity. O v e r and a b o v e this the differing political, social and e c o n o m i c policies i m p o s e d o n the continent b y the colonial p o w e r s left i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a w i t h a p o o r l y i n t e g r a t e d e c o n o m y . Intra-African trade w a s n e g l i g i b l e ; there w a s n o continental transport and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s y s t e m ; and the various indepen­ d e n t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s b e l o n g e d t o different m o n e t a r y z o n e s , e a c h m o n e t a r y area b e i n g l i n k e d w i t h o n e o r the o t h e r o f the f o r m e r m e t r o p o l i t a n p o w e r s . It i s , t h e r e f o r e , m o r e a c c u r a t e t o t a l k a b o u t t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s r a t h e r t h a n o f the A f r i c a n e c o n o m y ; and necessary to trace h o w each has e v o l v e d d u r i n g the p e r i o d o f 35 y e a r s c o v e r e d b y t h i s v o l u m e . S u c h a n a p p r o a c h , h o w e v e r , w o u l d d o less t h a n full j u s t i c e t o t h e e c o n o m i c h i s t o r y o f A f r i c a for in spite o f the differences in the p a t t e r n s o f d e v e l o p m e n t o f the various countries, certain overall themes and features are discernible. It w i l l b e o u r a i m t o h i g h l i g h t these w h i l e e m p h a s i s i n g , as m a y b e a p p r o p r i a t e , t h e u n i q u e n e s s o f e a c h e c o n o m y . S o u t h A f r i c a , b e i n g a d e v e l o p e d e c o n o m y , at l e a s t as far as its d o m i n a n t w h i t e c o m m u n i t y w a s c o n c e r n e d , is n o t considered here except for c o m p a r a t i v e p u r p o s e s ; n o r for that m a t t e r , u n l e s s e x p r e s s l y s t a t e d , is R h o d e s i a , d u e t o l a c k o f d a t a , particularly d u r i n g the period o f the unilateral declaration o f independence. W i t h o u t d o u b t t h i s p e r i o d is o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t i n A f r i c a ' s p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as its e c o n o m i c h i s t o r y . B u t w h i l e b y t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d o n l y in f o u r c o u n t r i e s - the F r e n c h S o m a l i C o a s t (Djibouti), Rhodesia ( Z i m b a b w e ) , South West Africa (Namibia) and S o u t h A f r i c a itself - had political p o w e r n o t yet been trans­ ferred to A f r i c a n s , in the e c o n o m i c sphere, b y c o n t r a s t , the r e a w a k e n i n g p r o c e s s w a s still at t h e s t a g e o f a s s e r t i o n o f r i g h t s

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and o f a re-assessment o f the relevance o f the e c o n o m i c p h i l o s o p h y , strategy and policy inherited from the colonial p o w e r s . B y 1975 n o fundamental c h a n g e h a d taken place in the e c o n o m i e s w h i c h i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a inherited. I n fact, in s o m e areas there h a d b e e n real s e t b a c k s .

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W O R L D W A R

T h e foundations o f the national e c o n o m i e s inherited b y the n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e l a i d d o w n i n t h e first t w o d e c a d e s o f the t w e n t i e t h century a n d elaborated in the s u c c e e d i n g t w o decades b e t w e e n the First W o r l d W a r and the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , w h i c h m a r k s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f o u r p e r i o d . B y 1 9 1 4 , as J. F o r b e s M u n r o h a s p u t it, t h e r e h a d b e e n ' a fairly d r a m a t i c s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f Africa's connections under the international e c o n o m y , and p o s s i b l y t h e final, c o n c l u s i v e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f its e c o n o m i e s into peripheries o f the industrialised capitalist centre o f w o r l d e x c h a n g e ' . V e r y few Africans n o w remained untouched by the demands o f externally oriented production, o r b y a colonial p h i l o s o p h y t h a t s a w t h e c o l o n i e s p r i m a r i l y as a s o u r c e o f r a w m a t e r i a l s f o r t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n e c o n o m i e s a n d as a m a r k e t f o r imported manufactured g o o d s . 1

T a x a t i o n w a s the principal l e v e r that b r o u g h t additional l a b o u r and p r o d u c e o n t o the m a r k e t ; railroads p r o v i d e d a n e w transport infrastructure t h r o u g h w h i c h increased quantities o f i m p o r t e d g o o d s c o u l d b e c h e a p l y shifted into the interior a n d n e w areas o p e n e d for export p r o d u c t i o n . B y 1940 a particular pattern o f d e p e n d e n c y h a d d e v e l o p e d in m o s t c o l o n i e s , a n d in s o m e cases o n a r e g i o n a l b a s i s : at t h e c e n t r e o f t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i c s y s t e m w a s the e x p o r t e n c l a v e ; o n the periphery w e r e those areas that provided migrant labour for the export enclave. V e r y few A f r i c a n s c o u l d n o w c l a i m that they o p e r a t e d in a traditional ' subsistence' e c o n o m y that w a s u n t o u c h e d b y the d e m a n d s o f the i n t e r n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y . F u r t h e r m o r e , as a r e s u l t o f t h e d i f f e r i n g tariffs, c u r r e n c i e s , l e g a l s y s t e m s , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o l i c i e s a n d l a n g u a g e s , as w e l l as t h e d i r e c t i o n o f r a i l w a y e x p a n s i o n , v e r t i c a l links were forged between the metropolitan countries and colonies 1

J. F o r b e s M u n r o , Africa and the international economy 1800-1960 ( L o n d o n , 1976), 86.

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Major vegetation zones. that d i s c o u r a g e d b o t h the c o n t i n u a t i o n o f pre-existing, and the development of new, regional patterns of trade and communication. W i t h i n the export-led e c o n o m y , E u r o p e a n concerns generally controlled the c o m m a n d i n g heights o f c o m m e r c e and p r o d u c t i o n , w i t h t h e L e b a n e s e in W e s t A f r i c a a n d A s i a n s i n E a s t A f r i c a o c c u p y i n g intermediate roles, and A f r i c a n s restricted for the m o s t 194

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p a r t t o t h e least l u c r a t i v e e c o n o m i c l e v e l s . T h i s h i e r a r c h i c a l pattern, h o w e v e r , had important regional variations. In W e s t A f r i c a t h e r e w e r e f e w r a d i c a l a l t e r a t i o n s in an e c o n o m i c s y s t e m that had l o n g - s t a n d i n g external contacts and w h e r e A f r i c a n p a r t i c i p a t i o n in p r o d u c t i o n a n d c o m m e r c e r e m a i n e d v e r y s t r o n g . I n r e g i o n s w h e r e m i n i n g , as in S o u t h A f r i c a , o r E u r o p e a n - d i r e c t e d a g r i c u l t u r e , as in A l g e r i a , K e n y a a n d R h o d e s i a , e x e r t e d a d o m i n a n t i n f l u e n c e , t h e n t h e p r i m a r y A f r i c a n r o l e w a s i n c r e a s i n g l y s e e n as that o f p r o v i d i n g c h e a p l a b o u r . B e t w e e n the e x t r e m e s represented by these paradigms there w a s a variety o f o p p o r t u n i t y for African participation. I n at least t w o i m p o r t a n t r e s p e c t s e c o n o m i c s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y w a s b e i n g e r o d e d . F i r s t , r a i l r o a d e x p a n s i o n m a d e it p o s s i b l e t o distribute cheaply large quantities o f imported g o o d s ; indigenous industries - particularly t h o s e i n v o l v e d in the m a n u f a c t u r e o f i r o n , salt a n d c l o t h — c o l l a p s e d o r w e r e s e v e r e l y r e s t r i c t e d in t h e face o f this i n f l u x . S e c o n d , t h e q u a n t i t y a n d v a r i e t y o f f o o d p r o d u c t i o n w a s a d v e r s e l y affected b y t h e r e - a l l o c a t i o n o f l a n d a n d labour towards export production. This process was more gradual t h a n t h e c o l l a p s e o f l o c a l craft i n d u s t r i e s . I n t h e l o n g t e r m it w a s t o h a v e m a r k e d r e g i o n a l effects o n n u t r i t i o n , s o i l c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d r e s i s t a n c e t o d r o u g h t as w e l l as i n i t i a t i n g a g r o w i n g d e p e n d e n c e on i m p o r t e d foodstuffs. T h e inter-war period, with a few brief exceptions, w a s a time o f i n s t a b i l i t y a n d d e p r e s s i o n in t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y t h a t h a d a p r o f o u n d i n f l u e n c e o n t h e e c o n o m y o f A f r i c a at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f o u r period. B e t w e e n 1929 and 1932 the v a l u e o f A f r i c a ' s c o m m e r c e h a d fallen b y a p p r o x i m a t e l y 42 p e r c e n t a n d o n l y r e c o v e r e d s l o w l y o v e r t h e n e x t e i g h t y e a r s . I n d e e d b y 1938 m a n y c o u n t r i e s w e r e still at l o w e r l e v e l s o f r e t u r n f r o m t r a d e t h a n t h e y h a d b e e n in 1 9 2 9 . I n m a n y c o l o n i e s g o v e r n m e n t d i r e c t i o n o f t h e e c o n o m y ( p a r t i c u l a r l y in m a r k e t i n g ) i n c r e a s e d e n o r m o u s l y d u r i n g t h e 1 9 3 0 s in o r d e r t o e n s u r e t h a t p r o d u c t i o n w a s m a i n t a i n e d , a n d e v e n increased, in the face o f falling c o m m o d i t y prices and w a g e - r a t e s . S m a l l e r firms a n d t r a d e r s w e r e f o r c e d o u t o f b u s i n e s s w h i l e a restricted n u m b e r o f large mercantile concerns reacted to insecurity by amalgamation, price-fixing and market-sharing thereby establishing a l o n g - t e r m oligopolistic influence o n the c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i e s t h a t w a s t o c o n t i n u e i n m a n y c a s e s l o n g after independence. T h e white-settler communities, notoriously

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inefficient a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c e r s , w e r e s h e l t e r e d f r o m d i s a s t e r b y preferential access to markets, credit, and g o v e r n m e n t services. B y 1940 African peasants and petty traders w e r e h a v i n g to p a y a v e r y h e a v y price - in absolute a n d relative terms - for their colonial subjugation

and incorporation

into the

international

economy.

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E C O N O M Y ,

1940-75 B y 1 9 4 0 , t h e n , t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i e s o f A f r i c a h a d b e c o m e firmly established. T h e colonial pattern o f production, concentrating o n primary products for export and importing most o f the manu­ factured g o o d s required, had b e c o m e the established doctrine. B e c a u s e o f this e x t e r n a l o r i e n t a t i o n , t h e p r e - c o l o n i a l A f r i c a n economies were distorted almost b e y o n d recognition. T h e y had lost their a u t o n o m y , a n d A f r i c a ' s * m a i n function w a s t o p r o d u c e for the w o r l d m a r k e t u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h , because they i m p o v ­ e r i s h e d it, d e p r i v e d [it] o f a n y p r o s p e c t s o f r a d i c a l m o d e r n i s a t i o n . T h i s " t r a d i t i o n a l " society w a s n o t , therefore, in transition t o " m o d e r n i t y " ; as a d e p e n d e n t s o c i e t y it w a s c o m p l e t e , p e r i p h e r a l , a n d h e n c e at a d e a d e n d . ' 1

F o l l o w i n g the lean years o f the depression, the w a r itself b r o u g h t partial relief t o the A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s . A l t h o u g h the demand for Africa's primary products increased substantially, p a r t i c u l a r l y after t h e l o s s o f S o u t h E a s t A s i a t o J a p a n i n 1 9 4 2 , t h e r e w a s n o c o r r e s p o n d i n g u p w a r d shift in p r i c e s b e c a u s e A f r i c a ' s external c o m m e r c e w a s subjected t o a series o f w a r t i m e m a r k e t i n g c o n t r o l s b y t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s . I n d e e d , it w a s n o t u n t i l t h e last t w o y e a r s o f t h e w a r t h a t s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r p r i c e s w e r e paid for African primary produce. T h u s for most o f the w a r years A f r i c a n p r o d u c e r s suffered s u b s t a n t i a l l o s s e s i n t h e i r real i n c o m e s . F o r w h i l e their earnings f r o m their agricultural p r o d u c t s w e r e stabilised, the prices o f i m p o r t e d c o m m o d i t i e s , if they w e r e a v a i l a b l e at a l l , r o s e . A n d i n o r d e r t o s u s t a i n , a n d p o s s i b l y increase, p r o d u c t i o n t o meet w a r t i m e d e m a n d s , colonial admin­ istrations a d o p t e d c o e r c i v e measures. W h a t e v e r tactics w e r e a d o p t e d , t h e n e t e c o n o m i c effect o f t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f t h e c o l o n i a l 1

S a m i r A m i n , ' U n d e r - d e v e l o p m e n t a n d d e p e n d e n c e in B l a c k A f r i c a - o r i g i n s a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y f o r m s ' , Journal of Modern African Studies, 1972, 1 0 , 4, 520.

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p o w e r s in the m a r k e t i n g o f agricultural c o m m o d i t i e s w a s to d e p r i v e African countries o f the o p p o r t u n i t y presented b y the w a r to accelerate the pace o f their d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e years b e t w e e n 1945 a n d 1 9 4 9 s a w n o s u b s t a n t i a l i m p r o v e m e n t f r o m w a r t i m e conditions. T h e r e continued to be trade controls, shortages o f g o o d s and h i g h prices o n imports. T h e post-war expectations o f the A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n w e r e n o t m e t and this resulted in widespread labour, and to a certain extent agrarian, unrest. S o m e o f the agrarian d i s c o n t e n t w a s d i r e c t e d at the o p e r a t i o n s o f the p r o d u c e m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s , direct descendants o f the e c o n o m i c control boards established d u r i n g the w a r . O r i g i n a l l y c o n c e i v e d as i n s t r u m e n t s o f l o n g - t e r m p r i c e s t a b i l i s a t i o n , t h e m o n o p o l y p o s i t i o n o f the b o a r d s w a s used increasingly to extract resources from the agrarian sector w h i c h w e r e then diverted to o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t sectors o r , particularly in this p e r i o d , w h e t h e r expressly or not, to bolster the currency reserves o f the m e t r o ­ politan countries. M a r k e t i n g boards continued to be prime instruments o f g o v e r n m e n t e c o n o m i c control t h r o u g h o u t our period, e v e n t h o u g h their impact o n agricultural p r o d u c t i o n remained controversial. W h a t then w a s the e c o n o m i c situation in A f r i c a b y 1950 - the b e g i n n i n g o f the pre-independence decade - and w h a t c h a n g e s t o o k place d u r i n g that d e c a d e ? B e c a u s e o f the lack o f reliable and c o m p r e h e n s i v e d a t a , it is o f c o u r s e e a s i e r t o p o s e t h a n t o a n s w e r this q u e s t i o n . A n d w h a t e v e r d a t a are a v a i l a b l e , h o w e v e r f r a g ­ m e n t a r y , g e n e r a l l y relate t o i n d i v i d u a l c o u n t r i e s . Q u a n t i t a t i v e d a t a r e l a t i n g t o t h e c o n t i n e n t as a w h o l e w e r e , i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s , unavailable. In fact, for this d e c a d e , indicators o f total e c o n o m i c a c t i v i t y , s u c h as d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t a n d n a t i o n a l i n c o m e , a r e a v a i l a b l e f o r o n l y 21 c o u n t r i e s a n d in s e v e r a l o f t h e s e c o u n t r i e s the data are available for o n e year o n l y . E x t r e m e c a u t i o n , therefore, needs to b e e x e r c i s e d in a t t e m p t i n g t o d r a w v a l i d c o n c l u s i o n s f r o m t h e d a t a , p a r t i c u l a r l y as t h e i r a c c u r a c y v a r i e s considerably from c o u n t r y to country, r a n g i n g f r o m the h i g h l y p r o b a b l e t o the m e r e l y conjectural. B u t in s p i t e o f this l i m i t a t i o n , it is still p o s s i b l e t o i d e n t i f y , e v e n i f o n l y in b r o a d o u t l i n e , t h e m a i n f e a t u r e s o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t i n the e c o n o m i e s o f Africa b e t w e e n 1950 and i960. D e v e l o p m e n t s in A f r i c a s i m p l y e c h o e d d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l i s e d m a r k e t e c o n o m i e s , particularly those o f the colonial p o w e r s . W h e r e a s the J

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immediate p o s t - w a r years saw the c o n t i n u a t i o n o f w a r t i m e r e s t r i c t i o n s in w a r - d e v a s t a t e d E u r o p e a n d l a b o u r a n d a g r a r i a n u n r e s t in an e x p e c t a n t , d e m o b i l i s i n g A f r i c a , w i t h t h e p r o g r e s s i v e r e m o v a l o f w a r t i m e c o n t r o l s after 1948 a n d t h e r e s u r g e n c e in t h e international e c o n o m y , the w o r l d d e m a n d for A f r i c a n p r o d u c e expanded very rapidly. T h e reconstruction and re-equipment o f the w e s t e r n industrial e c o n o m i e s t h r o u g h M a r s h a l l A i d and the s u b s e q u e n t g r a d u a l r e m o v a l o f all f o r m s o f r e s t r i c t i o n a n d c o n t r o l , a n d t h e g r o w t h in real i n c o m e s in t h e s e c o u n t r i e s , l e d i n e v i t a b l y t o a c o m m o d i t i e s b o o m in A f r i c a , p a r t i c u l a r l y in A f r i c a s o u t h o f the Sahara. T h i s b o o m w a s intensified b y the o u t b r e a k o f t h e K o r e a n w a r in 1 9 5 0 w h e n t h e i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s s t o c k p i l e d c o m m o d i t i e s . A l l t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s r e s u l t e d in t h e p r i c e s f o r A f r i c a ' s p r o d u c e r i s i n g t o u n p r e c e d e n t e d h e i g h t s . F o r t h e first time since the First W o r l d W a r , the barter terms o f trade m o v e d s t r o n g l y in f a v o u r o f t h e A f r i c a e c o n o m i e s . T h i s b o o m had a considerable i m p a c t o n the p r o d u c t i o n o f e x p o r t c o m m o d i t i e s in A f r i c a , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e a n n u a l c r o p s . T h u s in W e s t A f r i c a , g r o u n d n u t p r o d u c t i o n d o u b l e d b e t w e e n 1 9 4 7 a n d 1 9 5 7 ; c o t t o n p r o d u c t i o n m o r e t h a n t r e b l e d ; coffee i n c r e a s e d b y o n e - a n d - a - h a l f t i m e s ; a n d c o c o a , w h i c h t a k e s b e t w e e n five a n d s e v e n y e a r s after p l a n t i n g t o y i e l d , i n c r e a s e d b y 24 p e r c e n t d u r i n g t h i s t e n - y e a r p e r i o d . T e a p r o d u c t i o n d o u b l e d in s o u t h e r n A f r i c a , w h i l e s u g a r p r o d u c t i o n i n c r e a s e d b y 8 9 . 7 4 a n d 42 p e r c e n t in s o u t h e r n a n d e a s t e r n a n d c e n t r a l A f r i c a r e s p e c t i v e l y . C o t t o n e n j o y e d c o m p a r a b l e i n c r e a s e s in t h e t h r e e s u b - r e g i o n s w h i l e coffee p r o d u c t i o n i n c r e a s e d b y 1 6 6 p e r c e n t in E a s t A f r i c a a n d b y 83 p e r c e n t in C e n t r a l A f r i c a . In t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f m i n e r a l s , s i m i l a r s p e c t a c u l a r i n c r e a s e s w e r e a c h i e v e d , as t a b l e 5.1 c l e a r l y s h o w s . I n 1 9 3 8 , A f r i c a a c c o u n t e d f o r 97 p e r c e n t o f t h e w o r l d o u t p u t o f d i a m o n d s ; 95 p e r c e n t o f c o b a l t ; 46 p e r c e n t o f g o l d ; 40 p e r c e n t o f c h r o m e ; 35 p e r c e n t o f m a n g a n e s e ; a n d 21 p e r c e n t o f c o p p e r . I n o t h e r m i n e r a l s , t h e p o s i t i o n o f A f r i c a w a s less p r o n o u n c e d - 12 p e r c e n t o f t o t a l tin p r o d u c t i o n ; 6 p e r c e n t o f i r o n o r e ; a n d 2 p e r c e n t o f a n t h r a c i t e a n d b i t u m i n o u s c o a l . B y 1 9 5 0 A f r i c a a c c o u n t e d f o r 52 p e r c e n t o f w o r l d o u t p u t o f c h r o m i t e a n d m a n g a n e s e ; 22 p e r c e n t o f c o p p e r ; 56 p e r c e n t o f g o l d a n d 13 p e r c e n t o f tin c o n c e n t r a t e s . A l t h o u g h the o u t p u t o f d i a m o n d s , r o c k p h o s p h a t e s , cobalt, silver a n d a s b e s t o s e x p a n d e d in a b s o l u t e t e r m s , t h e A f r i c a n s h a r e i n t h e 198

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T a b l e 5 . 1 . Indices of output of principal minerals (1948-jo, average = 100).

Level of production Mineral production Copper Manganese Iron ore Lead Zinc Tin Bauxite Chromite Cobalt Asbestos Calcium phosphate Gold Source: United Nations

1937-8

1955-7

average

average M5 136

1

9 68 96

188

56

213

31

224

9

112

1

404 54

145 196

55 2

164

9

7*

167

132

120

economic survey of Africa

since 19jo,

table

2-1.

w o r l d p r o d u c t i o n o f these minerals declined d u r i n g the prei n d e p e n d e n c e d e c a d e o f the 1950s. A f r i c a ' s share in w o r l d o u t p u t increased in respect o f c o p p e r , g o l d , tin concentrates, tungsten and z i n c , a n d it r e m a i n e d c o n s t a n t in t h e c a s e o f i r o n o r e , d i a m o n d s , and lead. T h u s in the 1950s m o s t A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s w e r e able t o attain h i g h rates o f e c o n o m i c e x p a n s i o n , p r o p e l l e d as t h e y w e r e b y t h e c o m m o d i t i e s b o o m o f the p o s t - w a r period. T h e r e w e r e also i n f l o w s o f p r i v a t e c a p i t a l . T a b l e 5.2 s h o w s t h e c h a n g e s b e t w e e n 1950 a n d 1957 in g r o s s national p r o d u c t s a n d g r o s s capital f o r m a t i o n in A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , s e l e c t e d f r o m t h e v a r i o u s s u b r e g i o n s o f the c o n t i n e n t that e n j o y e d an a v e r a g e g r o w t h rate o f 7.74 per cent per a n n u m d u r i n g the eight-year period c o v e r e d . T h e i r g r o s s capital f o r m a t i o n a v e r a g e d 10.41 p e r cent p e r a n n u m during the same period. A s w e h a v e already pointed o u t , a l t h o u g h c o m p r e h e n s i v e national i n c o m e data are n o t available for m o s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s f o r this p e r i o d , t h e g e n e r a l p i c t u r e is r e a s o n a b l y c l e a r : g r o s s n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t g r e w o n t h e w h o l e at t h e rate o f a b o u t 5 - 7 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m i n real t e r m s . But the colonial structure o f the African e c o n o m i e s remained 199

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Table 5.2. Selected African countries; percentage changes in gross national product and gross capital formation, 19 jo—7.

Gross national product

Country

Period

Belgian Congo Morocco Nigeria Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Federation of) Union of South Africa Gold Coast Mauritius Kenya Tanganyika^ Uganda Uganda Egypt (UAR)

1950-7 1951-6 1950-6 1950-7 1950-7 1950-7 1950-7 1950-7

0

1954-7 1950-7 1950—6 1950-6

b

Total increase 78.7 49-5 39.8 138.5 84.5 48.6 57.6 107.4 16.9 70.2 63.5 16.3

Average yearly increase 11.2 9.9 6.6 19.8 12.1 6.9 8.2 15-5 5.6 10.0 10.6 2.7

Gross capital formation Total increase

Average yearly increase

Annual rate of growth

8.64 8.38

145-4

20.8

13.68

5-74 13.2

H4.i

9.14 5.82 6.72 10.98

Annual rate of growth

—

— 19.0

130.4b

i8.6

94-4 32.6 40.0

13-5 4-7 5-7

—

5.33 7.90

8.0

8.53 2.56

121.2

Source: United Nations economic survey of Africa since ipjo. a b c d

b

Cumulative rate Not including capital formation in peasant agriculture Net domestic product Gross domestic product

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—

b

15

b

—

I2.6

b

b 7

9-97 4.11 4.92

— 2.4 29.2

—

i3-53

b

— — — i .i5

b

4

—

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u n c h a n g e d ; i f a n y t h i n g , it b e c a m e c o n s o l i d a t e d . T h e r a p i d g r o w t h in t h e A f r i c a n e c o n o m y h a d d e r i v e d f r o m t h e b o o m in t h e industrialised m a r k e t e c o n o m i e s . T h e peripheral nature o f the African e c o n o m i e s remained and their e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e i n t e n s i f i e d . It w a s a l s o d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d t h a t t h e c o l o n i a l p o w e r s a b a n d o n e d t h e p o l i c y o f financial s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y f o r c o l o n i e s a n d adopted instead the p o l i c y o f responsible colonialism under w h i c h they p r o v i d e d the c o l o n i e s w i t h d e v e l o p m e n t funds. T h e a d o p ­ tion o f the n e w policy w a s n o d o u b t b o r n o u t o f a mixture o f motives and intentions - a genuine humanitarian concern about p o v e r t y in Africa, a sense o f m o r a l o b l i g a t i o n for Africa's w a r t i m e assistance, and a v e r y large m e a s u r e o f e n l i g h t e n e d self-interest. T h i s w a s the rationale o f the British C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t and W e l f a r e A c t o f 1945 a n d t h e F r e n c h F o n d s d ' I n v e s t i s s e m e n t e t d e D é v e l o p p e m e n t É c o n o m i q u e et S o c i a l ( F I D E S ) o f 1 9 4 6 . T h e s e colonial aid p r o g r a m m e s p r o v i d e d ready m a r k e t s for m e t r o p o l i t a n g o o d s as w e l l as finance f o r d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e c o l o n i e s . M o r e importantly, they enabled the colonial p o w e r s to achieve a greater measure o f control o v e r , and ability to coordinate and influence, the i n v e s t m e n t policies o f the c o l o n i e s . F r a n c e w e n t e v e n further t h a n t h e o t h e r s . B e c a u s e o f its p o l i c y o f a s s i m i l a t i n g t h e c o l o n i e s t o m e t r o p o l i t a n F r a n c e , as e v i n c e d in t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e n e w F r e n c h U n i o n o f 1 9 4 6 , its a i d w a s l i n k e d t o a p u b l i c i n v e s t m e n t p r o g r a m m e d e s i g n e d f o r t h e m o d e r n i s a t i o n o f F r a n c e itself. 1

In c o n c l u d i n g this r e v i e w o f d e v e l o p m e n t d u r i n g this d e c a d e , it m u s t b e a d d e d t h a t t h e flow o f financial r e s o u r c e s f r o m t h e metropolitan countries, particularly Britain and France, and to a l e s s e r e x t e n t B e l g i u m , t o t h e c o l o n i e s w a s u n s u r p a s s e d . It w o u l d h e l p t o p u t t h i s d e v e l o p m e n t in p r o p e r h i s t o r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e i f it is p o i n t e d o u t t h a t m o r e r e s o u r c e s w e r e t r a n s f e r r e d i n t h e d e c a d e 1 9 4 6 t o 1 9 5 6 t h a n d u r i n g t h e e n t i r e p e r i o d f r o m 1903 t o 1 9 4 6 . F o r e x a m p l e , b e t w e e n 1952 and 1957 F r a n c e i n v e s t e d 579 billion F r e n c h francs o f p u b l i c funds in the c o l o n i e s . W e shall c o m e b a c k t o t h e q u e s t i o n o f aid l a t e r . B u t suffice it t o a d d t h a t n e i t h e r P o r t u g a l n o r Spain p r o v i d e d any substantial v o l u m e o f aid t o their African colonies. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e b o o m in t h e d e m a n d f o r t r o p i c a l p r i m a r y p r o d u c t s d i d n o t last l o n g . T o w a r d s t h e e n d o f t h e d e c a d e , t h e r e w a s a fall in t h e i r p r i c e s d u e t o a w o r l d - w i d e e c o n o m i c d e p r e s s i o n . 1

F o r a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f p r e v i o u s D e v e l o p m e n t A c t s s e e C h a p t e r 1.

20I

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1

1

1955

1956

E C O N O M I C

1

1

1

»

1957

1956

1959

I960

E V O L U T I O N

1

1

—

1961 1962

YEAR

6 Primary commodities: export prices indices (1958 = 100) (United Nations, Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, Sept. 1963). T h e r e w a s c o n s e q u e n t l y a c o n s i d e r a b l e r e d u c t i o n i n t h e rate o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h o f the A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s b y the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1960s. T h u s n o t o n l y d i d t h e A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , m o s t o f w h i c h h a d b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t b y t h e first h a l f o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s , a c h i e v e i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h the c o l o n i a l structure o f their e c o n o m y intact, b u t t h e y a l s o suffered t h e m i s f o r t u n e o f t a k i n g o v e r at a t i m e w h e n e c o n o m i c p e r f o r m a n c e fell b e l o w t h a t o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s . T o i l l u s t r a t e t h i s , fig. 6 s h o w s t h e m a g n i t u d e o f t h e r e v e r s e s suffered b y c o m m o d i t i e s ' export prices. C o n s e q u e n t l y , the g o v e r n m e n t s o f t h e n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states ( a n d 1 7 o f t h e m b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t in i 9 6 0 a l o n e ) w e r e f a c e d w i t h s e r i o u s e c o n o m i c a n d financial p r o b l e m s s o o n after t h e i r a s s u m p t i o n o f p o w e r . T h e n e w leadership o f these countries inherited not only u n d e r d e v e l o p e d e c o n o m i e s w i t h their colonial patterns o f p r o d u c t i o n and w i t h the vast majority o f their p e o p l e ill-fed, ill-clad, ill-housed and 202

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illiterate, b u t they also faced the i m m e d i a t e p r o b l e m s o f a s l u m p in t h e p r i c e s o f t h e c o m m o d i t i e s w h i c h w e r e t h e i r m a i n s o u r c e o f i n c o m e . P u b l i c r e c u r r e n t as w e l l as d e v e l o p m e n t e x p e n d i t u r e rapidly diminished. B u t the confidence and o p t i m i s m generated by the c r u m b l i n g o f c o l o n i a l i s m u n d e r the tidal w a v e o f national­ ism w a s e n o u g h to sustain the n e w leadership, w h i c h had p r o m i s e d i m p r o v e d e c o n o m i c and social c o n d i t i o n s for their people and had thereby engineered a revolution o f rising expec­ tations a m o n g them. D e v e l o p m e n t planning w a s a d o p t e d b y the African g o v e r n ­ m e n t s as t h e i n s t r u m e n t n o t o n l y f o r a r r e s t i n g t h e a d v e r s e t r e n d in the terms o f trade but also for accelerating the rate o f g r o w t h and the pace o f social and e c o n o m i c transformation and thus satisfying this r e v o l u t i o n o f r i s i n g e x p e c t a t i o n s . O v e r a n d a b o v e t h e i r experience o f post-war colonial d e v e l o p m e n t planning - itself based o n the experience o f w a r t i m e p l a n n i n g - the rapid trans­ formation o f the centrally planned socialist e c o n o m i e s , particularly that o f t h e U S S R , i n f l u e n c e d t h e n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t c o u n t r i e s in their reliance o n centralised e c o n o m i c p l a n n i n g rather than o n the operation o f a free-market e c o n o m y . T h e almost universal a c c e p t a n c e o f p l a n n i n g as a n efficient t o o l f o r p o l i c y f o r m u l a t i o n w i t h regard to rapid e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t w a s also inspired by the e x a m p l e o f t h e s o c i a l i s t c o u n t r i e s . E v e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w h i c h for years had a b h o r r e d p l a n n i n g , w a s b y i960 actively e n c o u r a g i n g aid-seeking countries to formulate national d e v e l o p ­ m e n t plans. B u t the greatest single factor w h i c h s t r e n g t h e n e d the case for p l a n n i n g w a s the d e s i g n a t i o n o f the 1960s b y the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s as t h a t o r g a n i s a t i o n ' s F i r s t Development Decade. T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s set d o w n g u i d e l i n e s a n d o b j e c t i v e s f o r accelerating p r o g r e s s t o w a r d s the self-sustaining e c o n o m i c g r o w t h o f i n d i v i d u a l n a t i o n s a n d t h e i r s o c i a l a d v a n c e m e n t s o as t o a t t a i n in e a c h d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r y a s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e in t h e rate o f g r o w t h . T o w a r d s t h i s e n d , it s p e c i f i e d t h a t e a c h c o u n t r y set its o w n t a r g e t , t a k i n g a n a n n u a l rate o f i n c r e a s e o f 5 p e r c e n t in t h e g r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t ( G D P ) as t h e m i n i m u m g r o w t h r a t e t o b e a c h i e v e d at t h e e n d o f t h e d e c a d e . A n d t h i s g r o w t h o b j e c t i v e was to be achieved preferably t h r o u g h c o m p r e h e n s i v e planning. T h e a c h i e v e m e n t o f t h e t a r g e t rate o f g r o w t h w o u l d , it w a s t h o u g h t , b e a c c o m p a n i e d b y a n i m p r o v e m e n t in t h e e c o n o m i c 203

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E V O L U T I O N

c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e p o o r e r s e c t i o n s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . It w a s a l s o t h o u g h t that there w o u l d be substantial social p r o g r e s s t h r o u g h the elimination o f illiteracy, h u n g e r and disease, t h r o u g h i m ­ p r o v e m e n t in e d u c a t i o n a n d t h r o u g h a m o r e e g a l i t a r i a n d i s t r i ­ bution o f income. T h e 1 9 7 0 s w e r e s i m i l a r l y p r o c l a i m e d as t h e S e c o n d U n i t e d N a t i o n s D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e . T h e strategy for that decade called f o r a n a v e r a g e rate o f g r o w t h o f G D P at c o n s t a n t p r i c e s o f at least 6 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m . T o a c h i e v e s u c h an o v e r a l l g r o w t h rate, a n a n n u a l rate o f e x p a n s i o n o f 4 p e r c e n t in a g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t a n d o f 8 p e r c e n t in m a n u f a c t u r i n g p r o d u c t i o n w a s n e c e s s a r y . T h e s t r a t e g y a l s o c a l l e d f o r h a l f a p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t rise a n n u a l l y in t h e ratio o f g r o s s d o m e s t i c s a v i n g to the g r o s s p r o d u c t , so that the r a t i o w o u l d rise t o a r o u n d 20 p e r c e n t b y t h e y e a r 1 9 8 0 ; a n d a rise o f n o t m o r e t h a n 7 p e r c e n t in i m p o r t s , o r a b o u t o n e p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t h i g h e r t h a n t h e t a r g e t set f o r G D P g r o w t h rate. E v e n if African g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e otherwise inclined, there w e r e f o r c e s i m p e l l i n g t h e m t o p l a y a d i r e c t a n d p e r v a s i v e r o l e in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e s s . It w a s a b a s i c a s s u m p t i o n o f t h e U N First and S e c o n d D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e s that d e v e l o p i n g countries w o u l d a c h i e v e the stated o b j e c t i v e s t h r o u g h c o m p r e h e n s i v e planning. Bilateral d o n o r agencies, particularly from industrialised m a r k e t e c o n o m i e s , t o g e t h e r w i t h s u c h m u l t i l a t e r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s as the International B a n k for R e c o n s t r u c t i o n and D e v e l o p m e n t (the W o r l d B a n k ) and the U N D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m m e , attached a great deal o f i m p o r t a n c e to p l a n n i n g and the preparation o f n a t i o n a l p l a n s as a p r e c o n d i t i o n f o r p r o v i d i n g i n v e s t m e n t finance, grants and technical assistance in the p r e p a r a t i o n o f s u c h plans. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , instead o f d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n n i n g b e c o m i n g the i n s t r u m e n t f o r e n g i n e e r i n g s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c h a n g e in A f r i c a , a w i d e n i n g g u l f s o o n b e g a n to e m e r g e b e t w e e n planning and plan i m p l e m e n t a t i o n . In an increasing n u m b e r o f c o u n t r i e s , the d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n s o o n b e c a m e , l i k e t h e n a t i o n a l flag a n d t h e national anthem, a s y m b o l o f sovereignty. M o r e often than not it w a s u n f o r t u n a t e l y r e s p e c t e d m o r e in t h e b r e a c h t h a n in t h e p e r f o r m a n c e . In any case, the policies and p r o g r a m m e s c o n t a i n e d in s u c h p l a n s t e n d e d , w i t h v e r y f e w e x c e p t i o n s , t o p e r p e t u a t e t h e c o l o n i a l p a t t e r n o f p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s . It is n o t surprising therefore that Africa's overall e c o n o m i c p e r f o r m a n c e b e t w e e n i960 and 1975 w a s p o o r . 204

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As

A F R I C A N

w e h a v e already stated,

the

E C O N O M Y

boom

in t h e d e m a n d

for

c o m m o d i t i e s had been replaced b y a mild depression t o w a r d s the end o f the 1950s. T h u s b e t w e e n 1958 a n d 1964 the total G D P o f A f r i c a i n c r e a s e d b y o n l y 27 p e r c e n t o r at a b o u t 4.2 p e r c e n t a n n u a l l y at c o m p o u n d rate. T h e r e w a s a s l i g h t i m p r o v e m e n t o n this p e r f o r m a n c e d u r i n g t h e rest o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s . F o r t h e w h o l e o f the U N First D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e , A f r i c a a c h i e v e d an a v e r a g e g r o w t h rate o f 5.0 p e r c e n t in real t e r m s . A n d d u r i n g t h e first h a l f o f t h e S e c o n d D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e t h e p e r f o r m a n c e w a s 4.5 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m . I n all d u r i n g t h e 1 5 - y e a r p e r i o d , 1 9 6 0 - 7 5 , t h e o v e r a l l A f r i c a n p e r f o r m a n c e o f 4.9 p e r c e n t fell b e l o w t h e t a r g e t s o f the First and S e c o n d D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e s . T h e year 1975 w a s a particularly bad one for Africa mainly because o f the w o r l d r e c e s s i o n a n d real g r o w t h in G D P fell t o 2 p e r c e n t , a n d t h e r e a f t e r w a s to b e c o m e n e g a t i v e in n o t a f e w c o u n t r i e s . A s a p e r i p h e r y o f t h e p e r i p h e r y , . t h e A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s suffered

considerably

from the inflationary pressures w h i c h g r i p p e d the industrialised m a r k e t e c o n o m i e s in t h e latter p a r t o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s a n d t h e first h a l f o f the

1970s. Inflation c o u p l e d w i t h recession led to an e v e n

s h a r p e r fall in t h e v a l u e s o f e x p o r t c o m m o d i t i e s , t h u s s e r i o u s l y affecting g o v e r n m e n t r e v e n u e f r o m e x p o r t s . T h e A f r i c a n g o v e r n ­ ments also had n o c h o i c e but to s u c c u m b to the d e m a n d for w a g e and salary increases and, in s o m e cases, t o the pressure t o subsidise essential

consumer

g o o d s , thus accentuating

the

inflationary

p r o c e s s . B e c a u s e o f t h e c o n s e q u e n t i a l i n c r e a s e s in g o v e r n m e n t e x p e n d i t u r e , m o s t g o v e r n m e n t s had t o resort t o deficit

financing.

T h e s e g o v e r n m e n t s also p e r f o r c e h a d to pile u p external d e b t s in order to pay for their i m p o r t s , w h i c h increased f r o m an estimated t o t a l o f $ U S 5 b i l l i o n in 1 9 6 5 ^ 0 a b o u t $ U S 2 2 b i l l i o n in 1 9 7 3 a n d $ U S 30 b i l l i o n i n 1 9 7 5 . T h i s r e s u l t e d in a g r o w i n g d e m a n d f o r t h e rescheduling o f external debts. M e a n w h i l e , there w a s an increasing a c c u m u l a t i o n o f a r r e a r s in i n t e r n a t i o n a l p a y m e n t s , a n d a g r o w i n g number

o f countries

became threatened

w i t h acute

balance-

o f - p a y m e n t s difficulties d u e in part to h e a v y d e b t liabilities.

S T R U C T U R A L

A N D

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C H A N G E S

It h a s o f t e n b e e n s a i d t h a t d u r i n g this p e r i o d d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a w a s r u n n i n g v e r y hard to remain in the same place. T h i s statement is b o r n e o u t b y t h e fact t h a t it w a s t h e w o r l d ' s l e a s t d e v e l o p e d 205

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Agriculture,Forestry, Hunting J and Fishing

Commerce Transport and Communication

Mining and Quarrying

Public Administration and Defence

Manufacturing and Electricity

Other Services

Construction

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Developing Africa: structure of gross domestic product, 1960-75 (in million US$ at 1970 rate of exchange) (compiled from EC A computer national accounts print-outs, March 1977).

r e g i o n , h a v i n g 18 o f the 25 least d e v e l o p e d a m o n g d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s a n d 27 o f t h e w o r l d ' s m o s t s e r i o u s l y affected c o u n t r i e s w h i l e i n c l u d i n g 14 l a n d - l o c k e d c o u n t r i e s . I n e x a m i n i n g t h e s t r u c ­ t u r e o f d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a , w e shall p e r f o r c e h a v e t o c o n c e n t r a t e o n the p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e period for w h i c h data o n national 206

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T a b l e 5.3. Developing Africa:

expenditure on gross domestic product,

1960-jj

(in million % US at 1970 rate of exchange).

Percentage distribution Expenditure Total GDP at 1970 market prices Private consumption Government consumption Fixed capital formation Increase in stocks Exports of goods and services Less imports of goods and services Source-.

i960

1965

1970

1975

i960

1965

1970

1975

35436.9

44510.6

5 8 064.3

71934.4

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

26336.3

30807.8 6213.8 7074.6 512.6 11468.6 11566.8

379 -7 9465-7 9 664.1 732.2 15050.7 14769.1

47070.1 14 267.1 18748.3 687.2 16357.9 25 196.2

74.3 13.27 16.10 0.41 24.82 28.92

69.21 13.96 15.89 1.15

65.31 16.30 16.64 1.27 25.92

65.43 19.83 26.06 0.96

4703.9 5705.3 145-4 8 794.7 10248.7

20

2

ECA national accounts computer print-outs, March 1977.

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a c c o u n t s are a v a i l a b l e . T h e d a t a in fig. 7 s h o w t h a t t h e e c o n o m i c structure o f African countries u n d e r w e n t significant changes d u r i n g this p e r i o d . In p a r t i c u l a r , t h e s h a r e o f a g r i c u l t u r e in t h e G D P d e c l i n e d f r o m 4 1 . 3 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 30.3 p e r c e n t in 1 9 7 5 . T h e s h a r e o f m i n i n g i n c r e a s e d f r o m 4.4 p e r c e n t t o 7.3 p e r c e n t , a n d t h e s h a r e o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d e l e c t r i c i t y i n c r e a s e d f r o m 10.0 p e r c e n t t o 12 p e r c e n t . T h e s h a r e o f c o n s t r u c t i o n a l s o i n c r e a s e d from 5 per cent to 8 per c e n t ; w h i l e the share o f public ad­ m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d d e f e n c e i n c r e a s e d f r o m 8 t o 12 p e r c e n t . T r a n s p o r t a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s d i d n o t c h a n g e its r e l a t i v e s h a r e significantly. D e s p i t e these c h a n g e s , agriculture remained the d o m i n a n t s e c t o r in m o s t d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s . T h e e c o n o m i c structure o v e r the period 1960-75 can also be e x a m i n e d b y c o n s i d e r i n g the e v o l u t i o n o f the main c o m p o n e n t s o f e x p e n d i t u r e o n t h e g r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t (i.e. p r i v a t e c o n s u m p t i o n , g o v e r n m e n t c o n s u m p t i o n , capital formation, ex­ ports o f g o o d s and services and imports o f g o o d s and services). T h e impression c o n v e y e d b y the available information o n private c o n s u m p t i o n in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a (see t a b l e 5.3) is t h a t p r i v a t e consumption absorbed a higher proportion o f available resources in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a t h a n it d i d in o t h e r T h i r d W o r l d c o u n t r i e s . In i960, private c o n s u m p t i o n a c c o u n t e d for 74 per cent o f G D P in real t e r m s , w h i l e in 1 9 7 5 it a c c o u n t e d f o r 65 p e r c e n t . T h e s i t u a t i o n is e v e n c l e a r e r w h e n w e c o n s i d e r i n f o r m a t i o n o n i n d i v i d u a l A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s . F o r i n s t a n c e , in i 9 6 0 , p r i v a t e c o n s u m p t i o n a c c o u n t e d f o r m o r e t h a n 50 p e r c e n t in 4 4 o f 48 d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s . T h e e x c e p t i o n s w e r e G a b o n (45 p e r c e n t ) a n d N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a (48 p e r c e n t ) . I n t w o c o u n t r i e s , h o w e v e r , private c o n s u m p t i o n exceeded G D P b y a significant m a r g i n - L i b y a (105 p e r c e n t ) a n d B a s u t o l a n d ( 1 0 8 p e r c e n t ) . I n 1 9 7 5 , p r i v a t e c o n s u m p t i o n as a p e r c e n t a g e o f G D P w a s little c h a n g e d f r o m t h e i 9 6 0 l e v e l s , a c c o u n t i n g f o r m o r e t h a n 50 p e r c e n t in 42 o f t h e 48 c o u n t r i e s . L i b y a d i d , h o w e v e r , a c h i e v e a s u b s t a n t i a l c h a n g e in r e d u c i n g t h e s h a r e f r o m 105 p e r c e n t in i 9 6 0 t o 48 p e r c e n t in 1 9 7 5 , t h a n k s t o o i l p r o d u c t i o n . A s is i n d i c a t e d in t a b l e 5.3, t h e s h a r e o f g o v e r n m e n t c o n s u m p ­ t i o n in t o t a l G D P at 1 9 7 0 c o n s t a n t m a r k e t p r i c e s in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a i n c r e a s e d f r o m 13 p e r c e n t in i 9 6 0 t o 20 p e r c e n t in 1 9 7 5 . It is i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t , in 3 1 o f t h e 48 c o u n t r i e s , t h e s h a r e o f g o v e r n m e n t c o n s u m p t i o n in G D P i n c r e a s e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y in 208

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real t e r m s f r o m i 9 6 0 t o 1 9 7 5 . T h e s h a r e d e c r e a s e d i n 1 2 c o u n t r i e s and remained constant in 5 others. A s r e g a r d s g r o s s fixed c a p i t a l f o r m a t i o n as a p e r c e n t a g e o f g r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t at c o n s t a n t 1 9 7 0 p r i c e s , t a b l e 5.3 i n d i c a t e s a n i n c r e a s e f r o m 1 6 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 26 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 . F r o m t h e d a t a o n t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o u n t r i e s , it a p p e a r s t h a t t h e r e w a s a rising trend in the share o f the d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t used for capital f o r m a t i o n i n all d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s e x c e p t A n g o l a , t h e C o n g o , Ethiopia, the G a m b i a , G h a n a , K e n y a , Libya, N i g e r and Uganda. E x p o r t s a n d imports o f g o o d s a n d services are c o n s i d e r e d in detail in t h e section d e a l i n g w i t h A f r i c a a n d the international e c o n o m y . B u t it is i m p o r t a n t t o p o i n t o u t h e r e t h a t t h e s h a r e o f total exports o f g o o d s a n d services in G D P in d e v e l o p i n g Africa d e c r e a s e d f r o m 25 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 23 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 , w h i l e the share o f i m p o r t s o f g o o d s a n d services in G D P increased f r o m 29 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 35 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 .

The agricultural sector T h o u g h there h a v e been significant c h a n g e s in the structure o f the A f r i c a n e c o n o m y , they h a v e n o t b e e n fundamental. A f r i c a t o d a y still h a s pro tanto a n a g r i c u l t u r a l e c o n o m y . T h e fall i n t h e relative contribution o f agriculture t o the G D P has been d u e n o t s o m u c h t o i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e o t h e r s e c t o r s as it h a s been to the very l o w productivity in agriculture and t o p o o r weather conditions. U n d e r the U N First and S e c o n d D e v e l o p m e n t D e c a d e s , a t a r g e t rate o f g r o w t h o f 4 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m w a s a s s u m e d f o r a g r i c u l t u r e . P r o d u c t i o n fell c o n s i s t e n t l y v e r y m u c h b e l o w this t a r g e t , a v e r a g i n g 2.5 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m . T h e w o r s e n i n g d r o u g h t c o n d i t i o n s in the S u d a n o - S a h e l i a n r e g i o n , particularly d u r i n g the 1 9 7 1 - 4 period, c o n t r i b u t e d in n o small m e a s u r e t o this d i s a p p o i n t i n g p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l sector. T h e p a t t e r n o f a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n r e m a i n e d , f o r all p r a c t i c a l purposes, unchanged. C r o p p r o d u c t i o n remained basically divided into production for export and production for domestic con­ s u m p t i o n . I n s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a , s u b s i s t e n c e f a r m i n g still c o ­ existed w i t h commercial o r m o d e r n farming. Indeed, agricultural o r g a n i s a t i o n i n m o s t A f r i c a n states w a s a m i x t u r e o f t h e t w o . T r a d i t i o n a l a g r i c u l t u r e w a s still c h i e f l y o r g a n i s e d w i t h t h e 209

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ISt*,fk3 Citrus fruits (c)

(d)

8 Staple and cash crops: main areas, (a) Staple crops: cassava and wheat, (b) Staple crops: millets, sorghum and yams, (c) Staple and cash crops: maize, oil palm and dates, (d) Staple and cash crops: groundnuts, citrus, bananas and ensete. (Source: Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Africa.) 210

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lb)

9 Cash crops: main areas. (a) Rubber, tobacco, cotton and cloves. (b) Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar and grapes. (Source: Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Africa.) r e s o u r c e s o f a n d f o r t h e s u b s i s t e n c e o f t h e r u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s ; it w a s the b a s i s f o r a w a y o f life a n d an e c o n o m y in w h i c h d i s p o s a l o f p r o d u c e b y sale w a s i n c i d e n t a l , d e p e n d i n g o n a v a i l a b i l i t y o f marketable surpluses. M o d e r n agriculture, by contrast, w a s carried o n as a c o m m e r c i a l u n d e r t a k i n g e n t i r e l y w i t h i n t h e m o n e y e c o n ­ o m y , a n d its m e t h o d s a n d o b j e c t s w e r e t h e r e f o r e different f r o m those o f traditional agriculture. Traditional agriculture w a s heavily p r e d o m i n a n t in W e s t , C e n t r a l a n d E a s t A f r i c a . I n N o r t h A f r i c a , farming had b e c o m e p r e d o m i n a n t l y c o m m e r c i a l . Until recently, subsistence p r o d u c t i o n a c c o u n t e d for b e t w e e n t w o - t h i r d s and t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f t h e v a l u e s o f t o t a l p r o d u c t i o n in t r o p i c a l A f r i c a . H o w e v e r , w i t h the increasing c o m m e r c i a l i s a t i o n o f farming, the relative share o f subsistence p r o d u c t i o n diminished progressively. W e have already noted lagging sector responsible g r o w t h o f G D P . W e must s o m b r e as t h a t i s , t o t h e

that, o n the w h o l e , agriculture w a s the for d a m p e n i n g substantially the overall h o w e v e r g o b e y o n d the overall picture, main c o m p o n e n t s o f the agricultural 21

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T a b l e 5.4. Indices of the volume of agricultural production in Africa

All agricultural products Food products Non-food products Livestock products Per capita production All agricultural products Food products Non-food products. Source: EC A,

(19/2/j

=

1948/9

1953/4

1958/9

!9<W3

88

103

120

128

132

88

103 103 103

118

125

128

133 114

145 119

49 121

97

100

103

105

102

97 95

100 100

IOI

103 119

98 122

87 9

2

100).

114

x

6

9 5/6

A survey of economic conditions in Africa.

s e c t o r . T a b l e 5.4 s h o w s t h a t w h e r e a s all a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s r o s e b y 44 p o i n t s b e t w e e n 1948 a n d 1 9 6 6 ( a v e r a g i n g 2.44 p e r cent annual increase), f o o d a n d l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t s increased b y 40 a n d 19 p e r c e n t r e s p e c t i v e l y ( a v e r a g i n g t o g e t h e r 1.6 p e r c e n t ) . O n t h e other hand, non-food products increased b y 72 per cent during t h e s a m e p e r i o d ( a v e r a g i n g 4.0 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m ) . O n a p e r capita basis, the position did n o t i m p r o v e v e r y m u c h ; i f a n y t h i n g it s t a g n a t e d f o r all a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s a n d s h o w e d a m a r k e d t e n d e n c y t o d e t e r i o r a t e as far as f o o d p r o d u c t i o n w a s c o n c e r n e d . T h i s is n o t s u r p r i s i n g , s i n c e a n n u a l p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s e a v e r a g e d 2.2 p e r c e n t d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d . T h e situation deteriorated considerably b e t w e e n 1966 and 1 9 7 5 . Climatic conditions were particularly unfavourable from 1 9 7 1 / 2 to 1974 in the Sudano-Sahelian z o n e and in other parts o f Africa. H o w e v e r , these w e r e n o t the sole factors a c c o u n t i n g for the p o o r p e r f o r m a n c e in the agricultural sector. W e a k administrative capacity a n d inadequate infrastructural support for agriculture, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n s u c h fields as m a r k e t i n g , c r e d i t , t r a n s p o r t , a n d extension services w e r e also responsible. T h e producer-pricing p o l i c i e s a l s o h a d a m a r k e d d i s i n c e n t i v e effect. T h e l a r g e - s c a l e r u r a l - u r b a n m i g r a t i o n affected a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n s i n c e t h e s h o r t a g e o f f a r m - h a n d s w h i c h r e s u l t e d f r o m it d i d n o t i n i t s e l f l e n d to the revolutionising o f agricultural techniques and technologies. 212

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A l t h o u g h m u c h m e c h a n i s a t i o n h a d t a k e n p l a c e , t h i s w a s still rather marginal. A n d w h i l e the resources allocated for agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t in A f r i c a i n c r e a s e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y o v e r t h e y e a r s , t h e y w e r e still far f r o m b e i n g a d e q u a t e . A s u p e r v i s e d a g r i c u l t u r a l c r e d i t s y s t e m w a s still a t h i n g o f t h e f u t u r e . T h e f o o d s i t u a t i o n d e t e r i o r a t e d fast i n t h e face o f r i s i n g p o p u l a t i o n a n d rapid urbanisation. T h e annual rate o f increase in f o o d p r o d u c t i o n f r o m 1 9 7 0 t o 1 9 7 6 w a s 1.5 p e r c e n t , c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e a n n u a l rate o f i n c r e a s e i n w o r l d p r o d u c t i o n o f 2.4 p e r cent d u r i n g the same period. It also c o m p a r e d u n f a v o u r a b l y w i t h rates a c h i e v e d b y o t h e r d e v e l o p i n g r e g i o n s . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e g a p in n u t r i t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d p e r c a p u t d i e t a r y e n e r g y s u p p l i e s w a s w i d e r in Africa than in a n y o t h e r d e v e l o p i n g r e g i o n . O n a v e r a g e , p e o p l e i n A f r i c a r e c e i v e d o n l y 90 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r nutritional requirements per day. T h i s contrasted w i t h m a n y Latin A m e r i c a n countries, w h e r e per caput dietary energy supplies w e r e as h i g h as 1 0 7 p e r c e n t o f n u t r i t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s . O n e o f Africa's most serious p r o b l e m s remained a shortage o f basic foodstuffs: d u e to harvesting techniques and p o o r and inadequate s t o r a g e f a c i l i t i e s , A f r i c a still l o s t b e t w e e n o n e - q u a r t e r a n d t w o fifths o f its f o o d p r o d u c t i o n a n n u a l l y .

The mining sector Unlike agriculture, the mining industry achieved considerable progress during the period under review. W e have already referred t o the spectacular increase in mineral p r o d u c t i o n in the p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e d e c a d e o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s . T a b l e 5.1 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e s e increases. D u r i n g the p e r i o d f r o m i 9 6 0 t o 1 9 7 5 , these g r o w t h rates w e r e n o t only sustained but substantially i m p r o v e d u p o n . A s w e h a v e a l r e a d y s h o w n i n f i g . 7, m i n i n g a n d q u a r r y i n g i n c r e a s e d t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o G D P f r o m 4.38 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 1 1 . 3 3 P in 1 9 7 0 , t h o u g h t h i s d r o p p e d t o 7.25 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 d u e m a i n l y to the w o r l d - w i d e depression b e g i n n i n g in that year. O n e o f the m o s t r e m a r k a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t s d u r i n g this p e r i o d w a s t h e entry o f four countries into the rank o f major oil-exporters: Algeria, G a b o n , Libya and Nigeria. In i960, Africa produced only o n e per c e n t o f t h e w o r l d o u t p u t o f c r u d e p e t r o l e u m ; b y 1 9 7 5 it p r o d u c e d 11 p e r c e n t . O n e o f the features o f m i n i n g resources d e v e l o p m e n t in Africa e

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w a s its u n e v e n d i s t r i b u t i o n as b e t w e e n i n d i v i d u a l c o u n t r i e s a n d as b e t w e e n t h e v a r i o u s s u b - r e g i o n s i n t o w h i c h t h e c o n t i n e n t c a n be d i v i d e d . W e h a v e already listed the major p r o d u c e r s o f c r u d e p e t r o l e u m . W e m u s t a d d t o this list c o u n t r i e s s u c h as E g y p t , Tunisia, C o n g o and A n g o l a , w h i c h t h o u g h not major oilexporters, were nevertheless producers. T h e t w o major producers o f n a t u r a l g a s w e r e A l g e r i a a n d N i g e r i a , w h i l e (if w e e x c e p t S o u t h Africa) M o r o c c o and R h o d e s i a w e r e the major p r o d u c e r s o f coal. I r o n o r e w a s p r o d u c e d m a i n l y in A l g e r i a , G u i n e a , L i b e r i a , Mauritania, Sierra L e o n e and S w a z i l a n d , w h i l e Z a i r e and Z a m b i a w e r e the main p r o d u c e r s o f c o p p e r . N i g e r i a , R w a n d a and Zaire w e r e t h e m a i n p r o d u c e r s o f tin c o n c e n t r a t e ; G h a n a , G u i n e a a n d Sierra L e o n e w e r e the main b a u x i t e - p r o d u c i n g c o u n t r i e s ; M o r o c c o , T u n i s i a and Z a m b i a p r o d u c e d lead o r e ; M o r o c c o , Z a i r e and Z a m b i a , zinc o r e ; w h i l e phosphate rock came primarily from M o r o c c o and Tunisia. Z a i r e w a s the largest p r o d u c e r o f d i a m o n d s in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a , f o l l o w e d b y G h a n a a n d S i e r r a L e o n e . A n d the g o l d - p r o d u c i n g c o u n t r i e s w e r e G h a n a and Z a i r e , a l t h o u g h s m a l l q u a n t i t i e s w e r e p r o d u c e d in E t h i o p i a , G a b o n a n d Z a m b i a . A s c a n b e s e e n f r o m t a b l e 5.5, m i n i n g a n d q u a r r y i n g e x p a n d e d m o s t r a p i d l y in N o r t h a n d W e s t A f r i c a d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d i 9 6 0 t o 1 9 7 0 . B e t w e e n i 9 6 0 a n d 1 9 6 5 , m i n i n g d e v e l o p m e n t w a s at its p e a k , g r o w i n g at a n a n n u a l a v e r a g e r a t e o f 38.5 a n d 2 1 . 7 p e r c e n t in N o r t h a n d W e s t A f r i c a r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e s l o w - d o w n in t h e g r o w t h o f this s e c t o r b e t w e e n 1965 a n d 1 9 7 5 a n d m o r e p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e last f i v e y e a r s w a s d u e t o a v a r i e t y o f f a c t o r s , i n c l u d i n g l a c k o f c a p i t a l a n d k n o w - h o w as f o r e i g n c a p i t a l i s t s b e c a m e m o r e a n d m o r e c a u t i o u s a b o u t i n v e s t i n g in A f r i c a in v i e w o f t h e g r o w i n g e c o n o m i c n a t i o n a l i s m , w h i c h w a s m a n i f e s t i n g i t s e l f in the v a r i o u s indigenisation policies and p r o g r a m m e s b e i n g p u r s u e d b y an increasing n u m b e r o f A f r i c a n countries. In s o m e o f these there w a s o u t r i g h t nationalisation. T h e r e w a s also the p r o b l e m o f d e p l e t i o n o f r e s e r v e s in a n u m b e r o f c o u n t r i e s w h i l e in a f e w t h e r e w a s a p o l i c y o f c o n s e r v a t i o n . T h e s l o w - d o w n in t h e a n n u a l rate o f g r o w t h i n o u t p u t o f m a n y m i n e r a l s w a s d u e t o t h e r i s i n g unit cost o f p r o d u c t i o n . T h e 1960s w i t n e s s e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a s u b s t a n t i a l e x p a n s i o n o f mineral processing industries. T h i s encompassed petroleum r e f i n i n g ; c e m e n t p r o d u c t i o n ; fertiliser p r o d u c t i o n ; t h e s m e l t i n g

214

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T a b l e 5.5. Structure and growth of mining and quarrying in developing Africa by sub-region 1960-jj.

Contribution of mining to GDP at 1970 factor cost (per cent)

Annual rate of growth of mining (per cent)

juu-icgiuu

North Africa West Africa Central Africa Eastern Africa Total Source:

i960

1965

1970

1975

3-i

10.5

18.1

5-2

7.7 6.6 6.2 11.3

8.0 9.0

4.6 7.8

3-7 6.0

4-4

7-5

7-9 1.9 7-3

1960-5 38.5 21.7 — 2.1 -0.8 17.0

Compiled from ECA national accounts computer print-outs, March 1977.

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1965-70 18.4 16.8 18.3 8.6 14.8

1970-5 -9.6 9.1 12.1 —16.9 -4.3

1960-75 15.8 15.9 9-4 -3.0 9.2

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o f tin, lead and a l u m i n i u m ; a n d the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f steel plants in a n u m b e r o f countries.

The industrial sector W h i l e traditional handicrafts and artisan-type industries w e r e d e e p l y i n g r a i n e d in the h i s t o r y o f N o r t h A f r i c a a n d a n u m b e r o f sub-Saharan countries, the d e v e l o p m e n t o f factory p r o d u c t i o n w a s a f a i r l y r e c e n t p h e n o m e n o n , h a v i n g its o r i g i n s in t h e 1920s a n d 1 9 3 0 s . T h i s is t r u e e v e n o f t h e R e p u b l i c o f S o u t h A f r i c a , w h e r e m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r i e s g r e w at a m u c h h i g h e r r a t e t h a n in a n y o t h e r A f r i c a n c o u n t r y . T h e d e l a y e d entry o f A f r i c a into in­ dustrialisation resulted from the reluctance o f colonial p o w e r s t o e n c o u r a g e it i n t h e i r c o l o n i e s l e s t it c o m p e t e w i t h m e t r o p o l i t a n industry. D u r i n g the w a r years, there w a s an inevitable interruption o f supplies from the industrialised countries. T h i s e n c o u r a g e d the m a n u f a c t u r e o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s in the c o l o n i e s . T h e scarcity o f s h i p p i n g space d u r i n g the w a r also e n c o u r a g e d the p r o c e s s i n g o f b u l k y r a w materials. A n d for strategic reasons, the metropolitan countries established branches o f s o m e industries in the c o l o n i e s a n d t h u s g a v e f u r t h e r i m p e t u s t o m a n u f a c t u r i n g . B u t it w a s n o t u n t i l after t h e w a r , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e d e c a d e o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d t h e first p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e d e c a d e , t h a t i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n w a s p u r s u e d v i g o r o u s l y a n d in a p e r s i s t e n t m a n n e r b y the g o v e r n m e n t s o f the e m e r g i n g African nations. B y i 9 6 0 , t h e s h a r e o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g in t h e t o t a l G D P o f d e v e l o p i n g Africa had risen to 1 0 . 1 7 per cent. Industrial g r o w t h d u r i n g the p e r i o d 1 9 6 0 - 7 5 a v e r a g e d 6.4 p e r c e n t . T h i s rate w h i l e h i g h e r t h a n t h e r a t e o f g r o w t h o f t h e e c o n o m y as a w h o l e , a n d h i g h e r a l s o t h a n t h e rates a c h i e v e d in s u c h s e c t o r s as a g r i c u l t u r e , e l e c t r i c i t y a n d t r a n s p o r t , w a s m u c h l o w e r t h a n t h e rates r e c o r d e d b y m i n i n g a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n . B y 1 9 7 5 , i n d u s t r y c o n t r i b u t e d a l m o s t 12 p e r cent o f the total G D P . T h e v a l u e a d d e d by m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n c r e a s e d f r o m J U S 3.13 b i l l i o n in 1960 t o $ U S 7.09 b i l l i o n in 1975 as t a b l e 5.6 s h o w s . B u t c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o t h e r r e g i o n s o f t h e w o r l d , industrial d e v e l o p m e n t l a g g e d b e h i n d ; Africa w a s only a b l e t o i n c r e a s e its s h a r e o f w o r l d m a n u f a c t u r i n g o u t p u t f r o m 0.5 p e r c e n t i n i 9 6 0 t o 0.6 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 . W h a t w e r e t h e m a i n f e a t u r e s o f t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r in 216

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A N D

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C H A N G E S

S3* FTUNISIA

•ALGERIA

WESTERN/ SAHARA/

LIBYA

/MAURITANIA

MALI NIGER CHAD

GUINEA-1 BISSAU .

TI/

SUDAN

NIGERIA

ETHIOPIA

* I VORYJ

7COASTJ EQUATORIALGUINEA

ZAIRE

RWANDA/* BURUNDI t s TANZANIA/*

ANGOLA Factory workers per 1 0 0 0 total population l_ ~\ Data not available BOTSWANA

[ : X 3 Less than 1 per 1 0 0 0 :

:

:

L

.1125 per

[

D 2 . 5 — 5 per 1 0 0 0

1000 SWAZILAND

fgSS 5—10 per 1000 WÊÊ10—25 per 1000 • H

-LESOTHO

More than 25 per 1 0 0 0

2 0 0 0 km l o b o miles

Factory workers as a proportion ot the total population. (Source: Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Africa.) A f r i c a d u r i n g this p e r i o d ? First, there w a s the c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f industry in certain s u b - r e g i o n s and in certain c o u n t r i e s . T h e s e w e r e c o u n t r i e s w h i c h had a h e a d start in industrialisation (like E g y p t ) o r had a h i g h e c o n o m i c potential o r mineral w e a l t h (for example, N i g e r i a and Algeria). Indeed, these three countries — E g y p t , Nigeria and Algeria - accounted for 4 1 . 7 per cent o f 217

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T a b l e 5.6. Some economic indicators of manufacturing industry in developing Africa by sub-region, 1960-7j.

Value Value added by added by manufac­ manufac­ turing turing as Percentage (millions percentage of Percentage of JUS) of total population of GDP i960

North Africa West Africa Central Africa Eastern Africa

1690.5

54.0

25.9

37.1

512.5

16.4

32.1

28.5

Total

450.8

14.4

14.3

14.2

476.3

15.2

27.7

20.2

3130.1

100.0

100.0

100.1

3535.5 1494.8

49.8

26.0

42.0

21.1

31.9

28.6

609.8

8.6

14.5

10.6

14533

20.5

27.6

18.8

7093.4

100.0

100.0

100.0

1975

North Africa West Africa Central Africa Eastern Africa Total Source-.

Compiled from EC A national accounts computer print-outs, March

1977.

d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a ' s t o t a l i n d u s t r i a l o u t p u t i n 1 9 7 5 . A n d a s is s h o w n in table 5.7, these three c o u n t r i e s t o g e t h e r w i t h s e v e n others — M o r o c c o , Zaire, K e n y a , the Ivory Coast, G h a n a , Z a m b i a and T u n i s i a in that o r d e r — a c c o u n t e d f o r three-quarters o f total A f r i c a n m a n u f a c t u r i n g o u t p u t . T h e r e m a i n i n g 38 c o u n t r i e s c o n t r i ­ b u t e d b a r e l y 27 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l . A m o n g t h e s e , 24 c o u n t r i e s half the total n u m b e r o f i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s in 1 9 7 5 , c o m p o s e d e s s e n t i a l l y o f t h e least d e v e l o p e d , l a n d - l o c k e d o r i s l a n d c o u n t r i e s - c o n t r i b u t e d less t h a n 1 0 p e r c e n t . T h i s i m b a l a n c e i n t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t is o f c o u r s e r e f l e c t e d sub-regionally. N o r t h Africa, w i t h a quarter o f Africa's total p o p u l a t i o n a n d 3 7 . 1 p e r c e n t o f its G D P , a c c o u n t e d f o r 54 p e r c e n t o f its i n d u s t r i a l o u t p u t i n i 9 6 0 a n d f o r 49.8 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 7 5 . 218

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T a b l e 5.7. Manufacturing value added (at factor cost in 1970 constant prices) in million %US. i960

Egypt Nigeria Algeria Morocco Zaire Kenya Ivory Coast Ghana Zambia Tunisia Total Source:

Amount

Percentage of total African output

Amount

Percentage of total African output

857

31.2

1180

16.8

184

6.7

1013

14.4

210

7.6

2

8.5

738 512

10.5

35 246

8.9

509

61

2.2

285

7-3 4.1

46

i-7 2.2

23 222

9 100

1.1

I99

2029

73-7

61 2

c\

Country

1975

EC A Secretariat estimates, March

1

I92 5081

7-3

3-3 2

32.8 2

-7

72.4

1977.

O n the other hand, W e s t Africa w i t h almost a third o f d e v e l o p i n g Africa's population and G D P accounted for only 16.4 and 21.1 p e r c e n t o f its i n d u s t r i a l o u t p u t i n i 9 6 0 a n d 1975 r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e relative shares o f Central a n d eastern Africa w e r e e v e n smaller, if w e e x c e p t R h o d e s i a ( Z i m b a b w e ) , w h i c h w a s o f c o u r s e still under w h i t e minority rule. T h e second characteristic o f African manufacturing o u t p u t w a s its d o m i n a t i o n b y l i g h t i n d u s t r y , a l t h o u g h h e a v y i n d u s t r i e s i n c r e a s e d t h e i r r e l a t i v e s h a r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y after i 9 6 0 . T h u s , w h e r e a s in i 9 6 0 t h e p e r c e n t a g e s o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g v a l u e a d d e d b y l i g h t a n d h e a v y i n d u s t r i e s w e r e 7 7 . 5 a n d 22.5 r e s p e c t i v e l y , t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g figures i n 1975 w e r e 60.2 a n d 39.8. W i t h i n t h e l i g h t industries g r o u p , food b e v e r a g e s and t o b a c c o , textiles a n d c l o t h i n g p r e d o m i n a t e d a n d j o i n t l y a c c o u n t e d f o r 6 6 . 7 a n d 49.8 p e r c e n t o f total i n d u s t r i a l o u t p u t in i 9 6 0 a n d 1975 r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e c h e m i c a l and petro-chemical industry and basic metal industry represented o n l y 12.3 p e r c e n t in i 9 6 0 a n d 2 1 . 6 p e r c e n t in 1 9 7 5 . A f r i c a ' s s h a r e in t h e w o r l d o u t p u t o f m e t a l s a n d e n g i n e e r i n g p r o d u c t s r e m a i n e d 219

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u n c h a n g e d f r o m 1955 t o 1 9 7 5 at 0.2 p e r c e n t . O f all d e v e l o p i n g r e g i o n s , Africa had the l o w e s t ratio o f e n g i n e e r i n g p r o d u c t i o n to e n g i n e e r i n g i m p o r t s . T h e significance o f this n e e d s to be underlined. E n g i n e e r i n g industries not only p r o v i d e the means o f p r o d u c t i o n f o r t h e m s e l v e s b u t a l s o f o r v i r t u a l l y all o t h e r s e c t o r s . T h e y s e r v e n o t o n l y as c a r r i e r s o f t e c h n o l o g y b u t a l s o as the m e d i u m o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n v e n t i o n and i n n o v a t i o n . T h e y contribute, possibly m o r e than any other sector, to fostering labour, technical and m a n a g e m e n t skills. T h e third feature o f industrialisation in A f r i c a w a s that the industrial sector w a s c o m p o s e d o f a heterogeneous collection o f industrial products, m a n y o f w h i c h w e r e o f marginal significance for the achievement o f self-sustaining g r o w t h . Industrialisation, rather t h a n c o n s t i t u t i n g an e n g i n e for g r o w t h in A f r i c a , t e n d e d to accentuate the dualistic nature o f the African e c o n o m y . African g o v e r n m e n t s had been led to believe that, t h r o u g h g e n e r o u s p r o v i s i o n s o f fiscal a n d o t h e r i n c e n t i v e s c o m b i n e d w i t h h i g h protective duties, a d y n a m i c and self-sustaining industrial sector w o u l d e m e r g e . T h e y therefore p u r s u e d an import-substituting industrialisation policy w h i c h m o r e often than not depended o n f o r e i g n c a p i t a l , t e c h n o l o g y a n d s k i l l w i t h little o r n o b a c k w a r d and f o r w a r d linkages w i t h the agricultural and m i n i n g sectors, w h i c h w e r e the b a c k b o n e o f the e c o n o m y . C o n s e q u e n t l y , the h e t e r o g e n e o u s i n d u s t r i a l p r o j e c t s w h i c h w e r e set u p c a m e t o constitute islands o f s y m b o l i c m o d e r n i t y s u r r o u n d e d b y vast oceans o f p o v e r t y and traditional agricultural sectors. Fortunately b y t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d it w a s b e g i n n i n g t o b e r e c o g n i s e d , i f o n l y s l o w l y , t h a t i n d u s t r y h a d an i n n e r s t r u c t u r a l l o g i c a n d t h a t l i n k a g e s w i t h i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r w e r e as i m p o r t a n t t o its v i t a l i t y as l i n k a g e s b e t w e e n it a n d t h e o t h e r s e c t o r s . A n i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r o f g o v e r n m e n t s had c o m e to perceive that the importance o f a s e c t o r d e p e n d s n o t s o m u c h o n its s i z e as o n its g r o w t h p r o m o t i n g impact on other sectors. T h e f o u r t h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e o f i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t in the years 1960-75 w a s that these industries d e v e l o p e d o n a national scale. T h e r e w e r e virtually n o joint projects d e s i g n e d and i m p l e m e n t e d o n the r e g i o n a l scale. A s a result, m o s t o f the units set u p s e r v e d t h e l o c a l m a r k e t a n d t h e r e f o r e h a d t o o p e r a t e i n h a r m o n y w i t h t h e s i z e o f t h a t m a r k e t , a n d e x p e r i e n c e its h a z a r d s a n d fluctuations, w i t h o u t b e i n g a b l e t o b e n e f i t f r o m t h e e c o n o m i e s 220

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o f scale w h i c h characterise the p r o d u c t i o n o f the industrialised countries. T h e result w a s that a large n u m b e r o f industrial projects e x p e r i e n c e d difficulties, l e a d i n g in m o s t cases t o p r o h i b i t i v e production costs a n d / o r to p o o r uncompetitive quality with similar i m p o r t e d p r o d u c t s . Industrialisation in Africa p r o v e d a d i s a p p o i n t m e n t in spite o f its r e l a t i v e l y h i g h rates o f g r o w t h s i n c e i n d e p e n d e n c e . It d i d n o t bring about any reduction in the dependence o f African countries o n f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s . O n t h e c o n t r a r y — it c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e establishment o f an industrial structure o v e r l y d e p e n d e n t o n i m p o r t e d materials. M o r e o v e r , this p o l i c y d i d n o t e n c o u r a g e national savings n o r p r o m p t African entrepreneurs to enter the circuit o f industrial i n v e s t m e n t since incentives p r o v i d e d w e r e principally for the benefit o f the f o r e i g n investor. T h e industri­ a l i s a t i o n p u r s u e d f o r m o s t o f this p e r i o d w a s n o t p a r t o f a n o v e r a l l multi-sectoral strategy. It w a s n o t linked t o agricultural a n d rural development, the main sector e m p l o y i n g the largest section o f the p o p u l a t i o n a n d , as a r e s u l t , it d i d n o t c o n t r i b u t e t o r e d u c i n g t h e dualistic imbalances w h i c h characterised the A f r i c a n e c o n o m y . Because the industrial projects w e r e concentrated in the t o w n s , industrialisation accelerated the process o f urbanisation t o the detriment o f the rural sector a n d agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t . S o m e c h a n g e i n p o l i c y h a d t a k e n p l a c e i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s , w h e n a n effort was made b y s o m e countries t o establish industrial projects o n a scale l a r g e r t h a n t h e l o c a l m a r k e t a n d o r i e n t e d t o w a r d s e x p o r t . T h i s w a s the case w i t h the liquid o r g a s e o u s h y d r o c a r b o n industries; the agro-allied industries (textiles, leather, sugar, meat and oilseed p r o c e s s i n g ) ; the construction industry; the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industry; and the w o o d industry (pulp and p a p e r ) . N e v e r t h e l e s s A f r i c a w a s b y t h e e n d o f 1 9 7 5 still p r i m a r i l y e x p o r t i n g its r a w m a t e r i a l s a n d i m p o r t i n g m o s t o f its r e q u i r e m e n t s of manufactured g o o d s .

Economic infrastructure N o c o u n t r y c a n d e v e l o p p r o p e r l y w i t h o u t a n a d e q u a t e infras t r u c t u r a l s u p p o r t . Y e t a t i n d e p e n d e n c e all A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s w e r e v e r y short o f social o v e r h e a d capital. T h e e c o n o m i c and social infrastructures w h i c h they inherited w e r e designed for a colonial type o f administration w h i c h was concerned with the maintenance 221

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Algiers Tangier

Tunis Tripoli

Rabat« Bechar^

Alexandria

Touggourt Cairo j

) Marrakesh ¿

Aswan Wadi Haifa

Zouerate

Port Sudan

i Nouadhibou Timbuktu

¿.Gao kAnsongo

Khartoum

St Louis g Dakar f Bamako

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l^^aga-'ANiarriev dougou

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1

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Nyala •

Roseires • (Addis Ababa Gambeila

Ngaoundere

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Freetown \

Juba

P^ O

Port Harcourt

DOuala

Bangui /

Mogadishu

o

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Brazzaville j Pointe-Noire

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] [M^nza j

Kind^^^Kigoma

' Mombasa

Tabora/

nKinSfiasa K a l e m i e

Matadi Luanda

\ Dar es Salaam

Malanje

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^ Mozambique Lusaka

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Antananarivo

Bulawayo^

Walvis Bay I

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Hotazel Luderitz

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II

Transport. (Source: Cambridge

Port Elizabeth

Port London

Encylopaedia

of

Africa.)

o f law and order and the p r o m o t i o n o f exports and imports. In the c i r c u m s t a n c e s , therefore, the n e w l y - i n d e p e n d e n t c o u n t r i e s had n o alternative but to g i v e priority attention to the d e v e l o p m e n t o f their infrastructures. W e shall presently c o n c e r n o u r s e l v e s w i t h transport and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ; the social services will be c o n s i d e r e d later. T h e total l e n g t h (route k i l o m e t r e s ) o f A f r i c a n r a i l w a y s , e x c l u d 222 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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T a b l e 5.8. Transport and other economic indicators: percentage distribution of world totals, 1961.

South America

Africa Population Area Air transport capacity Air traffic Rail freight traffic Commercial vehicles Energy consumption Gross domestic product

8.5 22.5 2.0 2

4.9 13.2 5.0

-3

5.3

1.0

1.8 2.9 1.6

4.8 2.2

3-3

4-7

Europe (excl. USSR) 14.0 3-7

23.0 24.0 11.0 24.0 27.0 28.0

North America 8.9 18.0 62.0 60.0 29.0

55-o 38.0 51.0

('958) Source

UN

statistical

yearbook.

i n g t h o s e i n S o u t h A f r i c a , is a b o u t 50000 k m . I f S o u t h A f r i c a n r a i l w a y s a r e i n c l u d e d , it c o m e s t o a b o u t 7 3 0 0 0 k m . I n r e l a t i o n t o the s i z e o f t h e c o n t i n e n t t h e s e a r e v e r y l o w figures. I n d e e d , t h e g e n e r a l i m p r e s s i o n o f A f r i c a ' s r a i l w a y n e t w o r k is o n e o f e m p t i n e s s . In a d d i t i o n , t h e r a i l w a y s h a d different t e c h n i c a l c h a r a c t e r s , s u c h as g a u g e s , c o u p l i n g s , b r a k e s y s t e m s a n d buffers a n d t h e y w e r e unconnected w i t h o n e another. In Africa south o f the Sahara, 76 p e r c e n t o f t h e c. 6 0 0 0 0 k m o f r a i l r o a d s w e r e 3 ' 6 " g a u g e w h i l e a b o u t 20 p e r c e n t w e r e o f i m g a u g e . I n N o r t h A f r i c a , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , o v e r t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f t h e 13 000 k m o f r a i l r o a d s w e r e 4 ' 8" ( o r s t a n d a r d ) g a u g e , a b o u t 1 6 p e r c e n t w e r e i m g a u g e , w h i l e 8 p e r c e n t w e r e 1.05 5 m g a u g e (this b e i n g t h e 1 3 2 0 k m o f l i n e i n the R e p u b l i c o f A l g e r i a ) . Because o f the fragmentary c o m p o s i t i o n o f m u c h o f the r a i l w a y s y s t e m , r o a d t r a n s p o r t w a s o f s p e c i a l i m p o r t a n c e , p a r t i c u l a r l y as the s c o p e o f inland w a t e r w a y s w a s restricted t o the c o m p a r a t i v e l y f e w areas w h i c h h a v e r i v e r s a n d l a k e s n a v i g a b l e t o a n y t h i n g l a r g e r than a canoe. F u r t h e r m o r e , f e w o f the n a v i g a b l e rivers are navigable t h r o u g h o u t the year. In 1 9 6 3 , d e v e l o p i n g Africa, excluding A n g o l a and M o z a m b i q u e , h a d a total mileage o f 9 4 6 2 9 1 k m o f r o a d s , less t h a n 10 p e r c e n t o f w h i c h w e r e p a v e d . T h e d e n s i t y o f t h i s n e t w o r k a v e r a g e d 7.3 k m p e r 100 k m w h i c h , e v e n after d u e a c c o u n t h a s b e e n t a k e n o f t h e g r e a t e x p a n s e o f l a n d o c c u p i e d b y d e s e r t s a n d t h e r e f o r e s p a r s e l y p o p u l a t e d , w a s still 2

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v e r y l o w . W h i l e , as i n t h e c a s e o f t h e r a i l w a y s , t h e r e h a d b e e n n o attempt during the colonial period to build an all-African road system, unlike railroads there w a s n o total isolation. T h e r e w e r e h i g h w a y links b e t w e e n n e i g h b o u r i n g countries. B u t these w e r e r e a l l y ad hoc c o n n e x i o n s r a t h e r t h a n l i n k s i n a p l a n n e d s y s t e m o f regional or even sub-regional road networks. T h u s road systems w e r e essentially national a n d local in character. T a b l e 5.8 s h o w s h o w r e l a t i v e l y u n d e v e l o p e d A f r i c a ' s t r a n s p o r t s y s t e m w a s at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s . I t s s h a r e o f w o r l d t o t a l s in a i r t r a n s p o r t c a p a c i t y , a i r traffic, rail f r e i g h t traffic, a n d c o m m e r c i a l v e h i c l e s w a s d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y s m a l l e r t h a n its s h a r e o f w o r l d p o p u l a t i o n a n d l a n d a r e a w h i l e its s h a r e o f t h e w o r l d transport system, using the a b o v e indices, w a s m u c h smaller than its s h a r e o f w o r l d i n c o m e . T h i s w a s a l s o t r u e o f its s h a r e o f e n e r g y consumption. The social sector W e cannot e n d o u r analysis o f structural and sectoral c h a n g e s and trends without t o u c h i n g u p o n the all-important social sector health, education, h o u s i n g , water supplies - w h i c h in turn touches directly o n the well-being o f the citizens. A l t h o u g h for t o o l o n g economists have been concerned with such quantitative p a r a m e t e r s as G N P , i n c o m e , s a v i n g s , c a p i t a l f o r m a t i o n a n d p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e as t h e i n d i c e s f o r m e a s u r i n g e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s , t h e r e is a g r o w i n g f e e l i n g t h a t t h e s e a r e far f r o m b e i n g a d e q u a t e in s a t i s f a c t o r i l y m e a s u r i n g t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e h u m a n n e e d s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s a r e b e i n g m e t , p a r t i c u l a r l y as t h e r e is n o a u t o m a t i c p o l i c y r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a n y p a r t i c u l a r l e v e l o r rate o f g r o w t h o f t h e G N P a n d i m p r o v e m e n t i n s u c h i n d i c a t o r s as life e x p e c t a n c y , death rates, infant m o r t a l i t y , literacy, h o u s i n g o r water supplies. T h e r e has, therefore, recently been a search for a n e w kind o f index, a Physical Quality o f Life Index. It is o f c o u r s e n o t d i f f i c u l t t o u n d e r s t a n d o r e v e n a p p r e c i a t e w h y e c o n o m i s t s h a v e f a v o u r e d the easily quantifiable parameters in their m e a s u r e m e n t o f p r o g r e s s . Social p h e n o m e n a are n o t easily quantifiable a n d w h i l e social c h a n g e s m a y b e a d o p t e d as p o l i c y measures, the actual m o v e m e n t in the direction required m a y n o t b e e a s i l y m e a s u r a b l e e x c e p t after a p e r i o d o f s e v e r a l y e a r s . M o r e o v e r , social conditions varied greatly from country to

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c o u n t r y a n d as a r e s u l t a n y g e n e r a l i s a t i o n w o u l d in all p r o b a b i l i t y b e a r b i t r a r y a n d p e r h a p s m i s l e a d i n g . T h e f o l l o w i n g a n a l y s i s is therefore limited to o b s e r v a b l e trends in social c o n d i t i o n s . African countries m a d e great advances d u r i n g the years b e t w e e n i 9 6 0 a n d 1975 i n t h e s o c i a l s e c t o r s i n r e l a t i o n t o w h a t h a d b e e n a c h i e v e d in t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d . A t t h e t i m e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e m o s t o f them had n o m o r e than v e r y rudimentary social services. N o country had well-established educational systems, health services or h o u s i n g p r o g r a m m e s . Indeed, m a n y countries had o n l y a handful o f university graduates and only a few thousand h i g h s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s . P i p e - b o r n e w a t e r w a s a rarity and hospitals a n d h e a l t h c e n t r e s w e r e f e w a n d far b e t w e e n . E v e n t h e s c h o o l s w h i c h w e r e established b y the colonial administrations, o r m o r e usually b y the Christian missionaries, w e r e d e s i g n e d to p r o d u c e c l e r k s w h o w e r e v e r s e d in t h e t h r e e R s - a r i t h m e t i c , w r i t i n g a n d r e l i g i o u s k n o w l e d g e . T h u s b y i 9 6 0 , c o u n t r i e s s u c h as t h e Gambia, A n g o l a , Mali, Upper Volta, Mauritania, Somalia, N i g e r a n d E t h i o p i a - all o f w h i c h are t o d a y c l a s s i f i e d as t h e m o s t s e r i o u s l y affected b y p o v e r t y a n d t h e least d e v e l o p e d a m o n g t h e d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s - h a d less t h a n 10 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l - a g e p o p u l a t i o n e n r o l l e d in s c h o o l s a n d less than 5 per cent o f their s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l - a g e p o p u l a t i o n attending s c h o o l . I n d e e d , b y i 9 6 0 as m a n y as 27 A f r i c a n states h a d less t h a n a third o f their p r i m a r y s c h o o l - a g e p o p u l a t i o n enrolled, and a l m o s t all A f r i c a n s t a t e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e s o u t h o f t h e S a h a r a , h a d less t h a n 8 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l - a g e p o p u l a t i o n enrolled. In 1 9 6 0 - 1 , the p r o p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n b e t w e e n the a g e s o f 5 a n d 19 t h a t w a s r e c e i v i n g f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n i n A f r i c a as a w h o l e w a s o n l y 16 p e r c e n t , c o m p a r e d w i t h 4 4 p e r c e n t i n S o u t h E a s t A s i a , 50 p e r c e n t i n L a t i n A m e r i c a a n d 7 6 p e r c e n t in t h e S c a n d i n a v i a n c o u n t r i e s . N o c o m p r e h e n s i v e d a t a are available w i t h respect to the other services w i t h i n the social sector, b u t t h e s i t u a t i o n in t h e s e w a s h a r d l y b e t t e r . F o r e x a m p l e , a C o l o n i a l O f f i c e - s p o n s o r e d e c o n o m i c s u r v e y o f N i g e r i a in 1 9 5 1 h a d this t o r e p o r t o n h e a l t h s e r v i c e s :

Economic development is severely handicapped by the many health needs and problems of Nigeria. Outbreaks of relapsing and cerebro-spinal fevers are a serious problem in many of the Northern Provinces, and no province is entirely free from smallpox... Guinea worm infection prevails in many parts of the 225

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North, and the incidence of yaws is widely spread throughout Southern Nigeria... Malaria is widespread... 1

T h u s , in evaluating performance during the period under r e v i e w , it is i m p o r t a n t a l w a y s t o b e a r i n m i n d t h e d e p t h s f r o m w h i c h all A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s h a d t o e m e r g e i n t h e s o c i a l s e c t o r . A n d unfortunately, their task w a s n o t m a d e easy b y rapid increases in p o p u l a t i o n . T h e e s t i m a t e d p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e c o n t i n e n t i n 1965 w a s a b o u t 220 m i l l i o n , o r 8 p e r c e n t o f t h e w o r l d ' s t o t a l . B y 1 9 7 5 it had increased t o a b o u t 402 m i l l i o n , w h i c h represented a b o u t 10.1 per cent o f the w o r l d p o p u l a t i o n in that year. T h i s represented an a n n u a l rate o f i n c r e a s e o f b e t w e e n 2.7 a n d 3.0 p e r c e n t , w h i c h w a s t e n d i n g t o rise. T h e r e is a l s o t h e fact t h a t A f r i c a h a d t h e y o u n g e s t a g e structure o f any continent: o v e r two-fifths o f the population w e r e b e l o w the a g e o f 15. T h u s , a l t h o u g h there w a s p h e n o m e n a l progress in absolute terms, relative t o the needs o f the rapidly increasing p o p u l a t i o n the a c h i e v e m e n t s w e r e m o d e s t and in s o m e countries e v e n n e g a t i v e . I n t h e field o f e d u c a t i o n , p r i m a r y - s c h o o l e n r o l m e n t s d o u b l e d b e t w e e n 1 9 5 0 a n d 1 9 6 4 f o r A f r i c a as a w h o l e ; t h e y i n c r e a s e d fivefold after 1 9 5 7 a n d f o u r f o l d after 1 9 5 9 . B y 1 9 6 3 , t h e n u m b e r o f s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l p u p i l s h a d i n c r e a s e d b y 2000 p e r c e n t o v e r 1 9 5 0 ; 700 p e r c e n t o v e r 1 9 5 7 ; a n d 500 p e r c e n t o v e r 1 9 5 9 . Y e t b e c a u s e o f t h e h i g h p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h rates a n d t h e a g e - s t r u c t u r e , Africa w a s destined to continue for a l o n g time t o shoulder an unequalled enrolment burden. A l t h o u g h m a r k e d i m p r o v e m e n t s in health c o n d i t i o n s w e r e a c h i e v e d b e t w e e n i 9 6 0 a n d 1 9 7 5 , h e a l t h s t a n d a r d s w e r e still v e r y l o w . T h e a v e r a g e d e a t h rate r e m a i n e d h i g h at a b o u t 21 p e r 1000 a n d b y t h e e n d o f t h e p e r i o d f o r m o s t c o u n t r i e s t h e a v e r a g e life e x p e c t a n c y w a s still u n d e r 50 y e a r s . T h e p r i m a r y c a u s e s o f morbidity and mortality w e r e malnutrition, insanitary health en­ v i r o n m e n t s , l o w health education and v e c t o r - b o r n e disease. A l o n g l e e w a y still h a d t o b e m a d e u p b y all states t o i n c r e a s e t h e s i z e o f their medical a n d para-medical personnel. A l t h o u g h in m o s t c a s e s t h e s i t u a t i o n g r e a t l y i m p r o v e d after t h e p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e d e c a d e - t h e i m p r o v e m e n t r a n g e d f r o m 2 p e r c e n t t o 30 p e r c e n t o v e r t h e figures f o r 1 9 5 8 t o i 9 6 0 - d e v e l o p m e n t s i n d i f f e r e n t A f r i c a n states w e r e u n e v e n . B e s i d e s , t h e s i t u a t i o n w o r s e n e d i n a 1

C o l o n i a l O f f i c e , An economic survey of the colonial territories, i?jr African territories (London, H M S O , 1952).

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n u m b e r o f states, f o r e x a m p l e U g a n d a a n d E t h i o p i a , d u e t o a brain-drain caused by political upheavals. O n e o f the characteristic features o f the African e c o n o m y d u r i n g this p e r i o d w a s t h e r a p i d r a t e o f u r b a n i s a t i o n (see C h a p t e r 4). T r a d i t i o n a l l y , A f r i c a n s w e r e c o u n t r y d w e l l e r s . E v e n a r o u n d i 9 6 0 , o n l y 7 - 8 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n w e r e l i v i n g in t o w n s o f 100000 i n h a b i t a n t s a n d u p w a r d s . T h e p r o p o r t i o n o f u r b a n population h o w e v e r varied from one sub-region to another, with N o r t h Africa being, by a v e r y w i d e margin, the m o s t urbanised, a n d E a s t a n d s o u t h e r n A f r i c a t h e least. A f t e r i 9 6 0 t h e a n n u a l rates of g r o w t h o f urban population were consistently very m u c h h i g h e r t h a n the a n n u a l rates o f g r o w t h o f t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n , a n d r a n g e d f r o m an a v e r a g e o f 4.2 p e r c e n t t o 15.5 p e r c e n t . B y 1 9 7 5 , f r o m 20 t o 25 p e r c e n t o f t h e p e o p l e w e r e l i v i n g i n u r b a n areas. It m u s t b e a d d e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t A f r i c a r e m a i n e d t h e least u r b a n i s e d o f all t h e c o n t i n e n t s . Rapid urbanisation put very severe pressures on such social s e r v i c e s as h o u s i n g , h e a l t h a n d w a t e r s u p p l y . H o u s i n g c o n d i t i o n s s e e m t o h a v e s t a g n a t e d , i f n o t d e t e r i o r a t e d , d u r i n g this p e r i o d . F o r t h e w h o l e c o n t i n e n t t h e r a t e o f i n c r e a s e in h o u s i n g w a s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 u n i t s p e r 1000 p e o p l e a n n u a l l y w h i l e b a s i c n e e d s w e r e e s t i m a t e d at 10 t o 13 u n i t s p e r 1000. T h e s t e e p l y r i s i n g c o s t s o f b u i l d i n g materials a g g r a v a t e d the situation. In o r d e r to ameliorate the acute h o u s i n g s h o r t a g e , g o v e r n m e n t s b e g a n to assume direct responsibility for p r o v i d i n g h o u s i n g , particularly low-cost housing, and g i v i n g incentives to private developers. A l t h o u g h e x i s t i n g d a t a are s k e t c h y , t h e r e is e n o u g h e v i d e n c e to s h o w that the p r o b l e m s o f o p e n u n e m p l o y m e n t , u n d e r e m ­ p l o y m e n t and mass p o v e r t y assumed increasingly serious pro­ portions. A c c o r d i n g to a recent International L a b o u r Office e s t i m a t e , u n e m p l o y m e n t a n d u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t affected o n t h e a v e r a g e 7.1 a n d 3 7 . 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l l a b o u r f o r c e r e s p e c t i v e l y ; t h a t is t o s a y , 45 p e r c e n t o f t h e l a b o u r f o r c e w a s e i t h e r o p e n l y unemployed or disguisedly unemployed. Little w o n d e r Africa r e m a i n e d p o o r . F o r i f w e w e r e t o a d d t o t h i s figure t h e 4 4 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n b e l o w t h e a g e o f 15 a n d t h e r e f o r e e c o n o m i c a l l y d e p e n d e n t , a l m o s t 240 m i l l i o n o u t o f A f r i c a ' s t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n o f 402 m i l l i o n in 1 9 7 5 w e r e c o n t r i b u t i n g little o r n o t h i n g to the G D P . A l t h o u g h a n u m b e r o f countries did e m b a r k o n e m p l o y m e n t - c r e a t i o n p r o g r a m m e s , o n accelerated rural 227

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d e v e l o p m e n t , and o n the restriction o f migration o f people w i t h o u t jobs from rural t o urban areas, these p r o v e d n o m o r e than palliatives. I n c o m e d i s t r i b u t i o n is c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e p r o b l e m s o f unemployment and underemployment. Empirical evidence o n i n c o m e d i s t r i b u t i o n , s c a n t y as it i s , s h o w s t h a t i n e q u a l i t i e s w o r s e n e d and w e r e n o t significantly softened b y social services a n d w e l f a r e b e n e f i t s . T h e d i s a d v a n t a g e d h a d v e r y little o p p o r ­ tunity for u p w a r d e c o n o m i c o r social m o b i l i t y o w i n g t o lack o f employment and inadequate educational opportunities. A c c o r d i n g t o a r e c e n t s t u d y b y A d e l m a n a n d M o r r i s , t h e p o o r e s t 40 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n r e c e i v e d o n a v e r a g e b e t w e e n 1965 a n d 1 9 7 1 a b o u t 9 t o 17 p e r cent o f the national i n c o m e , w h i l e the richest 20 p e r c e n t a b s o r b e d b e t w e e n 50 a n d 7 0 p e r c e n t . Still m o r e striking, the richest 5 p e r cent o f the p o p u l a t i o n h a d b e t w e e n 17 a n d 34 p e r c e n t o f t h e i n c o m e . T h e i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e s e e s t i m a t e s is v e r y s e r i o u s i n t e r m s o f s o c i a l j u s t i c e ( s e e C h a p t e r 6 ) . W i t h p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e b e i n g as l o w as it w a s in m o s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , a n d w i t h t h e r i c h e s t 20 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n h a v i n g b e t w e e n 50 a n d 7 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l n a t i o n a l i n c o m e , it w o u l d s e e m t h a t a b o u t 80 p e r c e n t o f A f r i c a ' s t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n w e r e a r o u n d o r b e l o w the p o v e r t y line; m u c h o f this p o v e r t y w a s t o b e f o u n d in t h e r u r a l areas w h e r e m o s t p e o p l e still l i v e d . 1

Sub-regional trends T o c o n c l u d e this r e v i e w o f structural a n d sectoral c h a n g e s let us e x a m i n e v e r y briefly a n y discernible s u b - r e g i o n a l trends. T h e a v e r a g e a n n u a l g r o w t h rate o f 4.9 f o r t h e y e a r s 1 9 6 0 - 7 5 c o n c e a l e d l a r g e d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g t h e different s u b - r e g i o n s a n d g r o u p s o f countries. T h e usual classification o f Africa b y r e g i o n d o e s n o t t h r o w e n o u g h light o n t o the increasing e c o n o m i c disparity a m o n g African countries. In a recent assessment o f trends and p r o s p e c t s u n d e r t a k e n b y the E c o n o m i c C o m m i s s i o n for A f r i c a at t h e r e q u e s t o f t h e U N G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y , as p a r t o f t h e s t u d y o f l o n g - t e r m trends in t h e e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t o f the r e g i o n s o f

2

1

I. A d e l m a n a n d C . T . M o r r i s , Economic growth and social equity in developing countries ( S t a n f o r d , 1973), 1 4 1 - 8 5 . Preliminary assessment of long-term development trends and prospects in developing Africa, p u b l i s h e d b y t h e U N E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l C o u n c i l as d o c u m e n t E / 5 9 3 7 / A d d . 3 o f 29 M a r c h 1977, 7. 2

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t h e w o r l d , A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s w e r e c l a s s i f i e d i n t o five e c o n o m i c a l l y m o r e m e a n i n g f u l c a t e g o r i e s . T h e r e w a s , first, t h e g r o u p o f m a j o r oil-exporters - A l g e r i a , G a b o n , the L i b y a n A r a b R e p u b l i c and N i g e r i a . T h e n o n - o i l - e x p o r t i n g c o u n t r i e s w e r e classified into four g r o u p s o n the basis o f per capita i n c o m e : $US300-400; $ U S 2 0 o ~ 3 o o ; $ U S 100-200; and b e l o w $ U S i o o . O f the 41 n o n - o i l - e x p o r t i n g c o u n t r i e s o n w h i c h d a t a w e r e a v a i l a b l e , five countries - C o n g o , the I v o r y C o a s t , S â o T o m é and Principe, T u n i s i a a n d Z a m b i a - b e l o n g e d t o t h e first p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e c a t e g o r y ( $ U S 3 0 0 - 4 0 0 ) ; 11 c o u n t r i e s - C a p e V e r d e , E g y p t , E q u a ­ torial G u i n e a , G h a n a , G u i n e a - B i s s a u , Libéria, Mauritius, M o r ­ o c c o , M o z a m b i q u e , Senegal and S w a z i l a n d - b e l o n g e d to the s e c o n d c a t e g o r y ( $ U S 200—300) ; a n o t h e r 1 1 c o u n t r i e s - B o t s w a n a , the Central African R e p u b l i c , the G a m b i a , K e n y a , M a d a g a s c a r , Mauritania, Sierra L e o n e , S u d a n , T o g o , U g a n d a and the U n i t e d R e p u b l i c o f C a m e r o o n - b e l o n g e d to the $ U S 100-200 i n c o m e r a n g e g r o u p . T h e last g r o u p , w i t h p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e s o f b e l o w $ U S i o o , consisted o f 14 countries: Bénin, B u r u n d i , C h a d , Ethi­ opia, Guinea, Lesotho, M a l a w i , Mali, N i g e r , R w a n d a , Somalia, the U n i t e d R e p u b l i c o f T a n z a n i a , U p p e r V o l t a and Z a i r e . T h e v a r y i n g p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e s e five g r o u p s o f c o u n t r i e s is m o s t r e v e a l i n g (see t a b l e 5.9). W h e r e a s t h e f o u r m a j o r o i l - e x p o r t i n g c o u n t r i e s a n d t h e five c o u n t r i e s in t h e $ U S 3 0 0 - 4 0 0 g r o u p a c h i e v e d a v e r a g e g r o w t h rates o f 6.9 a n d 5.8 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m r e s p e c t i v e l y b e t w e e n i 9 6 0 a n d 1 9 7 5 , t h e 14 c o u n t r i e s w h o s e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e w a s b e l o w $ U S 100 a c h i e v e d o n l y 2.6 p e r c e n t g r o w t h p e r a n n u m . W h e n d u e a c c o u n t is t a k e n o f p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h in t h e s e c o u n t r i e s , this l a t t e r g r o u p a c h i e v e d no growth at all o n a p e r c a p i t a b a s i s d u r i n g t h e 1 5 - y e a r p e r i o d ; it is c l e a r t h a t t h e i r e c o n o m i e s w e r e d e c l i n i n g . T h e 22 c o u n t r i e s in t h e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e r a n g e s o f $ U S 100 t o $ U S 300 a c h i e v e d a v e r a g e g r o w t h o f 4.1 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m , w i t h a 1.4 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m i n c r e a s e in p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e . T a b l e 5.9 p r o v i d e s d a t a o n t h e r a t e o f g r o w t h o f t h e 45 d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s , first b y g e o g r a p h i c a l s u b - r e g i o n a n d , s e c o n d l y , u n d e r the e c o n o m i c a l l y m o r e m e a n i n g f u l classifications. T h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e different s e c t o r s o f e a c h g r o u p o f c o u n t r i e s is s h o w n at t a b l e 5 . 1 0 . T h e five n o n - o i l - e x p o r t i n g countries p r o v e d t h r o u g h their p e r f o r m a n c e that A f r i c a n countries did not h a v e to wait for the d i s c o v e r y o f crude p e t r o l e u m before 229

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T a b l e 5.9. Growth of real GDP in developing Africa, 1970 {percentage per annum). 1960-70 5.6

6.1

5.8

4-2

4-5

Total Major oil-exporting countries (4) Non-oil-exporting countries (41) GDP less than $100 per capita GDP $ 1 0 0 to under $200 per capita GDP $200 to under $300 per capita GDP $300 to $400 per capita Source:

1960-75

4.8 00

North Africa West Africa Central Africa (excluding S. Rhodesia) East Africa

1970-5

2.9

3-1

1.9

4.5

4-5

4.9

6.9

7.0

6.9

4.9

3.6

4.0

2-5

2.8

2.6

4-3

3.8

4.1

3-5 6.

5.0

4.1

4.3

5.8

5

Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa.

T a b l e 5 . 1 0 . Average growth rates by economic sector by groups of countries 1960-7 j (percentage per year).

Total GDP Major oil-exporting countries Non-oil-exporting countries GDP less than $100 per capita GDP $100 to under $200 per capita GDP $200 to under $300 per capita GDP $300 to under $400 per capita Total Source:

Agri­ Manufac- All culture turing industry Services

6.9

2.0

12.1

13-7

5-7

4.0

2.4

5-3

5.4

4.6

2.6

0.4

4-7

4.1

4.2

4.1

2-7

6.6

5-5

5-7

4.2

6.1

3.8

4.1

3-

5.8

4.0

9-7

4.8

7-3

4.9

2.3

6.4

7-6

4.8

2

Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa.

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d e v e l o p m e n t c o u l d g e t u n d e r w a y . F o r t h e r e g i o n as a w h o l e , t h e c u m u l a t i v e effect o f this i n c r e a s i n g d i s p a r i t y in e c o n o m i c p e r f o r m a n c e a m o n g t h e d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s o f c o u n t r i e s is t h a t a small n u m b e r o f countries w o u l d b e c o m e increasingly e c o n o m i ­ c a l l y d o m i n a n t in A f r i c a . W e h a v e a l r e a d y r e f e r r e d t o t h e g r o w i n g d o m i n a n c e o f t e n c o u n t r i e s in t h e i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . T h e s e countries, a c c o r d i n g to table 5.10, a c c o u n t e d for 72.4 per cent o f Africa's total industrial o u t p u t . In 1 9 7 5 , the four major oile x p o r t e r s a c c o u n t e d f o r 34.5 p e r c e n t o f d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a ' s G D P ; t h e five n o n - o i l - e x p o r t i n g c o u n t r i e s in t h e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e r a n g e o f $ U S 3 0 0 - 4 0 0 a c c o u n t e d f o r 8.6 p e r c e n t ; t h e 1 1 c o u n t r i e s w i t h i n the i n c o m e range o f $ U S 200-300 per capita a c c o u n t e d for 30.2 p e r c e n t ; t h e o t h e r 11 c o u n t r i e s w i t h i n t h e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e range o f $ U S 100-200 a c c o u n t e d for 13.6 per c e n t ; and the 14 c o u n t r i e s w h o s e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e w a s b e l o w $ U S 100 a c c o u n t e d for 13.1 per cent. T h u s nine countries shared b e t w e e n t h e m 43.1 p e r c e n t o f A f r i c a ' s G D P in 1 9 7 5 w h i l e 25 c o u n t r i e s h a d o n l y 26.7 per cent.

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A s w e have already emphasised, a principal legacy o f colonialism in A f r i c a w a s its c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f t h e c o n t i n e n t i n t o a n u m b e r o f politically distinct entities w i t h o u t regard to history and culture or political and e c o n o m i c viability. T h e colonial p o w e r s c o n ­ centrated o n f o r g i n g vertical e c o n o m i c links b e t w e e n their m e t r o poles and their dependencies rather than horizontal links a m o n g t h e c o l o n i e s . T h e y c o n s i s t e n t l y d i s c o u r a g e d t h e l a t t e r u n l e s s it s e r v e d an imperial p u r p o s e . Y e t p a r a d o x i c a l l y the genesis o f e c o n o m i c i n t e g r a t i o n is t o b e f o u n d in t h e p o l i c i e s o f t h e c o l o n i a l powers. I n E a s t A f r i c a , K e n y a a n d U g a n d a f o r m e d a c u s t o m s u n i o n as far b a c k as 1 9 1 7 a n d t h e s e t w o w e r e j o i n e d b y T a n g a n y i k a t e n y e a r s later. A l t h o u g h t h i s w a s d e s i g n e d t o p r o t e c t a n d f u r t h e r t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e w h i t e s e t t l e r s in K e n y a , it w a s a l s o i n t e n d e d t o g i v e t h e t h r e e t e r r i t o r i e s t h e b e n e f i t o f e c o n o m i e s o f s c a l e in t h e p r o v i s i o n , i m p r o v e m e n t and administration o f infrastructural facilities s u c h as r a i l w a y s , r o a d s , p o r t s , a n d p o s t s a n d t e l e c o m ­ m u n i c a t i o n s . I n 1 9 4 7 this c o m m o n - m a r k e t a r r a n g e m e n t w a s d e ­ v e l o p e d into an institution for the administration o f these 231

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i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l facilities - t h e E a s t A f r i c a H i g h C o m m i s s i o n . A s the three c o u n t r i e s a p p r o a c h e d i n d e p e n d e n c e , this a r r a n g e m e n t e n c o u n t e r e d g r o w i n g difficulties. W i t h the i n d e p e n d e n c e o f T a n g a n y i k a in 1 9 6 1 , the E a s t A f r i c a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n w a s replaced b y the East African C o m m o n Services O r g a n i s a t i o n ( E A C S O ) . T h i s w a s in turn replaced b y the East A f r i c a n C o m m u n i t y ( E A C ) w i t h w h i c h w e s h a l l d e a l later. T h e establishment o f the Federation o f R h o d e s i a and N y a s a l a n d in 1953 h a d similar o b j e c t i v e s t o the E a s t A f r i c a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n - the protection o f the e c o n o m i c a l l y d o m i n a n t g r o u p , the w h i t e settlers. T h e o n l y difference b e t w e e n the E a s t A f r i c a n and the Central A f r i c a n a p p r o a c h e s w a s that in the case o f t h e latter t h e B r i t i s h c o l o n i a l p o w e r w a s p e r s u a d e d b y t h e settlers that those interests w e r e better s e r v e d n o t m e r e l y t h r o u g h the e c o n o m i c integration o f the three but also t h r o u g h their political integration. T h i s g a v e the w h i t e settlers o f the t w o R h o d e s i a s the possibility o f establishing e c o n o m i c and political h e g e m o n y o v e r the three countries. B e c a u s e o f A f r i c a n o p p o s i t i o n , t h e f e d e r a t i o n h a d a v e r y s h o r t e x i s t e n c e a n d fell a p a r t i n 1 9 6 4 . T h e c o m m o n s e r v i c e s w e r e s p l i t u p i n 1 9 6 3 , t e n y e a r s after t h e y had been established. T h e British d e p e n d e n c e s in W e s t A f r i c a w e r e n o t c o n t i g u o u s ; they w e r e separated from o n e another by F r e n c h colonies and L i b e r i a . T h e r e w e r e n o settler interests t o p r o t e c t and therefore n o c o m p e l l i n g r e a s o n t o set u p a c o m m o n m a r k e t o r c u s t o m s u n i o n , o r e v e n a c o m m o n services a r r a n g e m e n t . H o w e v e r , in order to minimise the cost o f administration, these countries had certain services in c o m m o n , for e x a m p l e a c o m m o n c u r r e n c y and a c o m m o n income-tax policy, c o m m o n research institutions and e v e n a c o m m o n s c h o o l examination institution - the W e s t A f r i c a n E x a m i n a t i o n s C o u n c i l . T h e British H i g h C o m m i s s i o n territories o f Bechuanaland (Botswana), Swaziland and Basutoland (Lesotho) w e r e j o i n e d w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a , b y w h i c h t h e last w a s s u r r o u n d e d , in a c u s t o m s r e g i m e i n 1 9 1 0 w i t h c o m m o n e x t e r n a l tariffs a g a i n s t t h i r d c o u n t r i e s a n d w i t h free m o v e m e n t o f l a b o u r , c a p i t a l , currency and g o o d s . T h e F r e n c h o r g a n i s e d their tropical A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s into t w o administrative areas, F r e n c h W e s t Africa and F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a , as a m e a n s o f e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l . E a c h o f these a d m i n i s t r a t i v e areas w a s a k i n d o f federation w i t h 232

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I N T E G R A T I O N

appropriate federal institutions, a monetary system and a c o m m o n policy in trade. E a c h federation had p o w e r s o f taxation and all French financial assistance was channelled t h r o u g h it. T h e currencies o f the t w o federations w e r e freely transferable a m o n g the constituent colonies o f the other federation w i t h a par value being maintained with the metropolitan franc T h e y were also transferable to the Trusteeship Territories o f C a m e r o u n and T o g o , as well as Madagascar and French Somaliland. T h e s e arrangements did not survive independence because France chose to grant independence not to each federation but to the constituent colonies. T h e Belgians united their Trust Territory o f Ruanda-Urundi with the Belgian C o n g o not only for the purposes o f administrative convenience but also as a de facto c o m m o n market. T h e r e was free m o v e m e n t o f capital and labour and currency. W i t h the approach o f independence the Ruanda-Urundi U n i o n split into t w o separate independent states, R w a n d a and Burundi, and entered on a separate economic existence from the independent C o n g o (Zaire). A l t h o u g h virtually all the e c o n o m i c g r o u p i n g s w h i c h were set up during the colonial period failed to survive colonialism, during this period the nationalists from all parts o f Africa had advocated African integration and unity as the only means o f bringing about self-rule and self-determination. T h e Fifth Pan-African Congress held in Manchester in 1 9 4 5 , for instance, recommended inter alia the establishment o f a West African e c o n o m i c union as a means o f combating the exploitation o f the e c o n o m i c resources o f the West African territories and for ensuring the participation o f the indigenous people in the industrial development o f W e s t Africa. T h e Bandung Declaration o f 1955 also urged e c o n o m i c cooper­ ation a m o n g the African countries. In 195 8, a year after the G o l d Coast had achieved independence as Ghana, the first conference o f the leaders o f political parties in Africa was held in Accra. T h i s conference decided to establish a permanent organization, the All-African Peoples' Conference, a m o n g w h o s e objectives was the p r o m o t i o n o f intra-African trade through the removal o f customs and other trade restrictions, the conclusion o f multilateral payments agreements designed to facilitate intra-African trade, the formation o f an African Trans­ port C o m p a n y for land, sea and air transportation; the setting up o f an African C o m m o n M a r k e t ; the creation o f an African 2

33

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E V O L U T I O N

234

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THE SEARCH

FOR E C O N O M I C

INTEGRATION

Investment B a n k ; and, the setting up o f an African Institute for Research and Training w h o s e primary task w o u l d be to p r o m o t e the development o f joint projects. In 1960, the conference held its second meeting in T u n i s where the recommendations o f the first conference were endorsed. T h i s was followed a year later by a third meeting held in Cairo. In the post-independence period, many meetings were held o n the issue o f economic cooperation and development. T h e United Nations E c o n o m i c Commission for Africa, w h i c h was established in 1958, made determined efforts to foster e c o n o m i c cooperation a m o n g African states. F r o m the beginning o f the 1970s, particularly since the United Nations General A s s e m b l y passed the resolution in December 1972 calling for the d e v e l o p i n g nations themselves to take concrete action to promote technical cooperation, a series o f sub-regional, regional and inter-regional meetings was held o n the subject o f cooperation, each meeting ending w i t h a declaration a n d / o r a programme o f action. It would be tedious to list all the declarations and pronounce­ ments on the intention to cooperate. O n e thing that was clear was that the African states and, before independence, the national­ ists, were not wanting in the right intentions. Y e t , not only did they fail to build on the foundations laid by the colonial powers, whatever the m o t i v e s o f the latter, but they failed to achieve any significant b r e a k t h r o u g h after independence.

Key to fig. 1 1

ADB BEAC BOAD CEAO CPCM EAC EADB ECA ECEAO ECOWAS ENTENTE OMVS UDEAC UEAC UMOA WACH

The African Development Bank Bank of Central African States West African Development Bank West African Economic Community Maghrib Permanent Consultative Committee East African Community East African Development Bank United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Central Bank of West African States Economic Community of West African States Council of the Entente States Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River Central African Customs and Economic Union Union of Central African States West African Monetary Union West African Clearing House 2

35

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THE ECONOMIC EVOLUTION

J u d g i n g from the number o f e c o n o m i c g r o u p i n g s w h i c h have been established since i960 (see fig. 12) o n e w o u l d be tempted to think that there had indeed been a breakthrough in economic cooperation and integration. A c c o r d i n g to an E C A directory o f inter-governmental cooperation organisations in Africa, there were, in 1975, 6 e c o n o m i c communities, 20 inter-governmental multi-sectoral e c o n o m i c organisations and about 100 single-sector multi-national organisations meant to p r o m o t e technical and e c o n o m i c cooperation in the continent. A l l these organisations had a chequered history; s o m e w e r e virtually moribund while others were n o more than paper tigers. A few were earnestly trying t o b e c o m e effectively operational. W h y were the efforts at fostering e c o n o m i c cooperation in Africa not successful? T o answer this question satisfactorily w e w o u l d have to examine fully and in detail each economic g r o u p i n g . A l l w e can d o here is highlight some o f the major problems and issues i n v o l v e d . T h e constraints facing e c o n o m i c cooperation in Africa were either internally generated or externally induced. T h e major internally-generated constraints included, first, the difficulty o f agreeing o n a formula for sharing the benefits and cost o f e c o n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n ; secondly, the over-sensitivity concerning national s o v e r e i g n t y ; thirdly, the inadequacy o f infrastructure and the absence o f an appropriate institutional framework to promote e c o n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n ; fourthly, differences in political i d e o l o g y ; and, finally, ambivalence in attitudes towards economic c o ­ operation. A series o f under-capacities - inadequate physical infrastructure and lack o f enabling institutional facilities - constituted the prin­ cipal hurdles to effective regional cooperation. T h e real constraints w e r e generated by the limited range o f modern transport and communication links a m o n g m e m b e r states. In the colonial period there w a s , o f course, n o intra-African clearing house arrangement nor a c o m m o n currency and payments arrangement to facilitate commercial transactions, let alone the multi-national development institutions w i t h the capacity for project identification, prepara­ tion, investment p r o m o t i o n and consultancy services in industrial and commercial ventures. T h e s e capacities are, h o w e v e r , the real nuts and bolts in the vehicle o f multi-national economic cooperation, w i t h o u t w h i c h the latent p o w e r in the engine will 236 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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I N T E G R A T I O N

not lead to forward movement. I n this connexion, the Economic Commission for Africa tried to develop, in cooperation w i t h African governments, physical infrastructural capacities on a continent-wide basis. Accordingly, plans were initiated for the development of a network of five trans-African highways: transSaharan roads from Algiers to Gao and A r l i t and to Lagos; a trans-African highway from Dakar to Ndjamena; a coastal highway from Lagos to Nouakchott; and a trans-East African highway from Cairo to Gaborone. The Commission, in collabo­ ration with the International Telecommunication Union and the O A U , established in 1963 the Pan-African Telecommunication Union (Panaftel) whose task was to develop a Pan-African telecommunications network. I n the years after independence, strong differences in political ideologies with consequential differences in economic organis­ ation and policy appeared among different African countries. For example, the failure of the East African Community was due in part to the fact that Tanzania had a socialist ideology while Kenya followed the capitalist pattern. Furthermore, by and large the multi-national corporations had little sympathy w i t h the aspir­ ations for economic progress of African countries, but were only interested in protecting and extending the markets which they had dominated during the colonial era and maximising and repatriating profits for their metropolitan shareholders. Finally, there was the constraint imposed by the failure of political initiatives and declared collective goodwill to be marked by concomitant practical action. I n most African states there did not exist institutional arrangements and administrative machinery adequately equipped to translate collective declarations and poli­ tical goodwill into operational development programmes and projects. More serious was the tendency for actions at national levels to be completely at variance w i t h declarations in inter­ national forums and for some high-ranking public officials to allow themselves to be used as pawns on the chessboard o f international power politics, thus delaying the economic progress of their own people. O f course it can be argued that this dichotomy between internally generated and externally induced constraints is unre­ alistic, in that extra-African factors played direct and indirect roles in influencing the intensity, extent and direction of the operation *37

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E V O L U T I O N

o f internally generated constraints, at individual country level. But Africa was still powerfully oriented to the outside w o r l d . A n d even more striking, it was still conditioned by strong attach­ ment to pre-independence political, economic, social and cultural relations. T h i s orientation and this attachment inhibited the development o f concepts, policies and instruments essential for engineering the kind o f domestic socio-economic change on w h i c h self-sustaining g r o w t h and self-reliance could be based and on w h i c h effective regional and sub-regional cooperation could be built. It was difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a significant measure o f self-reliance, national and collective, while g o v e r n ­ ments ran externally oriented and excessively open economies.

A F R I C A

A N D

T H E

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

E c o n o m i c development was conceived in colonial Africa in terms o f production for export and in terms o f investment, technology and skilled personnel c o m i n g from overseas. Africa's dependence on the international e c o n o m y , particularly that o f the metropolitan countries, was almost complete. Indeed, the prevailing conven­ tional w i s d o m during the colonial period supported this v i e w . It linked the rate and direction o f colonial socio-economic change with production for export and w i t h the importation o f skills, technology and capital g o o d s and services and modern consumer g o o d s . T h u s , foreign trade was regarded as the prime engine o f g r o w t h and development in the d e v e l o p i n g countries. Foreign trade remained critically important to independent African g o v e r n m e n t s , if they w e r e ever to be in a position to maintain public services and attempt to fulfil their preindependence promises. Y e t in i960, w h e n so many African countries became independent, the values o f Africa's imports and exports as percentages o f w o r l d imports and exports were only 6 and 5.1 per cent respectively. E x c l u d i n g S o u t h Africa, the figures were 4.8 and 4.1 per cent. D u r i n g the period 1960-75, Africa experienced phenomenal increases in its external trade. A s is s h o w n in fig. 13, the value o f exports increased from $ U S 4 9 z o million in i960 to $ U S 3 3 o i 2 million in 1975 - an increase by 6.7 times. Imports also increased 5.7 times in value during the period. In terms o f v o l u m e , the exports o f d e v e l o p i n g Africa increased annually at the average rate 238

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A F R I C A

A N D T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

KEY Non-oil / / / / / /

Exporting Countries

M a i a oil Exporting Countries

1

20.000-

I960

1965

1970

1

1975

YEAR

13 Exports and imports by groups of countries in developing Africa (excluding Angola and Rhodesia), 1960-75 (in million % US) (United Nations, Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, various issues to Sept. 1976; IMF, International Financial Statistics^ Dec.

1976).

o f 4.5 per cent whereas the imports increased at the rate o f 6.2 per cent during the same period. It will be recalled that during this period G D P increased o n average at 4.9 per cent per annum, In other w o r d s , the g r o w t h rate o f imports w a s about o m percentage point higher than the g r o w t h rate o f G D P . In annual values, as indicated in fig. 13, the non-oil-exporting countries achieved average cumulative increases o f 8.3 per cent and 10.8 per cent for exports and imports respectively with the result that a very large trade g a p developed for this g r o u p o f countries o v e r the period. Their deficit o n external trade rose from J U S 0 . 2 billion in i960 to $US6-3 billion in 1975. T h e major oil exporters turned their deficit o f $US 1.1 billion in i960 into a trade surplus o f J U S 3.8 billion in 1975. Table 5.11 provides details o f the g r o w t h rates o f exports and imports by g i v i n g the annual averages for each five-year period 239

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T H E

TABLE

E C O N O M I C

E V O L U T I O N

Average annual growth rates of export and import volume, by groups of non-oil-exporting countries, 1960-7j (percentage).

5 . 1 1 .

1965-70

1960-5

1960-75

— 2.1

8.0

-6.0

— 0.1

6.8

4.1

-1.8

2.9

2.6

2.6

4.3

3.2

8.0

8.6

-0.3

5.3

4-5

8.2

-1.4

3.8

6.3

5.6

0.8

42

5-5

1-3

SM

5-4

00

Exports GDP less than $100 per capita GDP $100 to under $200 per capita GDP $200 to under $300 per capita GDP $300 to under $400

1970-5

7.0

4.4

5-7

Imports GDP less than $100 per capita GDP J 1 0 0 to under $200 per capita GDP $200 to under $300 per capita GDP $300 to under $400 per capita

Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa, based on data in the United Nations Monthly bulletin of statistics and International Monetary Fund, Internationalfinancialstatistics, various issues.

Sources'.

SINCE

I 9 6 0 .

EXPORTS G D P

T H ETABLE

A N D IMPORTS

INCREASED,

FOR E A C H G R O U P (I.E.

S H O W S

F R O M

A N D THAT

T H EANNUAL

THAN

W I T H

G R O W T H

T O 1 9 7 5I N C R E A S E D

T H EG R O W T H

O FCOUNTRIES

I N T H E 1 4C O U N T R I E S

THAT

I 9 6 0

RATE O FI M P O R T S

F O RE X P O R T S .

P E R CAPITA

G

D

RATES O F

ASP E R CAPITA W A S HIGHER

A TT H EL O W E S T P UNDER

LEVEL

$ U S I O O

I N

1 9 7 0 ) , T H EG A P B E T W E E N T H EA N N U A L A V E R A G E G R O W T H RATES O F E X P O R T S A N D I N

IMPORTS

V O L U M E

IMPORTS THIS

1975 F R O M

M A R K E D .

O FCOUNTRIES

EXPORTS D U R I N G

ROSE B Y3 . 8 P E RCENT P E RA N N U M .

G R O U P

HARDEST

W A S PARTICULARLY

FORTHIS G R O U P

O FC O U N T R I E S

H I TB YD R O U G H T

RECOVERY B E I N G

INCLUDED

I N T H E YEARS

O FAGRICULTURAL

COMPLETE.

M O S T

I TSHOULD

T O INCREASE WHEREAS

B E NOTED

O FT H E COUNTRIES

THAT

O F AFRICA

1 9 7 3 A N D1 9 7 4 , A N D THAT B Y

A N D LIVESTOCK

FINALLY,

FAILED

T H EP E R I O D

T H E EXPORT

PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE

G R O U P S O FC O U N T R I E S , E X C E P T T H O S E W I T H P E R C A P I T A G

D

W A S FAR O F ALL

PO F$ U S 2 0 0

2 4 0

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A F R I C A

A N D T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

Table 5.12. Imports and exports by provenance or destination 1960-7j {percentages).

Provenance

Imports

Exports

destination

i960

1965

1970

1975

i960

1965

1970

1975

Developed market economies Developing market economies Centrally planned economies

82

85

81

85

84

89

88

84

11

8

10

10

5

5

10

7

7

6

6

6

6

7

6

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

World Source:

UN, Monthly

bulletin of statistics,

IMF Directory of Trade.

to $US 300, was particularly disappointing during the first half o f the 1970s. T h e direction o f Africa's trade did n o t u n d e r g o any significant change after i960 as table 5.12 clearly s h o w s . T h e principal trading partners o f the region w e r e countries w i t h d e v e l o p e d market economies. Chief a m o n g these w e r e the members o f the European E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y ( E E C ) w h i c h accounted for approximately 57 per cent o f the trade o f the region o v e r the period, i.e. 5 5 per cent o f imports and 5 8 per cent o f exports. H o w e v e r , it should be observed that there w a s a steady relative decline in trade with E E C countries, particularly as regards export, in favour o f the United States, the Latin-American Free Trade Association countries and Japan. W i t h regard to the patterns o f trade some significant structural changes t o o k place in exports particularly during the last ten years ( 1 9 6 5 - 7 5 ) . T h e most significant change w a s the rapid increase in the relative importance o f exports o f mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and, to a lesser extent, o f imports o f machinery and transport equipment. T h e former increased from 19 per cent o f total exports in 1965 t o 55 per cent in 1975, while the latter increased from 31 per cent o f total imports in 1966 to 39 per cent 241

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E C O N O M I C

E V O L U T I O N

YEAR

US S M

1975

1970

»65

I960

ü

-2000

-4000

-6000

NON-OIL EXPORTING COUNTRIES -8000

MAJOR OIL EXPORTING

COUNTRIES

14 Balance of payments deficits on goods and services by groups of countries in developing Africa, 1960-75 (in million % US). Note that the data for i960 are much more unreliable than those for later years. (Estimates from the ECA.) in 1 9 7 5 . O n . t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e s h a r e o f e x t e r n a l t r a d e a t t r i b u t e d to food, drink and t o b a c c o , and to exports b o t h o f manufactured g o o d s and inedible r a w materials, apart f r o m fuels, declined c o n s i d e r a b l y o v e r t h e p e r i o d . T h e n e t r e s u l t o f all t h e s e c h a n g e s w a s that mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials b e c a m e the m o s t i m p o r t a n t g r o u p o f e x p o r t s in place o f o t h e r c r u d e inedible materials. T h e s e d e c l i n e d in i m p o r t a n c e t o a l e v e l b e l o w that o f f o o d s t u f f s , w h i c h c o n t i n u e d t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e s e c o n d p l a c e in t h e share o f total e x p o r t s . M a c h i n e r y and transport e q u i p m e n t continued t h r o u g h o u t the period to be the m o s t important g r o u p o f imports, f o l l o w e d b y manufactured g o o d s . O n the w h o l e there w a s n o significant c h a n g e in the p a t t e r n o f i m p o r t s d u r i n g the period under review. L e t us n o w c o m p l e t e o u r r e v i e w o f A f r i c a and the international e c o n o m y b y l o o k i n g at t h e b a l a n c e - o f - p a y m e n t s s i t u a t i o n f r o m i 9 6 0 t o 1 9 7 5 . A s s h o w n in fig. 1 4 , t h e o v e r a l l d e f i c i t f o r g o o d s a n d s e r v i c e s r o s e f r o m $ U S i 9 7 o m i l l i o n in i 9 6 0 t o $ 1 1 8 9 5 3 2 m i l l i o n in 1 9 7 5 . W h i l e t h e r e w a s little c h a n g e in t h e d e f i c i t o f t h e 242

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A N DT H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

Table 5 . 1 3 . Net transfers and net capital in-flows for oil-exporting and non-oil-exporting African countries (1960-7;). i960

1965

1970

1975

(in million JUS) (a) Net transfers

Non-oil-exporting countries Major oil-exporters

135

224

735

2780

210

191

252

69

Total

345

4M

987

2849

680

824

957

4477

850

300

417

483

1374

4960

(b) Net capital in-flows

Non-oil-exporting countries Major oil-exporters Total

1530

1124

Source-. ECA Secretariat estimates, March

1977.

oil-exporting countries - it increased from $ U S i 4 o o million in i 9 6 0 to $ U S i 8 6 2 million in 1975 - the deficits o f the non-oilexporting countries increased from a mere $US 5 70 million in i 9 6 0 to $1187670 million in 1 9 7 5 . I n fact, for the poorest among this group o f countries, the deficit rose from virtually nothing in i 9 6 0 to$US 1560 million in 1 9 7 5 . Although the level o f deficit on goods and services account increased in the non-oil-exporting countries between i 9 6 0 and 1 9 7 0 , there was a very small limited rise in the size o f the deficit between 1 9 7 0 and 1 9 7 5 . These deficits were covered by increasing in-flows o f public transfers and capital, some rise in net receipts o f private transfers and a running down o f net foreign reserves. For example, the reserves of the non-oil-exporters fell by JUS 4 1 0 million i n 1 9 7 5 , while those o f the major oil-exporters fell by JUS 1 3 1 0 million in the same year. The increase in the in-flows o f net transfers and the level o f the net capital in-flows since i 9 6 0 were as shown in table 5 . 1 3 . Thus, the sharply-increased flows o f resources into African countries, particularly during the 1970s, helped to contain the balance-of-payments problems. But it also increased their debt burdens to virtually unbearable proportions. We must now turn to the role o f foreign aid and investment in Africa's development. We have already noted the paucity o f 243

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E C O N O M I C

E V O L U T I O N

aid during the colonial period since the colonies were, in general, required to pay for themselves up until the Second World War. And private foreign investment was limited to mine development, plantations, and in some colonies, railways. The Second World War brought a fundamental change in the flow of aid and foreign investment. The establishment of the World Bank gave a fillip to this trend. True enough, it was the urgency of reconstruction and reha­ bilitation in Europe after that war that pointed to the need for increased assistance to the developing countries. When the charter of the World Bank was drafted in 1944, it was in the hope that the Bank would be 'the principal instrument for restoring the war-torn nations of the world to economic life'. In 1 9 4 6 - 7 , the Bank's annual report confirmed that the most pressing calls upon the Bank were ' for purposes of reconstructing the war-damaged nations of Europe'. The same report, however, forecast that it would not be very long before the financing of development projects in the developing countries would tend to become the primary concern of the Bank. By June 1 9 5 2 , the Bank had granted a total of JUS 1382 million as loans. Africa received only 9 per cent ($US 12 5 million). Out of this, $US 5 8 million was for electric power generation in Southern Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa, $US 20 million for the expansion of transportation facilities in the Union of South Africa - a total of 62 per cent - and $ U S 4 o million or another 32 per cent for development programmes in the Belgian Congo. These three countries thus had nearly 95 per cent of total World Bank loans to the Africa region. By June 1958, the region received nearly 13 per cent of the total loans (JUS 4 7 9 million). As much as 91 per cent of the loans to the African region were for electric power and transportation facilities. The Union of South Africa and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland again had the lion's share of the loans - about 63 per cent - while the Belgian Congo had 1 7 per cent. By 1966, total World Bank loans and International Development Association (IDA) credits to Africa (excluding the Union of South Africa) had reached $US 1224 million; I D A credits being $US 145 million. By 1 9 7 0 , World Bank loans had increased by $US 693 million and I D A credits by $US 403 million. Official assistance, both financial and technical, also increased. Other developed countries besides the colonial powers began to 244

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A F R I C A

A N D

T H E

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

give assistance to the developing countries. With the achievement of independence by the African territories, colonial funds gave way to bilateral assistance. At the end of 1 9 6 1 , the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) was organised by the aid-giving countries as a forum for consultation. The members of the committee soon provided most of the financial and technical assistance to the developing countries. By 1970, both the bilateral and the multilateral assistance to the continent (excluding the Union of South Africa) had expanded considerably. From the data given in the 1976 Review of development co-operation (OECD), total resource flows from the D A C countries and multilateral agencies increased from JUS 3446 million in 1 9 7 1 to JUS 5160 million in 1 9 7 4 and JUS 8 1 1 1 million in 1 9 7 5 . Total private flows, therefore, increased from JUS 5 80 million in 1972 to JUS 7 9 0 million in 1 9 7 4 and JUS 2680 million in 1 9 7 5 . Resources were also made available by both the socialist and the O P E C countries. The annual commitment of bilateral devel­ opment assistance from Centrally Planned Economies varied between JUS 200 million and JUS 400 million in the 1 9 6 0 - 1 period, except in 1964 when it jumped to JUS 870 million and 1962, 1966 and 1969 when it was less than JUS 60 million. It is estimated that the commitment in 1 9 7 2 - 4 was about JUS 500 million a year. The financial assistance received from the O P E C countries became substantial after 1 9 7 3 . It is estimated to have been JUS 5 87 million in 1 9 7 3 , JUS 2 1 6 7 million in 1 9 7 4 and JUS 2666 million in 1 9 7 5 , a total of JUS $420 million. But it did not offset oil price rises, and not all countries benefited from it. Africa received much foreign assistance, both financial and technical. As shown in table 5.14, the external public debt of the developing countries of Africa south of the Sahara increased three-and-a-half times between 1967 and 1974. Even though suppliers' credit only doubled, private bank credit increased tremendously, especially after 1973 when official bilateral debt more than tripled and multilateral debt increased five-fold. As a result of the rapid increase of private resource flows in 1 9 7 5 , the D A C countries were able to achieve the target of 1.0 per cent of their G N P for total resource flows. Considering that most rapid increases took place after 1970, and that the greatest increase was in private resource flows, the debt service payments rose sharply and would thereafter continue to rise. Debt service payments *45

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Table 5 . 1 4 . External public debt classified by type of creditor, Africa south of the Sahara, 1967—74: amount in $US million {percentage in brackets). Official

1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 Source-.

Private

Total

Bilateral

Multilateral

4629(100) 5331(100) 5884(100) 7327(100) 8345(100) 9555(100) 12582(100) 15957(100)

2261(48.8) 2549(47.8) 2789(47.4) 3666(50.0) 4304(51.6) 4763(49.8) 5923(47.1) 7349(46.1)

770(16.6) 939(17.6) 1241(21.1) 1628(22.2) 1929(23.1) 2406(25.1) 3295(26.2) 4019(25.2)

World Bank: Annual

Suppliers' credit

Banks

Others

45(3-0

716(15.5) 768(14.4) 808(13.7) 783(10.7)

737(i5-9) 869(16.3) 800(13.6)

206(3.9)

937(i3-0

292(4.0)

1118(13.4) 1173(12.3) 1327(10.5) 1599(10.0)

3 4(4.4) 638(6.7) 1653(13.1) 2640(16.5)

report, 1976.

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245(4-0 6

631(7.6)

575(6.o) 384(3.0 350(2.2)

A F R I C A

A N D

T H E

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

E C O N O M Y

increased four-fold between 1967 and 1973 with a great jump between 1972 and 1 9 7 3 , and these were only amortisation and interest payments. Figures for total capital out-flow, including repatriation of profits and income, tell a different story. The out-flow of financial resources in the form of private transfers and payment for services for non-oil-producing developing African countries was sub­ stantially greater than capital in-flow in 1969, 1970 and 1973 while in 1971 and 1972 the out-flow and in-flow were about equal. The conclusion which emerges from this is very disturbing though not surprising. Aid to Africa was becoming increasingly more apparent than real. Looked at broadly, capital investment was coming to mean a recycling and extension of financial claims by foreign creditors on African resources without any net transfer of real value into Africa taking place. This was the cause of the growing demand for rescheduling of debt payments which reached a pitch at the Fourth Conference of the UN Conference on Trade and Development held in Nairobi in 1 9 7 6 . And that is why the action taken in 1 9 7 7 by the Swedish and Canadian governments in writing off the debts owed to them by the most seriously affected states was welcomed. But these were mere palliatives. They did not solve the basic problems facing the African countries. In addition, much of the foreign aid was tied, with the donors stipulating that it must be used to purchase goods and services from their own countries. This could preclude the recipient countries from purchasing from low-cost suppliers and from developing economic relations that were in their best national interest. In particular, it tended to discourage economic and trade links with neighbouring countries and thereby hampered measures aimed at economic cooperation as well as links with the other developing regions where more suitable technology was available. Foreign loans thus had a substantial cost; the cost relating to repayment or amortisation and interest payment, the cost relating to foreign exchange for the service payment, as well as the cost arising from the restrictions placed on the ways in which aid could be used. Many countries were forced to borrow in order to be able to meet these increasing costs; so the loans and the repayments increased in a spiral.

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C O N C L U S I O N

We observed that the governments of the newly independent states were all determined to play a direct and pervasive role in the development process, and that through the United Nations the international community encouraged massive government involvement in development through the adoption of compre­ hensive planning. But in spite of all efforts by governments to accelerate the rate of progress, analysis of the economic evolution of Africa since 1940 has shown that no fundamental changes took place after independence. Indeed, the revolution of rising expectations which manifested itself among the masses at independence was overtaken by rising frustrations which were surfacing all over the continent, and which were potentially disturbing to political and social peace. There was no gainsaying the fact that Africa was facing an economic crisis of great portent which was rapidly assuming alarming proportions. Why did government involvement in the development effort generally yield such disappointing results? Why did development planning fail to bring about the same fundamental and rapid transformation which it achieved in some centrally planned socialist economies? The answers to these questions are to be found partly in the planning techniques inherited from the industrialised market economies; partly in African policy-makers' perception of economic policy and the process of engineering socio-economic change; and partly also in the international community's conventional wisdom about the process of economic development, as was reflected in the objectives and targets set down for the First and Second U N Development Decades. Early development planning, in the late 1 9 5 0 s and early 1 9 6 0 s , was limited to plans for government capital expenditure, or project-oriented plans, prepared within a framework of stated objectives which were in most cases limited to the provision of infrastructure, to capital investment in social services and to the expansion of agricultural production for export. A varying degree of comprehensive planning was later adopted by a growing number of countries. By 1968, upwards of 30 African countries had adopted development planning. O f 25 of these countries whose plans have been analysed, 9 countries had project plans, 13 countries made use of national accounts data and included 248

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sectoral analysis within a macroframework, while three countries made use of formal models. Planning was already becoming increasingly elaborate. The hopes entertained in these plans were not realised. Very few countries were able to achieve more than 70 per cent of the objectives set out in their development plans. Even fewer achieved a growth rate higher than the 5 per cent per annum set as a target for the First Development Decade. Nor, from the experience of those countries for which the appropriate data were available, could it be concluded that growth depended solely or mechanically on capital investment. Apart from the fact that there was no unified approach to development, success was retarded by the inherited theories of development and economic growth which provided the intellec­ tual basis from which African technocrats and policy-makers derived public policies. These theories, or at least some of them, linked the rate and direction of internal socio-economic change with export markets and with imports of skills, technology and capital goods and services and modern consumer products. Hence discussions centred on trade gaps, with insufficient attention to natural resources availability, local entrepreneurship, skilled manpower and technology and the domestic market. Most governments, in seeking to put these theories into practice and to accelerate economic development and diversify their economies, reinforced the existing pattern of production, exportation, and the import of factor inputs from abroad. By continuing to produce what the international system wanted and not what they themselves needed, the dependence of African countries on the international community was increased and their capacity for self-reliance was reduced. Instability in export volumes, prices and export proceeds became a regular feature of the mono-cultural economies of most states. Unfortunately, African policy-makers thought that the solution to their excessive dependence - for such things as employment, foreign-exchange earnings, government revenue - on one or two export crops, was to pursue a policy of diversifying the production of agricultural export commodities. In a few years, this policy resulted in a greater number of agricultural export commodities in surplus supply in the 'world' market - the industrialised countries. This led to greater instability which was in turn worsened by inflation 249

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and periodic recessions in the industrialised countries, and rising payments to factor incomes abroad. Multi-national arrangements for commodity management and price stabilisation were then sought as solutions to the growing price instability and worsening terms of trade for primary commodities. Experience, however, quickly revealed the limita­ tions of this policy; first, because of the high cost involved; second, because many products concerned were susceptible to quality deterioration; third, because non-members (and even members) driven by necessity undermined the pricing formula by increasing production and selling below the price floor agreed upon by participants; and, finally, because of the intransigence of the industrialised countries which put one obstacle after another in the way of the successful conclusion of commodity agreements and, where such agreements were concluded, of their effective operation. After more than two to three decades of negotiation between producers and consumers, agreements had been concluded on only six commodities - coffee, tin, cocoa, olive oil, sugar and wheat — and these were operated with varying degrees of success. This lack of success did not persuade developing countries to undertake an agonising reappraisal of their development strategies with a view to making a break from the past. It would be wrong to conclude that because of this rather sombre picture, African governments failed altogether in their efforts to accelerate the development process. True enough, many of them made avoidable mistakes, most of them tended to behave as if the economic well-being of their people would be much advanced by symbolic modernisation, because of their politically motivated desire for convincing people that something was in fact being done. But the real cause of the disappointing results was that these governments and their advisers were ignorant of the dynamics of development in their own societies and simply extrapolated the experiences of other societies to their own. Besides, they failed to ask the fundamental question: development for what and for whom? They pursued the line of least resistance by continuing with inherited policies based on inherited theories.

250

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CHAPTER 6 SOUTHERN

AFRICA

In southern Africa, as in Ireland, history is formidably active in politics. What people believe about their past has been both a consequence and a cause of conflict, and also a source of political energy. People are not chess pieces. Their next move depends not only on where they are in relation to others but also on how they got there, and on how they think they got there. N o matter how loaded it may be, the historical luggage which people carry in their heads, and in their school textbooks, is an important fact. Such luggage is generally of three types. One is the moving symbol with which men seek * to rally support for themselves or some cause, or to maintain a distinction . Secondly there is the searing event which has happened recently enough for many people to have experienced it themselves, or to have grown up in homes where parents or grandparents were still affected by its having happened to them. Thirdly there is the political myth whose supposed happening is used to justify certain political beliefs or actions. All three types of luggage are carried about everywhere but their weight, both relative and absolute, varies in different societies at different times. In southern Africa in the 1930s there was an abundance of such luggage although not everybody carried the same pieces. For blacks the most important historic event was the loss of ,

1

M o s t o f the facts and ideas contained in this chapter have been acquired over the years from my family, friends and colleagues. A few o f the debts owed to the writing and conversation of others are acknowledged in footnotes and the bibliographical essay. I learned much from the opportunity o f testing out ideas with colleagues at seminars in Cape T o w n , Stellenbosch and at the School o f International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. N e w Delhi. It was my g o o d fortune that, during the writing o f this chapter, another member of the family was preparing for publication the autobiography of Z . K . Matthews. T w o fellow South Africans o f my o w n generation, whose incisive criticism during the writing o f this chapter I should particularly like to acknowledge, are Neville Alexander and the late Steve Biko. M a n y other friends were also generous with their time and their insights. Monica W i l s o n , * Changing lines o f cleavage \ in Meyer Fortes and Sheila Patterson (eds.), Studies in African social anthropology ( L o n d o n , 1975), 51. 1

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land to white conquerors. The hundred-year war in the eastern Cape, in Natal and elsewhere, culminating in the Land Act of 1 9 1 3 which prohibited Africans from buying land outside the residual reserves was a bitter memory. So too for Herero and others in Namibia was the history of German annexation in 1884 and the subsequent thirty years of brutal conquest. Swazi remembered the signing away of their land to white settlers. In Lesotho the loss of the fertile Caledon plains to the burghers of the Orange Free State was tempered by the impregnability of Moshweshwe's mountain fortress. The skill of the old warrior-king retained honour, but not enough land, for his people. Paradoxically it was this century of black defeat and dispos­ session which was also to be seen by South Africa's white rulers as their own dark vale. Smuts himself shifted from his early views but his people did not move with him. Dunbar Moodie has shown how the hundred years from 1815 to 1 9 1 4 became for the purified Afrikaner nationalists of the 1 9 3 0 s the sacred century. The Great Trek, the battle of Blood River, the concentration camps of the Anglo-Boer war, the humiliating poverty which uprooted them from the land, and Lord Milner's anglicisation policy were seen as a period of redemptive suffering at the hands of twin foes: the imperialist British with their capitalist tentacles, and the black * heathens' in whose midst the chosen people had been set down and from whom G o d was miraculously rescuing them. For another group of South Africans the important luggage consisted of the agonies of indenture in the latter half of the nineteenth century when their grandfathers had been shipped to Natal to work in the sugar plantations of the English-speaking settlers. But there was also some less burdensome history: the epic period - between 1893 and his departure from South Africa in 1 9 1 4 - w h e n the young Mohandas Gandhi forged his powerful tool of 'Satyagraha' and created a living tradition that became a source of inspiration not only to thousands of South Africans (see below) but also to countless Indians as they followed the Mahatma from the banks of the Sarbarnati to independence in 1946. For English-speaking South Africans, the British heritage of imperial power, wealth and culture bred a confidence which many others found patronising. 1

1

T . D u n b a r M o o d i e , The rise of Afrikanerdom

( B e r k e l e y , 1975).

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Particular events gave rise to quite different memories. The First World War, for example, was remembered by the Coloured community for Square Hill and other battles in Palestine where members of the Cape Corps distinguished themselves, and by English-speaking South Africans for the nightmare battle of Delville Wood in the Somme mud. For nationalist Afrikaners, the war was remembered chiefly for the execution of Jopie Fourie whose blood was seen to be precious seed of the new nation. Africans were left with the loss of over 600 men in the sinking of the Mendi, a realisation that few had recognised their offering, and S. E. K. Mqhayi's haunting poetry. Many who held one of these memories dear had never heard of the others; and there were those who were indifferent to all four. So it was with all luggage. Few pieces were important to everybody and there were some in Southern Africa who travelled light. But the burdens which people bore and the different contents of their luggage were to play a significant role in the history of the period. For the purpose of this volume, southern Africa has been defined as the region comprising the five countries of South Africa, Lesotho (Basutoland), Namibia (South West Africa), Botswana (Bechuanaland), and Swaziland. Such a definition makes sense for a constitutional historian but less so for an anthropologist or economist. The straight line separating Namibia from Angola tends to obscure the fact that people on either side of the boundary share common languages and customs. More restricting still is a definition which excludes Mozambique, whose southern parts are bound to South Africa by language, trade, and a long history of oscillating migration to the gold mines. No definition would eliminate such difficulties, but one should be conscious of the subtle bias which it introduces. It is helpful to begin by examining the major divisions which separated people within the region. First, national boundaries: table 6. i shows the size, both by population and area, of the five countries. Variations in the distribution of population were due primarily to the pattern of rainfall, but also to conquest, land legislation, the distribution of minerals, and the process of urbanisation. At the beginning of the Second World War, South Africa was an independent state whilst South West Africa, although a Mandated Territory, was ruled virtually as a fifth 253

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15

T h e Republic of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.

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A F R I C A

Table 6.1. Southern Africa: area and population (in thousands) 1936-74; percentages in brackets. Population density Population Country

1936

South Africa Lesotho Namibia Botswana Swaziland

Sources:

World

Statistics,

1974 24940

(88.7)

562

1191

(4.2)

318

860

(3.1)

30 823

266

654

(2.3)

575

157

478

(1.7)

17

10893

28 123

9590

Total

Bank atlas

Official year

Bechuanaland Protectorate international atlas

1974

Area (sq. km)

(100)

(Washington,

book

of the

Union

and Swaziland,

(London,

1222

(45.8)

2667

1976);

(30.9) (21.6) (0.6) (100)

20.4 39-7 1.0 1.1 28.1 10.5

Union Office of Census and

of South

1941

persons/ sq. km

Africa

(Pretoria,

and of

1937), 988;

Basutoland,

Philip,

The

1969).

province. Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland were all administered as separate United Kingdom dependencies by the British High Commissioner in Pretoria, but shared common currency, membership of the customs union, and much else with South Africa. Passports were not required by anybody crossing from one country to another. However, in subsequent decades these boundaries became increasingly important. In societies where pigmentation is considered important, there is more to colour than meets the eye and even South Africa has been unable to produce an infallible definition of 'race' for purposes of population classification. Despite fuzziness at the edges, colour-caste divisions (and the ancestry they implied) were important primarily in terms of the distribution of power as reflected in long-entrenched racist legislation, such as the Mines and Works Act ( 1 9 1 1 ) , the Land Act ( 1 9 1 3 ) and the Urban Areas Act ( 1 9 2 3 ) but also in terms of peoples' perceptions of each other even within communities that were themselves subject to discrimination. 1

1

S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , Z . K . M a t t h e w s , Freedom for my people ( L o n d o n , 1980); R i c h a r d R i v e , Selected writings ( J o h a n n e s b u r g , 1977), 2 9 - 3 7 ; M a r t i n E . W e s t , Divided community ( C a p e T o w n , 1971).

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/^.-LfrV* Okavango

JTsumeb »Grootfontein

^7-? ~-y"-; Swamp r

V \^

RHODESIA (Zimbabwe)

)tjiwarongo VR I C A

Swakopmu WalvisE

Ora pa KA LIA H ARI — .1 r 'DÉSE R T Gobabis I BOTSWANA

Windhoek!

(NAM

r

I A) [ Mariental

AT L ANT I C

(BECHUANALAND) Molepolole Gaborone, Kanye« /~'-\ i r

k \ !

LKeetmanshoop

R E P U B

LIC

OF SOUTH AFRICA

i

OCEAN

-Lobatse

»

^ ——— Principal roads 9 •

16

Namibia and Botswana.

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• Railways 500 km "SUOmiles

S O U T H E R N

A F R I C A

Table 6.2. Colour-castes in Southern Africa, 19)6; number of persons {thousands), percentages in brackets. Country

African

White

Coloured

Asian

South Africa Basutoland S W Africa Bechuanaland Swaziland

6597(69)

2004(21)

770(8)

220(2)

Total

i(—)

5 5 9(99)

9590(100)

0.3

562(100)

31(10)

a

—

318(100)

260(98)

2(1)

4(1)

—

266(100)

15 3(9 8)

3(2)

i(—)

—

157(100)

288^90)

b

i(—)

Total

7857(70

2041(19)

775(7)

220(2)

10893(100)

Notes: a

For South West Africa, * Native and Coloured' were enumerated together. Figures do not add up due to rounding. Sources: Union Office of Census and Statistics, Official year book, 19 41, 988. b

Table 6.3. Home languages in South Africa, 1946; number of persons {thousands), percentages in brackets. Nguni Africans White Coloured Asian Total

d

a

4772

a

Sotho

b

Afrikaans

2216

b

English

0

Other

—

—

— — —

— — —

1375 831 7

949 90 12

49 8 266

4772(42)

22x6(19)

2212(19)

5*(9)

1168(10)

io

844

Notes: a

Languages are grouped according to mutual intelligibility. Nguni includes Ndebele, Swazi, Xhosa and Zulu. Sotho includes South Sotho, North Sotho (Pedi), and Tswana. Statistics for Afrikaans (and English) include one-half of those who speak the two official languages equally at home. Including Tsonga, Venda, Tamil, Hindi, Gujerati, German, Portuguese, Yiddish and a number of others. Figures do not add up due to rounding. Source: Bureau of Census and Statistics, Union statistics for fifty years (Pretoria, b

c

d

i960), A. 1 8 - 1 9 .

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Table

6.4.

A F R I C A

Urbanisation in South Africa,

1904-2000

(percentages).

2000 1936

1970

IO.I

17.3 65.2

86.7

(90)

74.3 86.2

(90

47.8

African White Coloured Asian

36.6

53-9 6.3

Total

23.4

31.4

Sources'.

(projected)

1904

52.7 50.5

33.0

32 min./47 max.

47 min./5 8 max.

RSA Department of Statistics, South African Charles Simkins, Four essays on the past,

1974), 1.12.

of the distribution

of the black population

statistics,

1974

(Pretoria,

present and possible

future

(Cape Town,

1983),

of South Africa

143 ff.

A striking feature of southern Africa is the diversity of language. Some people, particularly Africans growing up in the urban crucibles, were fluent in several tongues but there were many, notably urban whites and rural blacks, for whom language was an impenetrable barrier. Second-language statistics are not available, but it seems that a higher proportion of Africans learnt Afrikaans or English in order to understand their employers than whites learnt Nguni or Sotho, despite the fact that the latter were the mother tongues of more people than spoke either of the official languages. The political importance of language as a frontier along which battles raged made itself explicitly felt in the Afrikaans language movement, which was a major source of energy for Afrikaner nationalism in its drive to power. It was not until 1 9 7 6 , and the revolt of the Soweto schoolchildren against the forcible imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, that language moved to the centre of the black political stage. More than most countries, South Africa's urban-rural cleavage was blurred by the fact that a large proportion of workers moved to town as oscillating migrants who, though they might spend the best part of their working lives down a mine or in a factory, were not allowed to bring their wives or children with them, but returned regularly to their rural homes. Nevertheless the distinction between town and country is fundamental. The figures of table 6.4 mask two important dimensions of the cleavage: one is the fact that by the 1930s most English-speaking 258

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whites had long since become urbanised whilst for many Afrik­ aners and blacks the towns were still new and bewildering places; the other is that the rural areas themselves were divided into the white-owned capitalist farms on which, in South Africa, more than one-third of the black population lived and the 'reserves' from which most of the South African migrant workers came. Another boundary was the great gulf between rich and poor. Class divisions based on access to and ownership of land, of jobs and of capital in the form of livestock, mineral rights, business investments, and education were deeply embedded in the society of southern Africa. Although there were numbers of poor whites, and although some blacks were relatively well-to-do, the primary class division followed the colour line. In South Africa, ownership of private farm land was restricted almost entirely to whites by conquest as consolidated in the Land Act of 1 9 1 3 whilst within the black reserves, which, after 1936, formed approximately 13 per cent of the country, the density of population on arable land was such that the level of income that could be derived from agriculture was far lower. In mining and manufacturing the better-paid jobs were effectively barred to Africans (and, in lesser measure, to Coloured persons and Indians) by direct legislative barriers and by the less visible but more pervasive obstacles of white conventions and the lack of opportunities for education and training. It is estimated that in 1936 the ratios of average white incomes per head to those of Africans, Coloureds, and Asians were 1 2 : 1 , 7 : 1 , and 5 : 1 respectively (see table 6.6). Rough though these figures are, they serve to illustrate clearly the enormous economic gap between black and white in South Africa. This list of cleavages tells nothing of the tensions that existed between Afrikaners of the Cape and of the Transvaal; between Mfengu and Xhosa in the eastern Cape; between Christian denominations in various dorps; between ' borners' and migrants in the townships. Nor does it say anything about the important changes taking place in the relations between generations and between sexes. All these and more were there. But we have focussed on the boundaries of nation, 'colour', language, urban­ isation and class because their interaction was a central feature of the history of the period. The divisions did not always overlap. Only two-thirds of those whose mother tongue was Afrikaans were white; those who spoke Swazi did not all live in Swaziland; not 2

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Table

6.5.

A F R I C A

Employment in South Africa by selected sectors All employees 1936

1956

A. Numbers employed (thousands) 200 611 Manufacturing 429 Mines and quarries 554 Construction in 33 104 222 SAR and H 843 Agriculture * na 1

B. Index of employment (1936 = 100) 100 306 Manufacturing 129 100 Mines and quarries 100 Construction 337 214 100 SAR and H

1936-76.

Blacks only

1976

1273

a

671

1956

1976

121

45* 488

997 606 386

384 22

447 256 (7i6)

1936

c

637 156 1360 *47

45

87 114

na

73*

100 100 100 100

37* i*7 403 *53

143 (602)

821 158 1796 316

Notes: a

Reclassification in 1970 makes this figure not strictly comparable with previous years. Number of regular employees living on white, Coloured and Asian farms. Seasonal and occasional workers and domestic servants excluded. Thefigureis for 1975. b

c

Source: South African statistics, 1978, 7.4 fF.

all the rich were white, nor was all the proletariat black. Yet part of the uniqueness of southern Africa is the extent to which the boundaries have been made to reinforce each other. Indeed, by the 1 9 7 0 s , the attempt to impose national boundaries to correlate with skin, language, and class differences was the central issue of South African politics. I N D U S T R I A L

R E V O L U T I O N IN S O U T H

A F R I C A ,

1936-76

The first three years of the 1 9 3 0 s had been disastrous. But by the end of 1932 General Hertzog had abandoned the gold standard and by the summer of 1 9 3 3 / 4 rain had fallen and President Roosevelt had devalued the dollar. The price of gold rose 4 7 per cent without causing inflation and the country was set for four decades of almost uninterrupted growth, its gross national 260

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product increasing at an average annual rate of approximately 5 per cent. Employment increased rapidly. Between 1932 and 1939 total employment in the mining industry rose by over 5 o per cent as 15 7 000 new jobs were created. With the outbreak of war prospecting and development ceased, but in 1946 the richest gold ore ever found in South Africa was struck at Geduld in the Orange Free State and then, in 1949, Britain devalued sterling, thus raising the price of gold by 44 per cent. Between 1951 and 1969 the country's output almost trebled from 11.5 to 31.3 million fine ounces whilst employment on the gold mines rose to a peak of nearly 450000 in 1961. Between 1968 and December 1974 the price of gold, moving slowly at first, suddenly rocketed from $35 to $197 per fine ounce. This spectacular change was accompanied by a marked increase in the rate of inflation which dampened, but did not eliminate, prospects of further expansions. But in breaking loose from its moorings which had held it stable for so long, the gold price was now subject to sudden fluctuations for the first time since the early 1920s. Increased exploitation of other minerals, notably platinum, offset the decrease in employment in the gold mines after 1961. Diamonds remained important as a source of both employment and foreign exchange. And coal, after the oil price rise in 1973, emerged as increasingly significant from both economic and strategic perspectives. Stimulated by the growth of gold and the impact of war, industrialisation of the economy went on apace. Employment in manufacturing and construction between 1933 and 1939 had practically doubled and, during the war years, whilst construction declined temporarily, manufacturing increased by nearly 100000 (42 per cent) to 327000 persons in 1944. Only a fraction, approximately one in eight, of these wartime jobs went to whites, as many who would otherwise have claimed preference had been drawn into the armed forces. In the post-war years, rapid expansion continued until the onset of depression in the mid-1970s, by which time employment in manufacturing and construction together was greater than the total number of regular jobs in mining and agriculture combined. One of thè most striking 1

1

In the six years from 1970 to 1975 the annual average price received by the gold mines more than quadrupled from R26 to R i 12 per ounce fine. 261

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features of the period was the increasing role of the state as employer, producer and investor in the South African economy. The first steel, produced by the government-owned iron and steel corporation (Iscor), was tapped in Pretoria in 1934. By 1 9 6 1 output had risen to 2.4 million tons and by 1 9 7 6 to over 5 million tons, which was 7 7 per cent of the country's total production of steel. In the civil service, including the railways and the post office, but excluding Iscor and other industrial corporations, employment in 1976 was 1.2 million, which was approximately one-quarter of all jobs outside agriculture and domestic service. It is estimated that nearly one-third (30 per cent) of economically active whites were by 1 9 7 7 employed in the public and semi-public sector. State involvement is also measured by the share of government investment, which increased as a proportion of gross domestic fixed investment from 35 per cent during 1950 to 53 per cent in 1

1976.

2

On the farms too the period was one of expansion. Over the decade 1 9 4 6 / 9 to 1 9 5 6 / 9 the output of wool increased by 40 per cent, maize by over 50 per cent and wheat by over 60 per cent, whilst fruit and sugar doubled. Total employment of both casual and regular workers increased steadily until the end of the 1 9 6 0 s after which it started to fall. This was a turning point. Behind it lay changing techniques of production, the use of machinery and chemical weedkillers, which reduced demand for labour. The absolute number of whites on the land had been falling since the mid-1930s but it was not until the end of the 1 9 6 0 s that total farm employment, including that of Africans, began to decline. 3

South African population in the generation before 1936 grew by approximately 2.1 per cent per annum but grew somewhat faster thereafter. Population growth varied considerably between the different countries. Over the period 1 9 6 0 - 7 4 , for example, the average annual percentage rates were: Botswana 1.9, Lesotho 2.2, South Africa 2.7, Swaziland 3.0 and Namibia 3 . I . The evidence suggests that, as elsewhere, growth was due primarily to falling 4

1

H e r i b e r t A d a m a n d H e r m a n n G i l i o m e e , Ethnic power mobilised: can South Africa change? ( N e w H a v e n , 1979), 165. D i c k C l a r k , US corporate interests in South Africa ( R e p o r t t o t h e C o m m i t t e e o n F o r e i g n R e l a t i o n s , U n i t e d S t a t e s S e n a t e , W a s h i n g t o n , 1978), 25. F . W i l s o n , A . K o o y , D . H e n d r i e ( e d s . ) , Farm labour in South Africa ( C a p e T o w n , 2

3

»977).

4 World Bank atlas, 1976.

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death rates. Development of transport and the capacity to shift food in response to shortages contributed to this change, as did the work of churches in establishing and running medical services in many of the more densely populated rural areas of the country. The interaction between socio-economic factors and population growth is little understood, but in southern Africa population growth may prove the most significant change in the twentieth century. Projections in the 1 9 7 0 s estimated that between 1 9 7 0 and 2020 total population in South Africa might more than treble from 22 million to 7 9 million, with Africans quadrupling from 15.5 million to over 60 million and whites increasing in absolute numbers from 3.8 million to 7 million - but falling as a proportion of the total population from 17 to 9 per cent. The expansion in mining and manufacturing output combined with the changing techniques of production in the capitalist agricultural sector and the rapid growth of population overall led to a rapid process of urbanisation as people poured off the land to take up jobs in town. The focus of much of the movement was the southern Transvaal, together with the five harbour towns from Cape Town to Maputo (Louren^o Marques) that served it. People came to the densely populated shanty-towns whose infinite capacity to absorb newcomers was a measure of human ingenuity and resilience under most trying conditions. Black Fordsburg, White Fordsburg, Sophiatown and Vrededorp were all polyglot ports of entry into the brash world of Johannesburg. But not everybody came this way. Many men came alone to live in the vast labour compounds. Although their stay was temporary, in the sense that contracts varied from a few months to two years, it was for many the beginning of long-term commitment to urban employment. In absolute terms the population of the Witwatersrand, Pretoria and Vereeniging increased from 1.2 million to 3.7 million between 1936 and 1970 whilst the urban population of the country as a whole grew from 3.0 million to 10.4 million. Peoples' responses, both as individuals and as groups, to the changes taking place, were shaped in no small measure by the distribution of political 1

2

1

c

J. L . S a d i e , T h e d e m o g r a p h i c f o r c e s in S o u t h A f r i c a * , Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 1978, 4 3 , 1, 21. T h e r e is a w e a l t h o f l i t e r a t u r e , m u c h o f it b a n n e d in S o u t h A f r i c a , d e s c r i b i n g t h e b l a c k e x p e r i e n c e . S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , P e t e r A b r a h a m s , Tell freedom ( L o n d o n , 1954). E z e k i e l M p h a h l e l e , Down Second Avenue ( L o n d o n , 1959). 2

263

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Table 6.6. Income distribution by colour-caste in South Africa i936-t97<>/i. A. Income shares

Income base African White Coloured Asian

1936

1970/71

Net national income

Private consumption expenditure

%

%

%

%

Population

Income

Population

Income

68.8 20.9 8.0

19.7

70.0

19.1

74-5 4.1

17.8

2.3

1.7

73-7 5-2 2.1

9-4 2.9

B. Income per head ratios 1970/71

1936

White: African White: Coloured White: Asian White: African-Asian-Coloured

12.4: 6.9:

i i

4.7:1 11 : i

15.2:1 7.5:1 5.7:1 12.9: i

Source: S. F. Archer, South African Outlook, December 1978. Peter Randall (ed.), Power, privilege and poverty (Report of the Spro-cas Economics Commission, Johannesburg, 1972), 116, Appendix C.

power and by the similarities and differences facing various groups as they moved to the cities. By the 1 9 3 0 s most English-speaking whites had long been urbanised and already occupied the com­ manding heights of the economy. Coming to the cities, poor whites, mainly Afrikaans-speaking, found themselves competing for scarce jobs with others whom, by virtue of conquest and skin-colour, they had always treated as inferior. For these others urbanisation was likewise a new experience born of rural im­ poverishment. But they found themselves struggling at the bottom of a pyramid whose base was well below the poverty datum line and which presented many barriers to prevent black people from rising. 264

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Differences in access to jobs and to ownership of the means of production naturally implied differences in income (table 6.6). Throughout the period whites, who formed approximately onefifth of the population, enjoyed some three-quarters of the total income; Africans, on the other hand, formed over two-thirds of the population and received approximately one-fifth of the national income. By international standards distribution of income in South Africa was particularly skewed. It has been estimated that the richest 20 per cent of the population earned approximately 75 per cent of total income in 1970. Comparative figures, though not all for the same year, of the share of income earned by the richest quintile in Brazil, India and the United States are 62, 52 and 39 per cent respectively. More detailed figures of salaries and wages paid in particular sectors enable us to obtain a slightly fuller picture of the impact of the industrial revolution on both relative and absolute living standards (table 6 . 7 ) . The real earnings of black gold-mine workers in 1 9 7 1 were estimated to be no higher and possibly slightly lower than they had been two generations previously in 1 9 1 1 . The sharp change over the next five years was due to an extraordinary combination of independent yet mutually re­ inforcing events, including the increase in the price of gold, widespread industrial strikes centred in Durban in the summer of 1 9 7 3 - 4 , the decision by President Banda early in April 1 9 7 4 to halt all South African recruiting in Malawi, and, later in the month, the collapse of the Portuguese empire. Despite the increase, wages on the mines (even after allowing for payments in kind) remained below the average earnings of black workers in the manufacturing sector where, largely because they did not have the access to labour from beyond the boundaries of South Africa, employers had long paid higher black wages. In agriculture generalisations are more misleading, for there were wide variations across the country. But everywhere the gap in living standards between white farmers and their labourers was large and may well have increased over time. In some parts of the country farm wages increased, especially during the 1 9 7 0 s although, even allowing for wages in kind, they remained well below what were paid in other sectors. In subsistence agriculture, 1

1

S o u r c e : S. F . A r c h e r , ' T h e w i n t e r o f o u r d i s c o n t e n t : issues a n d policies o f i n c o m e d i s t r i b u t i o n i n S o u t h A f r i c a ' , South African Outlook* D e c e m b e r 1978.

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Table 6.7. Earnings in selected sectors 1936-76. A. Gold mines 19)6-76 Earnings (R/annum) Earnings Earnings ratio difference White (W) Black (B) W:B W - B

Date

786 2046

1936 1956 1971 1976

11.5: 15.5: 21.0: 8.0:

68 132 221 1103

4633 8843

i

718 1914 4412

i

7740

i i

Index of real earnings (1936 = 100) White Black 100 119 *79 207

IOO

89

99 301

B. Various Sectors, 1976 Earnings (R/monthly) White Mining* Construction Manufacturing Retail trade SAR and H Banks Central govt. Local Authorities Universities Average Agriculture b

0

713 557 571 255

Ratio Asian Coloured African Average W:Af 186

275 97 184 2

217 154 110 119 190 189 161

545 509

154 198 258

427 540

330 174

597 489 (330)

272

182

*97

157

(90

(35)

88 112 125 82 109 164 130 98 122 106 (18)

151 187 230 154 303 448 265 218 427 220 (*7)

8.1:1 5.0:1 4.6: i 3.1:1 5.0:1 3.1:1 3.3:1 5.5:1 4.9:1 4.6: i (17.9:1)

Notes: a

Including quarries. Including most sectors except agriculture, domestic service and self-employment. Figures for agriculture are less reliable and those cited are for the previous year (1975) and refer only to regular farm employees, thus excluding most farmers and all casual labourers. Nevertheless, they are instructive. Sources: (A) Francis Wilson, Labour in the South African gold mines 1911-1969 (Cambridge, 1972), 46; Chamber of Mines of South Africa, Annual reports (Johannesburg); South African statistics, 1978, 7.6 ff. (B) S. F. Archer, App. C in Peter Randall (ed.), Power, privilege and poverty (Report of Study Project on Christianity in Apartheid Society, Johannesburg, b

c

1972), 116.

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AFRICA

the evidence points to a steady decrease in output per capita and hence for many, w i t h o u t adequate remittances from migrants, increasing p o v e r t y . E c o n o m i c cleavages existed also within racial g r o u p s , as may be seen for example in the figures for income distribution a m o n g s t white South African taxpayers in 1 9 7 6 . A few whites (0.8 p e r cent) had z e r o income o r less, whilst nearly half (49 per cent) earned up to R5000 per annum. M o r e than a third (37 per cent) earned between R5000 and R10000, whilst a further 173000 whites (12 per cent) earned b e t w e e n R10000 and R30000 w i t h the remaining 8000 (0.6 per cent) earning m o r e than R30000. F o r blacks n o general figures are available, b u t a glimpse o f the Ciskei at the grass roots in the 1960s is n o t atypical. O n e third (33 p e r cent) o f the 2082 households s u r v e y e d had n o arable land at all. M o r e than a quarter (28 per cent) had b e t w e e n 1 and 5 acres. A n ­ other third (35 per cent) had b e t w e e n 6 and 10 acres whilst 3 per cent o f the households had between 11 and 30 acres o f arable land. 1

2

3

T w o further points are w o r t h noting. T h e r e w a s a substantial shift, not unconnected w i t h the rise o f the National Party after the Second W o r l d W a r , in the ethnic distribution o f wealth within the white community. T h e g r o w t h o f b i g Afrikaner-led business was a particularly striking feature o f the period. Per capita income o f Afrikaners in 1946 w a s estimated t o b e less than half (47 per cent) that o f English-speaking whites. B y 1976 the p r o p o r t i o n had risen to 72 per c e n t . M o r e significantly, despite the w i d e i n c o m e gap between white and black, and despite g r i n d i n g p o v e r t y , particularly in rural areas, o n e consequence o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h was a substantial increase in black b u y i n g p o w e r . B y 1975 the total consumer market represented by blacks living in Johannesburg alone, for example, w a s estimated t o be R638 million, approxi­ mately equal to the entire defence b u d g e t for that y e a r . 4

s

1

Fot evidence of the decline in output in the reserves see J. B. Knight and G . Lenta, 'Has capitalism underdeveloped the labour reserves of South Africa?', Oxford Bulletin of Economies and Statistics, August 1980, 42, 3, and F. Wilson, GoU mints, 189. * House of Assembly debates {Hansard, Cape Town, 1977, i j ) , col. 949. House of Assembly debates {Hansard, Cape Town, 1977, 16), col. 1113. P. J. de Vos tt al., A socio-economic and educational survey of the Bantu residing in the Victoria East, Middledrift and Zwelitsha areas of the Ciskei (Fort Hare, 1970). Derived from Adam and Giliomee, Ethnic power, 174. The figures must be used with some care for other evidence {ibid., 134) suggests that in 1936 the proportion was 61 per cent which implies a surprisingly large widening of the income gap between Afrikaners and other whites during the war years. M. Loubser, Market potentials of consumer goods and services for non-white population groups in the main urban areas in the Republic of South Africa in if/; (Bureau of Market Research, Pretoria, 1977). 5

4

1

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As far as the infrastructure of the region is concerned, most of the important railways (see figs. 15, 16) in southern Africa were built in the half century between the mineral discoveries and the outbreak of the First World War; nevertheless in later years the state invested heavily in railway development. Between 1948 and 1972 the proportion of total track electrified rose from 4 to 21 per cent. During the early 1 9 7 0 s two new harbours were built at Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay and rail track was laid linking them, respectively, to the Witwatersrand and the iron-ore deposits of the northern Cape. There was a great improvement in roads not least for defence purposes. Meandering gravel roads were resurveyed, and tarred highways laid down which connected the towns and also made farmers less isolated than they had been. The motorways driven through the hearts of the major cities during the 60s and 70s so transformed some of them that visitors and ex-prisoners, having been away for ten years, found themselves lost. Airports were built to serve the major industrial areas and the number of internal passengers (including some within the neighbouring countries) carried by South African Airways grew at an annual rate of 12 per cent from 115 000 in 1948 to 2.5 million in 1 9 7 6 . The number of telephones grew at 7 per cent per year between 1936 and 1976 from 142 thousand to 2.1 million, but few of these went to black homes. During the same period the number of licensed radios grew slightly faster from 1 3 9 thousand to 2.5 million, thus reducing the average number of people per radio from 69 to 1 1 . Television was not introduced until 1 9 7 6 but by mid-1977 some 6 7 0 0 0 0 sets had been sold. The impact of these changes is difficult to assess but the spread of transistors, not least into the isolated homesteads of farm labourers, made many people aware of events outside their local area. A t the same time skilful use by the state of its broadcasting monopoly did much, through heavy censorship, to influence white attitudes. Considerable expansion took place in school-buildings and equipment, not only of material investment, but also of the less tangible but no less important investment in * human c a p i t a l t h u s contributing to the rise in literacy which some perceptive observers regard as one of the most significant changes to have 268

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Table

R E V O L U T I O N

6.8.

IN S O U T H

Hospital beds

A F R I C A

19)6-62.

Population per bed White

Black

Total

1936

207:1

521:1

395:1

1962

144:1

204:1

189:1

Sources'. Union statistics for fifty years, A-3 and D-3; Statistical year book 1966, A-i 1

and D-3. 1

taken place during the period. One consequence of this is the fact that between 1962 and 1 9 7 7 the proportion of daily newspaper readers who were black rose from 33 to 45 per cent. A t the same time the pattern of educational spending served - like so much of South Africa's public expenditure - to reinforce the existing maldistribution of wealth and opportunity. In i 9 6 0 only 2 per cent of white South Africans over the age of 19 had no education at all compared with 65 per cent of Africans. At the other end of the scale, where 2 3 per cent of whites over the age of 14 had passed standard 1 0 (i.e. 12 years of schooling) only 0.2 per cent of Africans had so so. O f those at school in 1 9 7 4 - 5 it is estimated that per capita expenditure on African pupils was less than one-eighth the expenditure on all other pupils. The picture for health was much the same. There was con­ siderable expansion of the segregated medical services but this expansion was biased in favour of those who were urban, wealthy and white (table 6.8). Similarly whilst the population: doctor ratio between 1 9 3 6 and 1 9 7 0 fell from approximately 3 4 0 0 : 1 to 2 0 0 0 : 1 we find that, in 1 9 7 5 , two-thirds (65.5 per cent) of all doctors practised in the three metropolitan areas of the Witwatersrand, Cape Town and Durban, whereas only 5.5 per cent of all doctors practised in the rural areas where over half the population lived. In general, despite superb medical care in some areas, health services were not able to deal effectively with the existing pattern of disease, including widespread malnutrition amongst blacks. 1

B e t w e e n 1948 a n d 1970 t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f A f r i c a n s a g e d 10 a n d o l d e r w h o c o u l d r e a d a n d w r i t e i n c r e a s e d f r o m j u s t o v e r o n e - q u a r t e r (28 p e r c e n t ) t o a little u n d e r o n e - h a l f (48-9 p e r c e n t ) . Union statistics for fifty years, A - 2 2 ; South African statistics, 1978, 1 , 35.

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Electricity, most of which was generated relatively cheaply from the coal of the southern Transvaal and Natal, was spread throughout the country by the network of Escom power-lines whose total area of supply rose from 20000 sq. miles in 1 9 3 6 to 1 3 9 0 0 0 sq. miles in 195 8, thus bringing power to many towns and farms which previously had either generated their own or had none. Total production of electricity in the country grew at 7.7 per cent per annum from 3.8 thousand million K w H in 1935 to 80 thousand million K w H in 1 9 7 6 . During the 1 9 6 0 s , the Orange River drainage scheme with its great dams and its irrigation tunnels through the mountains was built with little public debate as to its effectiveness compared with other alternatives. On the western side of the Drakensberg there was much land but few people, whereas on the eastern escarpment imaginative irrigation and hydroelectric schemes on the various rivers that flowed through the Transkei to the sea could have revolutionised the farming potential in a densely populated rural area where people were desperately short of food. Other important decisions shaped by political considerations were South Africa's decision not to purchase water from Lesotho - thus spiking the Malibamatso scheme (see below) - but rather to pump water from the Tugela up the western escarpment to the Vaal from whence it was drawn to the Witwatersrand. Possibly even more significant in the long run than the giant schemes were the multitude of small dams built on farms and in the reserves. This investment did something to offset the appalling loss of top soil as bad farming combined with heavy rain caused much of the country's most precious asset to be washed into the sea every year. Much soil was also taken by wind blowing over treeless miles of plough land, causing dust storms which reminded observers of the American dust-bowl. The speed with which the desert was encroaching from the south-west was an ominous sign of irreversible damage due to the loss of what economists, knowing only Europe, once called the ' indestructible powers of the soil'. 1

South Africa's infrastructure was not built in isolation. Roads, railways, air-routes, power lines and radio waves served not only to bind the countries of southern Africa more closely together Including net purchases outside the country. South African statistics, 1978, 1 4 , 3. 1

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but also to link the region to the rest of the continent and the world. The Cabora Bassa Dam, built with limited interference from F R E L I M O guerrillas in Mozambique on the lower reaches of the Zambesi, was joined to the Escom network and started to supply electricity in 1 9 7 7 . South Africa took care to ensure that she did not import too high a proportion of her total needs. Moreover, the grid was designed in such a way that electricity from Cabora Bassa for Maputo itself had to pass through a transformer built on South African soil, near Pretoria. Across the sub-continent the other Portuguese-South African hydroelectric brainchild was designed to take water and power from the Kunene River to the new mines of the dry Namibian hinterland. But construction was interrupted during the mid-1970s by the es­ calating war. Another link, this time spurred on by war, was the railway line built by the Rhodesian government in 1 9 7 4 from Rutanga to Beit Bridge in order to connect directly with South Africa. The decline of passenger ships and the rise of jets shifted the gateway of southern Africa from Cape Town to Johannesburg and marked also a sharp increase in the number of international overseas travellers from under 9000 in 1 9 4 8 to nearly 4 0 0 0 0 0 in 1 9 7 6 . Radio programmes were beamed both ways across the Limpopo. The BBC, the Voice of America and, during the 1 9 7 0 s , Lusaka's Freedom Radio and the A N C ' s broadcasts from Maputo were all listened to in the Republic, as was the SABC elsewhere in Africa. Stronger even than the infrastructural links were the inter­ national flows of labour which bound the region together into a single economy. A s the mines expanded in the late nineteenth century the demand for labour grew voraciously and men were recruited from throughout the sub-continent and elsewhere. Thirteen years after the Witwatersrand gold discoveries, there were 1 0 0 0 0 0 black miners at work in the area, large numbers of them drawn from outside South Africa. In 1896, for example, nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of the black mineworkers came from Mozambique. In 1 9 0 6 there were 80000 men recruited from 1

2

1

K e i t h M i d d l e m a s , Cabora Bassa: engineering and politics in Southern Africa ( L o n d o n , 1975), 212, 233. Renfrew Christie, ' T h e political e c o n o m y o f the K u n e n e R i v e r hydroelectric s c h e m e s ' ( M A t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a p e T o w n , 1975). F o r a s u r v e y o f t h e m a j o r d a m s in A f r i c a s o u t h o f t h e e q u a t o r a n d o f t h e i r i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n s s e e H e n r y O l i v i e r , Great dams in Southern Africa ( C a p e T o w n , c. 1978). 2

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Table 6.9. Geographic origin of labour employed by the Chamber of Mines (in thousands); percentages in brackets. Area

1936

Transvaal Natal/Zululand Cape Province OFS Lesotho Swaziland Botswana Mozambique Africa N of lat 2 2 S

1973

22.2

(7.o)

10.8

(2.6)

15-5 124.6

(4.9)

4-2 63.6 7.6 87.2

(1.0)

3-5 46.0 7.0

(39-* ) (1.1) (14.5) (2.2)

4-5 16.8

(M)

7-2 88.4

(27.8)

3-4

(1.1)

99-4 128.0

CM-0 (1.8) (20.7) (1.1) (4.0) (23.6)

1976 26.2 11.8 104.8 15.6 96.4 8.6

(7-5) (3-3) (29.0)

'5-5 48.6

(4-3) (13.4) (9-4)

(30.3)

(4-3) (26.7)

(»•4)

0

Total

317.7

(100)

422.2

(100)

Mine Labour Organisations (Wenela) Ltd., (Johannesburg).

Source:

361.3 Annual

(100) Reports

Northern China and housed in compounds. Although the Chinese were repatriated within five years, the compounds were kept and expanded. By 1 9 3 6 there were 3 1 8 0 0 0 men housed on a single basis, working in the gold and coal mines of the Transvaal. Nearly two-fifths (39 per cent) of these men came from the Transkei and Ciskei; more than one-quarter (28 per cent) from Mozambique; 15 per cent from Lesotho and the rest from elsewhere (table 6.9). Between 1 9 3 6 and 1 9 7 3 the proportion (and after 1 9 6 1 the absolute number) of black South Africans at work on the mines fell whilst those from elsewhere, notably tropical Africa north of latitude 2 2 S, rose steadily to a point when, in 1 9 7 3 , the proportion of non-South African blacks working on the mines had risen to over 80 per cent. Due to the combination of events already mentioned, important changes, including a marked in­ crease in the real earnings of black miners, took place over the next four years. These combined with the sharp decline in the number of construction and manufacturing jobs meant that by 1976 the proportion of South Africans at work on the mines had more than doubled from 20 to 4 4 per cent. And the sources of labour from outside changed as well: Rhodesia became a significant supplier following the cut-off of all Malawians in 1 9 7 4 , whilst from 0

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Mozambique the number of mineworkers fell (due primarily to pressure from South Africa) from an all-time peak of 1 2 0 0 0 0 men in 1 9 7 4 to 3 5 0 0 0 men in 1 9 7 7 .

An important consequence of the long-term oscillating mi­ gration was the increased dependence of the rural communities upon the industrial core whose growth was made possible by the work of migrants. As economies develop, urban areas themselves become generators of income and employment through a twin process of both private and social capital accumulation and localised expansion of markets. The urban bias in the location of capital accumulation is likely to be even more pronounced where migrants cross national frontiers, because those who control the economy of the labour-receiving country are subject to few political pressures to use tax revenue collected in the wealthy core to finance roads, power stations, schools, or health services beyond the boundary. Thus, for example, Lesotho, which before 1 9 1 4 was a net exporter of food and whose sons participated as diamond diggers, gold-miners, farm-workers, and schoolteachers in South Africa's century of economic growth, found itself after independence ( 1 9 6 6 ) in a situation where less than one-tenth of its labour force was in paid employment inside the country, and nearly half outside. There was no prospect of providing jobs either for those working outside or for the growing population inside, and the people had no right of access to, nor voice affecting decisions concerning, the employment-generating capital which they had helped to form. O f course, oscillating migration em­ bedded in a political-economic structure for a century or more is not the only cause of a country's chronic poverty but no analysis of southern Africa during the twentieth century can overlook the extent to which economic development in South Africa served to bias the whole process of capital accumulation against those rural areas, both inside and outside South Africa's boundaries, whence the flow of labour came, thus giving a geographic dimension to the distribution of wealth and poverty within the region. We turn now to the other links which helped shape South Africa's industrial revolution: the international flows of capital investment. From the opening up of the gold mines in 1887 until 1932, more than four-fifths (81 per cent) of the £ 1 4 8 million 1

1

F r a n c i s W i l s o n , ' I n t e r n a t i o n a l m i g r a t i o n i n S o u t h e r n A f r i c a \ International Migration Review, 1976, 10, 4.

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invested in the Rand came from outside Africa, mainly from Britain. A generation later, in i960, it was estimated that of the R940 million spent by the gold-mining industry on capital development since the Second World War approximately threequarters (74 per cent) was new money from the public, of which half came from overseas, particularly from Britain and the United States. The remaining quarter (R240 million) came primarily from within the mining houses, whose internal resources had mushroomed after the opening of the O F S gold-fields. Over the years 1954-67 the investment income of the Anglo American Corporation alone more than quintupled from R5.2 million to R28.6 million. Not all organisations or individuals were so lucky. During 1935-63 the average rate of return from investment in the gold mines was 4.3 per cent compared with 7 per cent for United Kingdom equities. But the rewards of backing the right horse were such that the mines seldom had difficulty in raising their capital requirements. Foreign investors did not confine themselves to the gold mines. Industrial companies in Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, the United States and later Japan, found South Africa, with its strong infrastructure, cheap coal, cheap labour, and growing demand for both consumption and capital goods, to be a highly profitable area. However, apart from mining, much of South Africa's capital requirements were generated within the country. In the three decades before i960, less than 15 per cent of total capital investment in a cross-section of manufacturing industries was derived from foreign sources, and almost two-thirds of that came from the sterling area, primarily the United Kingdom. Between i960 and 1972 total foreign investment in South Africa rose from R3.0 billion to R7.8 billion, during which period the share coming from Western Europe (excluding the U K ) rose from 14 to 25 per cent. But British investment, in some 600 companies, remained the largest proportion. Although foreign investment as a whole was relatively low (being less than 12 per cent of total investment in the thirty years after the Second World War) nevertheless it was widely seen as a vital component of the 1

1

S . H e r b e r t F r a n k e l , Capital investment in Africa ( L o n d o n , 1938), 89. Note: t h e s e figures e x c l u d e r e i n v e s t m e n t a p p r o p r i a t e d f r o m p r o f i t s . S . H e r b e r t F r a n k e l , Investment and the return to equity capital in the South African gold mining industry 1887-1961 ( O x f o r d , 1967), 8; a n d W i l s o n , Gold mines, 25.

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economy. As well as providing resources for growth, foreign investment often brought with it the technology and know-how used, not always appropriately, in new capital-intensive productive processes. In addition to investments there were also loans, including the controversial revolving fund of $40 million guaranteed by a consortium of American banks in i960 shortly after Sharpeville (see below) when the flight of capital threatened to bankrupt the South African economy. But the investors soon recovered from their fright and, despite new restrictions on the withdrawal of capital, returned more strongly than ever. Moreover, in the mid-1970s, the government and its parastatal arms such as Iscor, Escom, Sasol and Armscor sought to expand a number of security-related infrastructure projects rapidly in order to increase the country's self-sufficiency. South Africa resorted to heavy borrowing abroad, particularly after the price of gold fell in 1975. This need for loans was reinforced by the virtual drying up of foreign private investment following the Soweto crisis of 1976, which came as the country was sliding into its second great depression. Before this South Africa had begun to export capital to such distant fields as Mauritania, Peru, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Be­ tween i960 and 1972 South African investments abroad rose from R0.9 billion to R3.1 billion. The share of these funds that were invested in the sterling area fell from 60 to 42 per cent whilst the share in the rest of Western Europe rose from 5 to 20 per cent. Closer to home, where her businessmen had long been active, South Africa's investments, both private and public, were sub­ stantial. It has been estimated that in the mid-1960s approximately 40 per cent of total investment in the sub-continent (including also Zambia, Malawi, Rhodesia, Angola and Mozambique) was South African. By 1976 nearly one-third (30 per cent) of South Africa's total foreign investment of R5.0 billion was in Africa. 2

3

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A . J. N o r v a l , A quarter of a century of industrial progress in South Africa ( C a p e T o w n , 1962), 57; A u b r e y D i c k m a n , ' I n v e s t m e n t - t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r e c o n o m i c g r o w t h a n d l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s ' , Optima, 1977, 2 7 , 1 ; C l a r k , US corporate interests, 47. F o r a d i f f e r e n t v i e w see Brian K a h n and Brian K a n t o r , ' D o e s S o u t h Africa need foreign capital?' ( u n p u b l i s h e d , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a p e T o w n , 1977). South African statistics, 1974, 2 3 , 3. I n v e s t m e n t s a b r o a d a r e d e f i n e d a s ' L i a b i l i t i e s towards South Africa o f foreign enterprise " c o n t r o l l e d " from S o u t h Africa*. R u t h F i r s t , J o n a t h a n S t e e l e , C h r i s t a b e l G u r n e y , The South African connection ( L o n d o n , 1972), 263. South African statistics, 1978, 2 3 , 3. 2

3

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Table 6 . 1 0 . Southern Africa's foreign trade by continent and country, I9J7-76Exports (%)

Africa United Kingdom German Federal Republic Other Europe USA Other North America I South America J Japan Other Asia Oceania (incl. Australia) Unspecified Total % Total (R million)

Imports (%)

1957

1976

1957

1976

19.2

10.8

27.5 5.0

23-5 8.5

6.8 32.6 8.1

5-2 17.6 18.0

20.6

21.2

6.3 1.6

9-7

13.6 19.6 4.4

19.0 21.6 1.6 0.7 10.2 4.0 1.6

2.3 2.8 1.1

3-2 2.6 12.6 6.1 1.1

i}.6

0.7 100

100 (801)

(4194)

3'* 11.2 0.6

— 100 (1098)

0.4 100 (5859)

Source: Statistical year book 1966, Q . 12-13; South African statistics, 1 9 7 6 , 1 6 , 1 8 - 1 9 .

The involvement of South African mining houses in Zambia, of manufacturing companies in Rhodesia, and of the government itself in providing a soft loan to finance the building of Malawi's new capital in Lilongwe, and of helping Mozambique to keep the railways and harbours running after the Portuguese had with­ drawn, all served to tie these countries more closely to the south. Elsewhere in the region, the South Africans were busy investing their capital and their expertise, particularly in minerals. Despite Botswana's active, and not unsuccessful, efforts to attract investors from further afield, South Africa remained dominant. For Nami­ bia, still under South African control in the late 1 9 7 0 s , investors from all over the western world were jockeying for new mineral concessions which they hoped might prove as profitable as the coastal diamonds or the Rössing uranium deposits. The invisible web spun by the capital investors and money2

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lenders was strengthened by the lines of trade which formed a similar pattern. South Africa, indeed, had a particularly open economy with trade in 1 9 7 6 accounting for one-third of gross domestic product. During the period for which statistics are available, a number of interesting changes took place, including the rise of Japan as a major trading partner. At the same time the share of South Africa's imports provided by the German Federal Republic increased markedly whilst Britain's share declined sharply. N o less striking than these changes was South Africa's failure to expand trade with the rest of Africa which was seen to be her natural market, particularly after Britain's entry into the European Economic Community in 1973 and the subsequent raising of tariffs. Behind the South African foreign policy of dialogue and detente in the early 1 9 7 0 s lay the attempt not only to obtain African support (or neutrality at least) in voting at the United Nations but also to break the African boycott against South African goods and to penetrate the markets beyond Zambia. Apart from economic gains to South Africa from the investment funds, and the technology and expertise that came with them, there were distinct political advantages to the Pretoria government of the flows, both in and out, of investments and trade. For although these increased South Africa's vulnerability to sanctions, particularly in the 1 9 7 0 s after Nigeria had begun to overshadow South Africa in importance as a trading partner with the west, nevertheless they served to dampen pressures which, in Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany particularly, could have caused considerable economic loss through reduction of the rich incoming flow of dividends and of employment in sectors exporting to South Africa. It is against this background of urbanisation, capital accumu­ lation, and the centripetal forces of industrialisation that we turn now to an examination of the political drama as it unfolded over the period. P O L I T I C S

1936-60

The emergence of the All Africa Convention on 16 December 1935 was as much a triumph as had been the founding conference in 1 9 1 2 of the African National Congress. Arising in response to the white government's proposal to prevent all Africans, who 277

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might in future qualify, from becoming ordinary voters in the Cape Province, where some n o o o Africans were already on the common roll, the A A C brought under its umbrella a wide spectrum of organisations dedicated to fighting the ' Native Bills' (see below). Under the chairmanship of Professor D. D . T. Jabavu and with Dr A. B. Xuma as Secretary, the Convention achieved an astonishing coalition - ranging from elderly, conservative rural African chiefs to young * Coloured' Trotskyists from the western Cape. However, the unity forged in the crisis did not last. Once the bills became law a new strategy had to be evolved. Members of the A A C debated the issue. Should they use the very institutions created by the Act in order to fight it? Or should they, as was being increasingly urged by I. B. Tabata, Goolam Gool and others, have nothing to do with such dummy bodies? T w o organisations grew as the Convention collapsed in the early 1 9 4 0 s . One was the A N C which slowly re-gathered strength and, after Dr Xuma was elected president in 1 9 4 1 , began once again to make its presence felt. The other was the Non-European Unity Movement forged in 1943 out of a conference of delegates from the A A C , and the National Anti-CAD, a body established to fight the Smuts's government's intention to introduce a special' Coloured Affairs' department. Meanwhile the process of clarifying goals continued. From its foundation in 1 9 1 2 the A N C had been clear as to where it stood; participation by all - albeit with a qualified franchise - in the political life of the common society to which everybody belonged irrespective of race, colour, or creed. This too was the basic belief of the Convention. As time went on, it became necessary to define the goals of the common society more clearly. The adoption by the Allied powers in 1941 of the Atlantic Charter suggested that even in South Africa there was hope. In 1943 the A N C published a manifesto on African claims and the Unity Movement announced its Ten-point programme. Common to these policy statements and the speeches which supported them was the premise that South Africa belonged to all who lived there. The fact that whites were included as equals - but not as masters - was continually reiterated. The Freedom Charter adopted in 1955 by a 'Congress of the People' drawn from all race groups in the country and reflecting 278

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a broad spectrum of opinion, particularly in the African and Indian congresses, was a consensus document that could be supported both by those whose ultimate goal was a socialist society and those who were neither Marxist nor believed that the entire economy should be run by the state. All were agreed, however, that certain key industries, notably mining, should be nationalised. But not everybody who believed in a common society neces­ sarily wished to alter the structure of ownership. Both in the Liberal and the Progressive Parties the emphasis was on the abolition of discriminatory legislation and the reorganisation of state expenditure to ensure equal education, better housing and welfare services. White radicals tended to move either into the Communist Party (until it was banned in 1950) or, later, into the Congress of Democrats until it too was proscribed in 1 9 6 2 . Despite vehement disagreement on many basic issues, there was a fundamental belief across the whole spectrum ranging from Moses Kotane, General Secretary of the Communist Party, to Helen Suzman of the Progressive Party that the country belonged to all those who lived in it, and that all South Africans had the right to equal opportunities irrespective of race or colour. But those who held power stood on the other side of this great divide. What was to be done? ' W h o will deny/ said Chief Luthuli in 1952 'that thirty years of my life have been spent knocking in vain, patiently, moder­ ately and modestly at a closed and barred door? The past thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws restricting our rights and progress until today we have reached the stage where we have almost no rights at all.' His life and sense of frustra­ tion epitomised that of scores of leaders who for two generations and more had sought, via deputation and reasoned argument with cabinet ministers and government commissions, to persuade those in power to alter their policies. In 1936 the All Africa Convention sent a delegation to see the prime minister about his proposed Native Bills. In 1 9 4 7 , when Smuts summoned leaders to talk about the collapse of the Natives' Representative Council, they went. In 1959 a deputation from Fort Hare University 1

2

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F o r t h e full t e x t s e e T h o m a s K a r i s a n d G w e n d o l e n M. C a r t e r ( e d s . ) , From protest to challenge: a documentary history of African politics in South Africa 1882-1964, V o l . i n , 205. C i t e d i n Sechaha, J u n e 1969. 2

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College, threatened with government control and ethnic segreg­ ation, appealed in vain to be heard at the bar of the house. The attempt to reason continued although, as time went on, belief in its ultimate efficacy was confined more and more to whites. Not everybody, however, was content with knocking. Amongst the delegates to the founding conference of the A A C was Clements Kadalie, whose Industrial and Commercial Union, known amongst Africans as ' I C U Mlungu', had mushroomed during the 1 9 2 0 s to a peak membership of 1 0 0 0 0 0 - sufficient to give both employers and government considerable food for thought. However by the mid-1930s, due to mismanagement, increasing state pressure and political disagreements, the move­ ment had failed. But the need for an organisation to represent workers was greater than ever before. In 1941 the Transvaal African Congress called a conference which founded the African Mine Workers' Union. The government responded the next year by passing War Measure 145 which made all strikes by black workers illegal in all circumstances. In 1943, following a demand by the A M W U for higher wages, the government appointed a commission to investigate. In 1946, when average earnings for the mineworkers were no higher than they had been for the previous ten years, indeed for a generation, the A M W U , led by J. B. Marks, having attempted for months to negotiate, could get no response from the Chamber of Mines. So the A M W U finally called a strike. At its peak in mid-August 1 9 4 6 , some 7 4 0 0 0 men, approximately one-quarter of the total employed by the gold mines, downed tools and paralysed eight mines; five others were partially affected. The police were called out to force the men back to work at bayonet point if necessary. The Chamber of Mines issued a statement saying that * the introduction of trade unionism among tribal Natives at their present stage of development would lead to abuses and irresponsible action*. Leaders of the strike were tried and the union was crushed. Five years later, after the price of gold had risen 4 4 per cent, the average real earnings of white mineworkers was 14 per cent higher than it had been at the time of the black strike. The real earnings of black miners were 3 per cent lower. Other unions too were having a difficult time. From 1 9 3 5 , when he was appointed secretary of the African Laundry Workers' 'I see you white man'. 1

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Union until he was interned in 1940, Max Gordon organised half a dozen unions for African workers in various industries in the southern Transvaal. He was a Trotskyist but held loosely to the finer points of doctrine with which members of the left so belaboured each other. His aim was to build a solid organisation without splitting hairs. Naboth Mokgatle draws a vivid picture of the trials and tribulations faced by union organisers at this time, but under skilful and courageous hands the trade unions continued to grow despite constant police harassment. By 1947 it was estimated that there were almost a hundred African unions which, in Smuts's words, were 'unrecognised, unauthorised, but in existence'. Like its political counterparts, the trade-union movement in South Africa was deeply divided between those for whom it was a movement to include all those struggling against poverty and exploitation, and those who saw it as an instrument of exclusion to benefit some, primarily white workers, at the ex­ pense of others, primarily black. In the Garment Workers' Union in the 1930s, most of the factory workers were young Afrikaansspeaking women recently come from the farms who were struggling to keep themselves and their families afloat. The union, led by Solly Sachs, fought strongly on their behalf and conditions improved greatly. In the war years, as the economy went on expanding, more and more people were drawn into the Witwatersrand factories. But when some Coloured women were hired, there were complaints to the union which stated that the new workers should stay. Union members who continued to object were expelled which meant, due to the closed shop agreement, that they lost their jobs. Afrikaans churchmen and politicians rushed to the rescue and formed the Blankewerkersbeskermingsbond (White Workers' Protection Society). During the 1950s, the new government cracked down on the labour movement (see below) and by i960 membership of trade unions that were solidly on the side of the lowest paid workers was but a fraction of the total number employed. In his presidential address to the A A C in 1936, Professor Jabavu who, like so many others, was influenced by events in India, where Gandhi was mobilising millions to boycott both British cloth and certain institutions, considered seriously 'a 1

2

1

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N a b o t h M o k g a t l e , The autobiography of an unknown South African ( B e r k e l e y , 1971). K a r i s a n d C a r t e r ( e d s . ) , From protest to challenge, v o l . 11, 239.

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complete boycott of all the new Acts'. However, he rejected it because 'a perfect organisation where there are no blacklegs' did not exist. Yet the possibility of boycott remained. I. B. Tabata, whose analysis of boycott as a weapon in the struggle was to exert a profound influence, challenged those who maintained that, despised as they were, such bodies as the Natives' Representative Council and the Transkei Bunga had to be used. He argued that non-collaboration would at least ensure that people did not help maintain the political instruments of their own oppression. Nevertheless there were many in the A N C , both on the left and the right, who thought they should give the institutions a try. But in 1946 members of the Natives' Representative Council, after 10 years of talking without the government paying any attention, could finally bear it no longer. Government refusal to allow the N R C - which happened to meet in Pretoria as the mine strike was beginning - to play any role in the matter was the last straw. Members of the N R C had, as Paul Mosaka put it, been playing with a * toy telephone', and they would play no more. The council resolved to adjourn until further notice. T w o months later they met again to hear Jan Hofmeyr, as Acting Prime Minister, accuse them of wanting to rush things. Z . K . Matthews, as chairman of the council's African caucus, delivered the measured reply and the council resolved to adjourn sine die. This move was widely supported and the A N C resolved that further elections for the council should be boycotted. In the face of hardening white attitudes, as evidenced both by the crushing of the mine strike in 1946 and the victory of the National Party at the polls in 1 9 4 8 , the A N C became considerably more aggressive. In 1949, urged on by its increasingly influential Youth League (which had been founded in 1944 with Anton Lembede as first president), the A N C adopted a militant Programme of Action which set the stage for the next decade of persistent Congress attempts to change the policies of the government by means of mass action. In 1955 the A N C sought to resist the introduction of Bantu Education by boycotting all the schools. Although the campaign was ill-prepared and received little support, it was the forerunner 1

2

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D . D . T . J a b a v u , All African Convention Presidential Address 19)6 ( L o v e d a l e , 1936),

10. 2

L a t e r p u b l i s h e d : I . B . T a b a t a , The boycott as a weapon of struggle ( L o n d o n , i960).

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of a much tougher and more effective campaign, led by the school pupils themselves, 20 years later. More successful was the superbly organised bus boycott in 1957 when, by walking up to 20 miles a day for ten weeks or more, thousands of African commuters on the Witwatersrand from Alexandra, Sophiatown, and elsewhere, forced the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and subsequently the government itself to find ways other than raising fares to finance the increasing cost of transport. A three-month potato boycott, organised in 1959 to draw attention to the system of farm gaols and the oppressive labour conditions found on farms in the potato-growing area of the eastern Transvaal around Bethal, made some impact, but the farm gaols were not abolished. It was not until later, when the boycott weapon was aimed from overseas, that it began, particularly in the field of sport, to make a visible difference to government policy. Meanwhile another weapon was tried. In 1 9 4 6 Smuts was pushed by his predominantly English-speaking Natal supporters to enact legislation to restrict Indian ownership to areas where they already owned land. Gandhi telegraphed his protest and India vigorously denounced South Africa at the opening session of the United Nations. Within the country itself the Indian community rallied behind, the S A Indian Congress which, under the leadership of Dr Naicker, launched a passive resistance campaign. T w o thousand people were sent to gaol but the campaign had little effect. In 1949 communal riots between Indians and Africans tore Durban apart in an episode which highlighted cleavages within the black community and demonstrated the difficulties of united resistance. Nevertheless Indian and African leaders were able subsequently to get together and plan a massive defiance campaign against unjust laws. Timed to coincide with the whites' tercen­ tenary celebrations of the landing of Jan van Riebeeck, the campaign was launched on 26 June 1952 when resisters set out deliberately to break one of six laws relating to control of movement or to railway and post office segregation. During the four months (July to October) a total of 8000 volunteers, no less than two-thirds of them in the eastern Cape, went forward to be arrested. The government response was to pass legislation permitting the whipping of all those convicted of breaking a law for the purpose of demonstrating against it. 283

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But the attempt to persuade those in power to mend their ways by means of Satyagraha actions was not finished. Seven years later another peaceful campaign, focussing once again on the hated pass laws, was mounted. Some jockeying for position between the A N C and the Pan-African Congress which, led by Robert Sobukwe, had recently broken away from the older body, prevented the campaign being properly co-ordinated, but this rapidly became a secondary consideration when on 21 March i 9 6 0 a large crowd of people responding to the P A C call gathered round the Sharpeville police station to hand in their passes and was shot at by police. Sixty-nine people lost their lives in an event which echoed round the world. A week later, nearly a thousand miles away, 30000 Africans marched unarmed into Cape Town to demonstrate against the pass laws. A state of emergency was declared and the two African congress organisations were banned. An era had ended. For white South Africans the second half of the 1 9 3 0 s was a honey­ moon period. United behind the old warriors, Generals Hertzog and Smuts, the vast majority of Afrikaans- and English-speaking whites put aside the quarrels of the past and, basking in the glow of fusion, saw even the nightmare of white poverty begin to recede. But the price of unity was to be high. In 1936, having waited ten years for the two-thirds majority he needed, Hertzog was able to manoeuvre Smuts into supporting legislation to remove African voters from the common roll which had been open to those in the Cape Province with certain qualifications since 1853 and which had been entrenched, at the insistence of Cape delegates, in the South Africa Act, 1909. In place of the common franchise a Natives' Representative Council with advisory but no executive power was established and provision was made for those removed from the common voters' roll to elect three white representatives to the House of Assembly and two (also white) to the Cape Provincial Council. Another provision allowed Africans throughout the Union to elect four whites as additional members of the Senate. At the same time Hertzog was able to tidy some of the loose ends left in the Land Act of 1 9 1 3 by finalising (at approximately 13 per cent of the total) the amount of land which was to be reserved for Africans. Smuts saw global dangers more clearly than those within his own country, thus, whilst he was not prepared to sacrifice white unity for the sake of black 284

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South Africans, he was nevertheless willing to break it in order to take sides against Nazi Germany. When, on the outbreak of war in September 1939, Hertzog proposed that South Africa remain neutral Smuts argued that her interests as a small nation decreed that she should stand by her friends and go to war. The cabinet was evenly split but Smuts won the parliamentary vote with a majority of eleven. Hertzog crossed the floor to join D. F. Malan's ' purified' Nationalist Party, which had been in the wilderness since it opposed fusion of the (Afrikaner) Nationalist Party, led by Hertzog, and the (largely anglophone) United Party, led by Smuts, in 1933. South Africa, like Britain and her sister Dominions, entered the w a r ' dangerously unprepared V although she too mobilised rapidly and sent troops first to East Africa where, with Indians, West Africans and others, they defeated the Italians and liberated Ethiopia. From there the South African army moved to North Africa where 1 1 0 0 0 South Africans were captured at Tobruk. Those not captured went on, after fighting at El Alamein, to Italy and the heart of Europe. Some 2 3 1 0 0 0 men were enlisted. More than one-third ( 3 7 per cent) of these were African or Coloured and were sent to war with spears but no guns. Smuts himself played a key role in the war both as Commander-in-Chief of the South African armed forces and as a global strategist in close touch with Churchill and the British generals. Another aspect of the war was its impact on the soldiers, both black and white, who went north to fight against Nazi racism and Italian Fascism. For blacks the experience of travelling outside the confines of a segregated society was profoundly liberating whilst for many whites the goals of the war as well as meeting all sorts and conditions of men and learning of a world far richer in culture than anything they had ever dreamed of made the social structures back home seem mean and petty. Smuts responded to these impulses when invasion threatened and, after remarking in 1942 that 'segregation had fallen on evil days', gave notice that if the Japanese landed he would arm blacks. But, as one of the most 2

1

N e i l O r p e n , South African forces, World War II ( C a p e T o w n , 1968), v o l . 11, 338. F o r an illustration o f the a m b i g u o u s n a t u r e o f c h a n g e in S o u t h A f r i c a c o n t r a s t the p h o t o g r a p h o f black t r o o p s d o i n g parade drill w i t h spears d u r i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r i n O r p e n , South African forces, v o l . 1, w i t h t h a t o f t h e h e a v i l y a r m e d b l a c k r i o t p o l i c e m e n in J o h a n n e s b u r g in 1976 i n P e t e r M a g u b a n e , Magubane's South Africa ( L o n d o n , 1978), 104. 2

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English of Smuts's supporters confided to his diary, * Anything like a wholesale grant of the vote to our natives is utterly out of the question now and will remain utterly out of the question as long as anyone living can now foresee. ' As the threat of invasion receded and an election loomed, the hopes of trade-union rep­ resentation, relaxation of the pass laws, and guns for black soldiers faded, and the 1943 election, though buoyed up on the tide of victory against Fascism in North Africa, was fought on the clear understanding that, at home, the black man should stay in his place. Yet Smuts was still willing to negotiate and, who knows, with his willingness to laat maar loop (let things develop) he would later perhaps have seen the writing on the wall and moved to accommodate black aspirations. But Smuts was an old man. Moreover, despite all his knowledge and the breadth of his interests, despite the charisma which Hancock describes so vividly, the harsh fact remains that Smuts was one of the chief architects of the South Africa Act, he had been second-incommand of the government which passed the Land Act in 1913 and was also the man without whose support Hertzog would never have been able in 1936 to remove Africans from the Cape common roll. He believed in evolution but did not discern the culs-de-sac of history. Perhaps he stretched as far as they would go the thongs which bound representatives of the white electorate. But at the end of his days, in the crisis of the African mineworkers' strike and the collapse of the Natives' Representative Council he, like Hofmeyr, failed to respond adequately to the hands that were being held out to him from across the widening chasm that divided South Africa. For the majority of his fellow countrymen Smuts was spokesman for the ' haves'; ruler of a country designed 'for whites only'; a man unable to see Africans as equals. He left no legacy on which those struggling for a common society could build. More immediately, however, the most damaging attack on Smuts came from the apostles of greater exclusiveness. In the post-war election of 1948 the United Party was defeated. The National Party, supported almost entirely by Afrikaans-speaking white voters, was returned to power. l

2

1

2

B . K . L o n g , In S/nuts's camp ( L o n d o n , 1945), 106. W . K . H a n c o c k , Smuts ( C a m b r i d g e , 1962, 1968), 2 v o l s .

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In 1938 the liturgical celebration of the centenary of the Great Trek, with ox-waggons pulling slowly through the towns and dorps of South Africa to a great climax in Pretoria, was instru­ mental in diffusing an Afrikaans-speaking whites-only group consciousness, and in building up a reservoir of feeling which 'purified nationalists' were to harness effectively in their drive for power. Despite this, and despite the coming together of Hertzog and Malan in the opening days of the war, it was not all plain sailing. Many of Malan's followers were not happy either with the choice of leader of the new, Herenigde Nationale (United National) Party, nor with Hertzog's insistence on soft-pedalling the policy of making South Africa a Republic outside the Commonwealth. A palace revolt was organised and the old general resigned. Much more serious to the National Party, however, was the rise of the Ossewa Brand wag (OB). Founded in the euphoria of the centenary trek, it was a para-military organisation aimed at rallying young Afrikaaners to the republican cause. Starting as a cultural movement, it became increasingly committed to armed subversion and was soon carving out a space for itself in the political arena. Malan, in what he later described as one of the three most difficult decisions of his life, decided to attack the O B head on. Helped by the turn of the tide in Europe, Malan was able to defeat the rival organisation whose Nazi philosophy he declared was a foreign import. In 1948, the National Party refused to have anything to do with the O B and in the election the young B. J. Vorster had to stand as a member of the Afrikaner Party because Malan disapproved of his O B activities. He lost by two votes, but by the election of 1953 the O B was dead, and the lost sheep were back in the fold, with men like Vorster on their way to the top of the party. The power house which transformed Afrikaners from what they were before the First World War into the * organisation-men they became after the Second was not, however, the National Party as such. The Broederbond (League of Brothers), founded 1

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T h e t w o other decisions w e r e whether or not to leave the C h u r c h ministry and whether or not to follow H e r t z o g into 'fusion*. F. V a n Z y l Slabbert, ' A f r i k a n e r nationalism, white politics and political change in S o u t h A f r i c a \ i n L e o n a r d T h o m p s o n a n d Jeffrey B u t l e r ( e d s . ) , Change in contemporary South Africa ( B e r k e l e y , 1975), 3 - 1 8 . 2

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in 1 9 1 9 by Henning Klopper, went underground in 1922 where, save for those few occasions when it has emerged, blinking like a mole, in the harsh light of Sunday journalism, it remained until the late 1 9 7 0 s . Hertzog was vehemently opposed to such a secret organisation, but from the time of his withdrawal from politics in 1940 until the assassination of Dr Verwoerd in 1966 and indeed right through the Vorster era, the evidence suggests that the Broederbond, whose leadership was drawn primarily from pro­ fessional, political, religious and intellectual leaders, played a key role, especially in the Transvaal, in organising the Afrikaner nationalists' achievement and consolidation of power. In 1944 the Federasie vir Afrikaanse Kultuur, an offshoot of the Broederbond, acted as host at a conference at which the new vision o f ' Christian National' policy was put before the public. With the backing of the three Church denominations to which most white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans belonged, the programme stated explicitly that the first duty of a 'nation' (white-skinned and Afrikaans-tongued) was to save its own life, and laid the foundations of an ideology which was to serve the National Party for the next generation. In the field of economics a number of young intellectuals, Albert Hertzog, Piet Meyer and others, after returning from study in Western Europe, established the Nasionale Raad van Trustees (National Council of Trustees) in 1936 in order to form trade unions with the specific objective of rescuing Afrikaans workers from the hold of class solidarity and of directing them along the paths of Afrikaner consciousness. In 19 34 the Spoorbond (Railway Union) for white railway workers had been established by the Broederbond and, after a long battle, the Mine Workers' Union was taken over in 1 9 4 8 . The threat of Coloured women in the Garment Workers' Union on the Witwatersrand led to the launching of the Blankewerkersbeskermingsbond to protect white workers from contamination b y ' untouchables' of a different hue. Across the class divide there was also need for organisation. The Reddingsdaadbond (RDB) (Rescue Action Society), formed 1

2

1

J. H . P . S e r f o n t e i n , Brotherhood of power ( L o n d o n , 1979); I v o r W i l k i n s a n d H a n s S t r y d o m , The Broederbond ( N e w Y o r k , 1979); C h a r l e s B l o o m b e r g , The Broederbond and Christian nationalism in South Africa, u n p u b l i s h e d (1972). D a n O ' M e a r a , ' T h e " C h r i s t i a n N a t i o n a l " assault o n w h i t e trade u n i o n s in S o u t h A f r i c a ' , African Affairs, 1978, 7 7 , 306. 2

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in the wake of the 1938 centenary celebrations, was designed to help Afrikaners develop some muscle within the Englishdominated capitalist world. Nico Diedrichs, who with Geoff Cronje and others was one of the apostles of the new 'nationalism', resigned his professorship in the Orange Free State to become full-time director of the R D B which collected funds (albeit not very successfully). The R D B enabled some small businesses to get off the ground and, more important, provided early support for the new investment house Federale Volksbeleggings (Federal People's Investments). Influential though these organisations were, it was not until the National Party had won the 1948 election that they had the opportunity of putting into practice the policies that had been so long in gestation. 1

The first actions of the new government were focussed on intensifying colour-caste cleavages where they were least visible. In 1949 marriage between 'European and non-European' was made illegal whilst, a year later, the illegality of sexual intercourse between whites and Africans was extended also against' Coloured' and 'Asians' as well by an amendment to the 1927 Immorality Act. The Population Registration Act of 1950, hideously cruel in its effects, was used primarily to separate ' white' from ' Coloured' even within the same families. Attempts to justify these 'race' divisions on pseudo-scientific grounds drew heavily on Nazi thinking, but in remoter parts of the Karoo such refinements were dispensed with when, so the story goes, farm-labourer descendants of centuries of Bantu-Khoi interaction were lined up on local railway platforms before an official who glanced at each face pronouncing 'Jj s n Hotnot or 'Jy s n Kaffir , as he thought the case might be. The Group Areas Act ( 1 9 5 0 ) excluded black neighbours and entrepreneurs from preferred districts, thus extending urban segregation which had first been directed pri­ marily against Africans, many of whom had been penned into 'locations' since before the First World War. The shabby pro­ cedures, 1 9 5 1 - 6 , to remove the franchise from Coloured voters in the Cape, reversed Hertzog's 1926 proposal that it be extended to the Coloured people in other provinces. T w o reasons for rejecting the bruin Afrikaners were the National Party's fear of 9

1

9

N. Diedrichs, Nasionalisme (Bloemfontein, 1936).

9

9

9

9

as Lewensbeskoutng en sy Verhouding tot internationalisme

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losing its precarious hold on power due to the Coloured vote in a number of marginal Cape seats and, secondly, the increasing emphasis on racial purity which the young intellectuals brought back from Germany in the 1 9 3 0 s . The new Afrikaner nationalists used the fences of language and colour-caste both to give consciousness and cohesiveness to a group which was sufficiently numerous to win all elections confined only to whites, and also to foster division amongst everybody else. A significant shift in the state's response to urbanisation came in 1948. The Smuts government had supported a proposal that the massive wartime movements of Africans to the manufactur­ ing centres be accepted as inevitable. But the nationalists, harking back to policy enunciated in 1922 by a Transvaal local government commission that ' the native' should only enter the cities in order 'to minister to the needs of the white man and should depart therefrom when he ceases so to minister V proposed a policy which not only made it more difficult for blacks to settle in town, but which also laid the foundations for extending the migrant labour system from the mining industry to the rest of the urban economy. The Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act ( 1 9 5 1 ) prohibited squatting without permission, but did empower local authorities to proclaim emergency camps. The Native Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act ( 1 9 5 2 ) streamlined the system of geographic control and introduced a single reference book, the dompas, which had to be carried at all times by all Africans of 18 years or older. The Native Laws Amendment Act ( 1 9 5 2 ) laid down the terms (birth in a town, or ten years continuous work with one employer, or 15 years continuous employment in the same town) under which a person might acquire rights to remain permanently in a particular town and, if a man, to bring in his wife and children to live with him. For those who did not yet fulfil these requirements family housing was not to be made available. Those wishing to seek work in town were allowed to come for 72 hours after which time, if they were not registered in employment they had to leave. Labour bureaux were established in 1951 to facilitate the co-ordination of labour flow, not least to agriculture. The dompas, containing information 2

1

T r a n s v a a l P r o v i n c e , Report of the Local Government Commission ( S t a l l a r d ) ( T P i , P r e t o r i a , 1922), p a r a 267. T h e o r i g i n o f t h e w o r d is o b s c u r e . P o s s i b l y it is d e r i v e d f r o m w h e r e is y o u r d a m n pass?'. 2

4

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about an individual's place of residence, employment status and tax payments, had to be produced upon demand by any policeman. During the 1 9 5 0 s the average annual number of convictions for contraventions of the pass laws was double that during the 1 9 4 0 s (see table 6 . 1 2 ) . Behind these statistics lay the indignities of arrogant arrest, and a development about which Africans felt particularly bitter: the extension of pass laws to women. Forty years previously a passive resistance campaign in the Orange Free State had successfully warded off a similar attempt, but now, despite massive protest culminating in a march of 1 0 0 0 0 women led by Lilian Ngoyi to Pretoria in 1 9 5 6 , the government extended the laws until by 1959 passes had to be carried by all African women. Such power led to abuse. For example a white policeman arrested a teenage girl for a pass offence. After locking her in a police van he drove her to a remote place... He told her to get undressed. She told the court she had submitted because she was terrified. She did not voice any refusal but did everything he told her to do... The court accepted that she had not agreed to have intercourse. In view of the fact, however, that she silently submitted without being forced to, 'the policeman could have taken it as consent'. Therefore he would not be convicted of rape. 1

He was, however, sentenced to two years imprisonment under the Immorality Act! There were further controls on occupational mobility. The law bolstering the well-established conventional colour bar in secondary industry was used to ensure that the colour—caste pecking order was not upset by blacks giving orders to whites, and also as part of the white social system to reserve jobs in times of economic downturn. But the amendment to the Industrial Conciliation Act ( 1 9 5 6 ) , though drafted by men with memories of the depression, was passed long after the problem of poor whites had disappeared and the evidence suggests that, as the economy continued to expand, legal barriers to black advancement in manufacturing, as opposed to mining, were less significant than other obstacles such as white social custom, trade-union pressure, and the consequences of the education structure. Political control was also increased. Legislation such as War Measure 145 of 1943 was already on the books to prevent African 1

Cape Times, 8

August

1972.

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workers from striking, and trade-union organisers had long been harassed by the state. But the real pressure on leadership did not come until 1950 with the Suppression of Communism Act and its subsequent amendments, which gave the state power to ban any individual who, in the opinion of the minister, w a s ' furthering the aims of communism'. Apart from the useful political mileage which could be gained both locally and internationally from such legislation at the height of McCarthyism and the Cold War, it provided the state with an instrument with which it was able, at the stroke of a pen, to turn an indispensable trade-union organiser, political leader, or creative writer into an impotent non-person. He became a social leper who was confined to a magisterial area, prohibited from addressing or attending any gatherings, from meeting more than one other person at a time, from visiting any factory, university or school premises, from writing or publishing anything and from being quoted either orally or in print for periods (which could be renewed) of between three and five years. Amongst the 1300 people banned over the years 1 9 5 0 - 7 7 were some who were Communists and many, Roman Catholic priests, Quaker pacifists, and others, who were not. The Act was an effective instrument of control. But it also, as we shall see, clogged the cybernetic channels by which a society grows in self-awareness and understanding. No less far-reaching however than the banning of books and writers were the consequences of the Bantu Education Act ( 1 9 5 3 ) , which transferred control of African schools from churches and provincial authorities to the Department of Native Affairs (later Bantu Administration, later Plural Relations, later Co-operation and Development). There were essentially three components in the new thinking. One was the desire to have a syllabus more related to those jobs in the economy which government would permit blacks to take up. Another consideration was that the syllabus should be moulded by what the white rulers considered to be good for 'Bantu'. There was no question of blacks participating in debate about reform of education for the whole country. Effectively they were told that as blacks they had no right to train for more skilled jobs in the urban economy as there was * no place for [them] in the European community above the level 1

1

S e a n M o r o n e y a n d L i n d a E n s o r , The silenced: bannings in South Africa

*979)-

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of certain forms of labour'. Thirdly, the government sought also to destroy the influence of men and women whom it considered to be insidiously influencing Africans to hold ideas above their station as 'black Englishmen'. There is a sense in which the destruction of so much of what the missionaries had laboured for more than a century to build was a judgement on the arrogance of British imperial power, and the wounds it had inflicted on an earlier generation of Afrikaners, who found themselves often looked down upon by their wealthier, more self-assured, Englishspeaking neighbours. But the action, such as the dispersal of old school libraries and the destruction of all that for which proud institutions such as Lovedale, Adams College and Fort Hare stood, was wanton and deeply wounding. The legislation to segregate university education and to create ethnic institutions under state control was aimed, said a government spokesman, ' t o produce native leaders who will accept and propagate Apartheid \ Nor was it only Africans who were casualties of the philosophy of Christian National Education. South Africans of Indian descent were segregated into Indian schools whilst 'Coloured' children had to go to schools taken over by the Coloured Affairs Department. Amongst whites too a policy of ethnic segregation was used to isolate Afrikaans-speaking children from others and to foster a narrow group identity so that the educational system entrenched group differences. Other fundamental legislation during the 1 9 5 0 s laid the foundations for the policy that was to emerge during the follow­ ing decades of separating from South Africa a number of pol­ itically independent archipelagos. In his meeting with some members of the Natives' Representative Council in 1 9 4 7 , Smuts had spelt out his ideas for future policy. These were to give the N R C executive powers - roughly equal to those of a provincial council - to run those rural areas set aside as 'Native Reserves'. The Bantu Authorities Act of 1953 executed this policy but with one crucial difference. Where Smuts had intended to place all the reserves under one black authority Verwoerd divided them according to language sub-groupings, with Nguni-speakers being split into four and Sotho-speakers into three. Six years later, during which time Ghana had become independent under Nkrumah whilst Verwoerd had become prime minister of South Pelzer A. N. (ed.), Verwoerd speaks: speeches 1948-1966 (Johannesburg, 1966). 1

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Africa, the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Bill was introduced, thus opening the way, though not yet explicitly, to Bantustan independence within the Verwoerdian vision of a commonwealth of nations in southern Africa. The full implica­ tions of this policy as it evolved are analysed later. As the 1 9 5 0 s drew to a close those who led white South Africa along the path of exclusion could feel well pleased with themselves as they looked back over the tracks of the previous quarter century. The economy was booming; investors, both local and foreign, were satisfied. Politically, not only was the policy of exclusion becoming clearer and, in the eyes of its supporters, more moral, but the time was ripe for the National Party's crowning achievement, the establishment of a white Republic. But this confidence was severely jolted in i 9 6 0 by a series of events including the * Winds of Change' speech in Cape Town by Harold Macmillan, the Sharpeville tragedy, an assassination attempt which severely wounded the South African prime minister, a massive flight of capital, and the banning of the two major organisations representing African political aspirations. With Verwoerd's steely resolve and the breaking of a pledge to the leaders of the black protesters who marched on Cape Town, the government regained its nerve and pushed on with the referendum in which, by a narrow majority, whites voted for a Republic. In 1961 South Africa finally severed its long constitutional link with the British Crown and, even more telling as a measure of its increasing isolation in the world, withdrew from the Common­ wealth in which, during previous decades, it had been so important a member. S O U T H

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Bechuanaland Ever since the South Africa Act ( 1 9 0 9 ) , which made special provision for the later incorporation of the three High Commis­ sion territories, the Pretoria government had made periodic requests that this be done; but African opposition was firmly articulated by Tshekedi Khama, second son of Khama the Great, who had been installed as Regent of the Ngwato people of the 1

1

T s h e k e d i w a s R e g e n t w h i l s t his n e p h e w , S e r e t s e , w a s still t o o y o u n g t o b e C h i e f . S e r e t s e ' s f a t h e r S e k g o m a II ( C h i e f K h a m a ' s e l d e s t s o n ) d i e d after a b r i e f r u l e w h e n Seretse w a s a child o f four.

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Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1 9 2 6 . In 1 9 3 6 H e r t z o g tried again to incorporate the territories but Britain refused. O n the outbreak o f war T s h e k e d i and other chiefs offered Britain their resources and, after visiting Pretoria to examine conditions o f Africans in the Union Defence Force, refused Smuts's suggestion that they encourage their men to join it. Instead a special corps o f men from the territories w a s created and performed distinguished service around the Mediterranean. But again in 1 9 4 9 the issue was raised w h e n the y o u n g Seretse K h a m a returned h o m e w i t h his E n g l i s h bride. White South Africa, w h i c h had just made ' mixed ' marriages illegal, was outraged and Malan announced that he w o u l d shortly be m a k i n g a formal demand for the territories. Britain's response was to resist incorporation but to announce that recognition o f Seretse as chief w o u l d be withheld for five years during w h i c h time he must live outside the Protectorate. A t the same time T s h e k e d i K h a m a , w h o had done his best t o stop Seretse's marriage to an u n k n o w n outsider, was banished from the N g w a t o reserve, ' w h i l e the chieftainship is in suspense'. T h e matter was not finally resolved until 1 9 5 6 w h e n , having renounced all claims to the chieftainship, the t w o men returned as private citizens t o Serowe. 1

By this time, after years o f parsimony, funds had been made available for the Protectorate. In 1955 a white paper was issued outlining a five-year development p r o g r a m m e concentrating o n water, roads, education, social services, and soil conservation. In 1958 negotiations began for mining in N g w a t o country. In the same year the Joint A d v i s o r y C o u n c i l , representing both blacks and whites, called for the establishment o f a Legislative C o u n c i l . By the year o f T s h e k e d i ' s death in 1 9 5 9 , his nephew, for w h o m he had so l o n g held the N g w a t o land in trust as R e g e n t , was o n his w a y t o b e c o m i n g first president o f an independent Botswana.

South West Africa J Namibia By the end o f the 1930s, South W e s t Africa had been g o v e r n e d for almost t w o decades by South Africa under mandate from the L e a g u e o f Nations. In practice this meant that the territory w a s ruled under the same laws as applied t o the Cape P r o v i n c e and was subjected to decisions w h i c h reflected primarily the interests o f whites w h o , in South W e s t Africa, formed less than 1 0 per cent 1

M a r y B e n s o n , Tshekedi Khama ( L o n d o n , i960), 198.

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Table 6 . 1 1 . Land utilisation in South West Africa, 1936. Million ha

Percentage

Farm land (3905 white-owned farms) Desert (Namib) Native reserves Game reserves Reserved for extension of native reserves Urban areas

30.6 12.0 9.9 9.6

44-3

6.5

9.4

0.4

0.6

Total

69.0

Source: Official year book 19ft*

17.4 M.3 13.9

100.0

1137.

o f the population. T h e structure o f political p o w e r was reflected most clearly in the pattern o f land utilisation: nearly three-quarters ( 7 1 per cent) o f the land, excluding the N a m i b Desert itself, was allocated either as white farm land or as game reserves (table 6 . 1 1 ) . T h e African population was heterogeneous, consisting o f O v a m b o , Damara, Herero, K a v a n g o and other g r o u p s w h o s e language differences were further accentuated by the g o v e r n m e n t ' s policy o f setting up more than 20 separate rural reserves. O n e aim o f this policy was stated as being to create ' a potential labourrecruiting field for the future'. A t this stage the main employers o f labour, apart from the white farmers, were the railways, a few mines (including diamond mines) and fishing companies. T h e e c o n o m y o f South W e s t Africa g r e w very rapidly, particularly in the mining sector in the decade 1 9 4 6 - 5 6 . But the fact that national income as a proportion o f gross domestic product fell from 92 to 60 per cent in the same period is a measure o f the extent to w h i c h much o f the increased wealth was taken out o f the country in the form o f dividend and other payments to foreign, especially South African, investors and property owners. B y i 9 6 0 mining accounted for 34 per cent and agriculture for 15 per cent o f G D P and the country's major exports were diamonds, copper, karakul pelts and cattle. T h e manufacturing sector, based largely on the canning o f pilchards in W a l v i s Bay, was small and the e c o n o m y 1

1

Officialyear book 19}?, 115 5. 296

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remained primarily rural with more than three-quarters o f the population l i v i n g on the land. L i k e South Africa, South West Africa developed with an oscillating migrant labour system at the heart o f the e c o n o m y , but most migrants w e r e d r a w n from within the country, particularly from the northern, O v a m b o and K a v a n g o , areas. S o m e w o r k e r s came from A n g o l a . Between 1938 and i960—1 the annual number o f w o r k e r s recruited by the monopsonistic South W e s t African N a t i v e L a b o u r Association ( S W A N L A ) rose from a little under 1 0 0 0 0 to 25 000, o f w h o m one-third were e m p l o y e d by farmers, one-third by industry and g o v e r n m e n t , one-quarter ( 2 7 per cent) by the mines and the rest in fishing and other activities. Important political changes were also taking place. H a v i n g l o n g considered the territory as effectively annexed to South Africa, Smuts applied to the new United Nations in 1 9 4 6 for its formal incorporation. T h e Herero, led by Chief Hosea K u t a k o , rejected the referendum by w h i c h South Africa hoped to w i n African approval for the m o v e . T h e Paramount Chief, Frederick Maharero, lived in the Bechuanaland Protectorate w i t h 1 4 0 0 0 o f his people w h o had fled from v o n T r o t h a ' s massacres in 1904 and he appealed to the N g w a t o Regent for help. T s h e k e d i K h a m a responded immediately by cabling the United Nations to refuse South Africa's request. S o o n afterwards, h a v i n g found him l i v i n g in a tent in a squatter camp outside Johannesburg, T s h e k e d i K h a m a commissioned the R e v d Michael Scott to plead the South West African cause at the United Nations on behalf o f Chief Kutako. In 1 9 4 9 , the National Party g o v e r n m e n t , seeking simultaneously to strengthen the South W e s t connexion and its precarious majority, decreed that white Suid-westers should elect six repres­ entatives to the Cape T o w n parliament. South Africa's v i e w that the mandate had lapsed w i t h the collapse o f the L e a g u e o f Nations was submitted by the U N General A s s e m b l y to the International C o u r t o f Justice w h i c h ruled that the mandate was still in force. South Africa h o w e v e r ignored the implications o f this judgement and continued to g o v e r n the territory. Indeed it was the further extension o f apartheid, with the forcible removal o f blacks from the ' O l d L o c a t i o n ' in the centre o f W i n d h o e k to a new ethnically divided non-freehold township o f Katatura some miles outside, that led to confrontation on the night o f 10 D e c e m b e r (the 297

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a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e U N D e c l a r a t i o n o f H u m a n R i g h t s ) in 1 9 5 9 w h e n p o l i c e fired o n u n a r m e d d e m o n s t r a t o r s , k i l l i n g 11 a n d w o u n d i n g 54. T h i s e v e n t , w h i c h p r e c e d e d t h e S h a r p e v i l l e m a s s a c r e b y t h r e e m o n t h s , w a s n o less f a r - r e a c h i n g in its c o n s e q u e n c e s . It led to the transformation o f the O v a m b o l a n d P e o p l e ' s O r g a n i s a ­ t i o n , f o u n d e d in 1 9 5 7 b y T o i v o H e r m a n ja T o i v o t o fight t h e migrant labour system, into the S o u t h W e s t Africa People's Organisation ( S W A P O ) w h i c h had a broad national base and w h i c h w a s dedicated to e n d i n g S o u t h Africa's colonisation o f the c o u n t r y . S a m N u j o m a , w h o w a s t o b e c o m e first p r e s i d e n t o f S W A P O , w a s banished to O v a m b o l a n d f o l l o w i n g the W i n d h o e k s h o o t i n g s . S o o n a f t e r w a r d s h e left t h e c o u n t r y a n d in D a r e s S a l a a m set u p t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s o f S W A P O in e x i l e . M e a n w h i l e , inside the c o u n t r y , the internal w i n g o f the organisation, w h i c h w a s never banned a l t h o u g h leaders w e r e often harassed, quietly w e n t o n w i t h the w o r k o f political mobilisation.

Swaziland F o r m o r e than sixty years, o r t w o generations, the k i n g d o m o f S w a z i l a n d w a s d o m i n a t e d b y K i n g S o b h u z a II w h o w a s i n s t a l l e d as ingwenyama in 1 9 2 1 . A t t h e t i m e o f t h e 1 9 3 6 c e n s u s , t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n w a s 1 5 7 0 0 0 , o f w h o m 98 p e r c e n t w e r e A f r i c a n , a l m o s t all S w a z i - s p e a k i n g . L e s s t h a n 3000 w e r e w h i t e , b u t w h i t e s , s o m e o f t h e m d o m i c i l e d in S o u t h A f r i c a , o w n e d n e a r l y half the land. A sense o f h a v i n g been r o b b e d b y the L a n d Partition P r o c l a m a t i o n o f 1907, together w i t h a steady curtailment o f traditional p o w e r , created a deep sense o f distrust o f the colonial g o v e r n m e n t b y the S w a z i p e o p l e and led the k i n g , an inherently c o n s e r v a t i v e m a n , i n t o m u t e d b u t real c o n f l i c t w i t h B r i t a i n o n these issues. N e v e r t h e l e s s S o b h u z a f o u n d S o u t h A f r i c a n policies e v e n m o r e d i s t a s t e f u l , p a r t i c u l a r l y after t h e p r o m u l g a t i o n in 1 9 2 6 o f H e r t z o g ' s N a t i v e B i l l s , a n d h e c a m e d o w n s o l i d l y a g a i n s t all attempts to incorporate Swaziland into the U n i o n . B u t e c o n o m i c ties w e r e s t r o n g a n d S o u t h A f r i c a c o n t i n u e d t o e x e r t its p o w e r o v e r the tiny k i n g d o m . B e f o r e the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r m o r e than two-thirds o f w a g e - p a y i n g jobs held by S w a z i w e r e outside the c o u n t r y , l a r g e l y in t h e m i n e s o f t h e W i t w a t e r s r a n d . A s t i m e w e n t on, h o w e v e r , relatively m o r e jobs w e r e generated within S w a z i l a n d . T h e H a v e l o c k asbestos m i n e , o p e n e d in 1937, b e c a m e 298

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a major employer, whilst after the Second W o r l d W a r the afforestation p r o g r a m m e , and the development o f sugar planting (particularly after malaria had been brought under control) led t o considerable expansion o f the e c o n o m y , so that by i960 11 300 Swazi were employed within Swaziland, o u t n u m b e r i n g the 7500 recruited during the year t o the South African g o l d and platinum mines. Important t h o u g h they were, the earnings o f migrants formed a less substantial proportion o f Swaziland's income than was the case in either Bechuanaland o r Basutoland. A l t h o u g h nearly every Swazi adult male w o r k e d at some stage o n the Witwatersrand, the people o f Swaziland remained o v e r w h e l m ­ ingly rural in their o u t l o o k . E v e r y year the people gathered for the great first-fruits ceremony o f the Ncwala and the country, untroubled by constitutional crises or rivals to the k i n g , retained its cohesiveness for longer than most other areas. B u t the conservatism o f the k i n g and his elderly councillors created strains in the years after the Second W o r l d W a r , w h e n y o u n g e r more educated men and w o m e n s o u g h t to modernise the social structure and to create a more democratically g o v e r n e d society.

Basutoland Entirely surrounded by South Africa, the small mountain k i n g d o m ruled, under Britain, b y M o s h w e s h w e ' s heirs had almost nothing which it could sell to the outside w o r l d except labour. In years g o n e by the S o t h o had adapted quickly and efficiently to the opportunities presented by the o p e n i n g u p o f the markets around the diamond and g o l d mines. E v e n after the fertile plains along the west bank o f the Caledon R i v e r had been lost to the conquering white settlers in the O r a n g e Free State they had g r o w n and exported large surpluses o f grain. H o w e v e r , b y the end o f the First W o r l d W a r , as a result o f population pressure c o m b i n e d with the destructive effects o f the widespread migrant labour system, Basutoland produced only just e n o u g h for its people to eat. T h i s state o f affairs continued until the great d r o u g h t at the beginning o f the 1930s, after w h i c h time the country became a steadily increasing net importer o f grain. O v e r the 25 years from 1936 to 1961, the number o f men engaged for w o r k o n the mines from Basutoland and the O r a n g e Free State rose b y two-thirds from 46000 t o 69000. O v e r the same period the n u m b e r o f paid 299 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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jobs within Basutoland remained a fraction o f those held in South Africa. Despite the internal p o v e r t y and lack o f e m p l o y m e n t oppor­ tunities, Basutoland had a well-established infrastructure o f edu­ cation and one o f the highest literacy rates in Africa. In 1945 the R o m a n Catholic Pius X I I C o l l e g e was established where students could take degrees o f the University o f South Africa as could blacks in the U n i o n . In politics t o o there w a s a great deal o f activity. In 1952 the Basutoland C o n g r e s s Party, closely modelled on South Africa's A N C , was founded by Ntsu M o k h e h l e . A n d in 1958 C h i e f Leabua Jonathan, later to be first prime minister o f the independent L e s o t h o , established the Basutoland National Party w i t h support from the s o m e w h a t surprising combination o f R o m a n Catholics and the g o v e r n m e n t o f South Africa. It was supported also by the queen regent in her attempts to retain p o w e r after the y o u n g k i n g came o f age. Utterly dependent t h o u g h it w a s o n the S o u t h African e c o n o m y , Basutoland by the end o f the 1950s w a s being g r o o m e d , like Bechuanaland and Swaziland, for political independence. South Africa was loath to accept this fact. J. G . Strijdom, w h o succeeded Malan as prime minister in 1954, was so anxious to achieve incorporation that he, the arch-republican, was willing to postpone a Republic if that w o u l d reduce opposition to transfer o f the H i g h C o m m i s s i o n territories. But he died in 1958 without achieving either o f his t w o goals. Paradoxically, it w a s the very failure o f S o u t h Africa to achieve incorporation that enabled Strijdom's successor, V e r w o e r d , to play his master-stroke. Re­ cognising that South Africa w o u l d have to live with the three territories as politically independent neighbours, V e r w o e r d turned this defeat into the springboard o f a n e w strategy. G i v e n that the three areas w e r e dependent both for jobs and g o o d s o n a n e i g h b o u r i n g country w h o s e e c o n o m i c and military strength relative to theirs w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g , there was n o w a y in w h i c h their political independence could pose an effective threat to white control in S o u t h Africa itself. Indeed as V e r w o e r d saw, there were positive advantages in not incorporating the H i g h C o m m i s s i o n territories. For, as citizens o f independent countries, the people living there w o u l d exert far less pressure to change South African society than if they were constitutionally part o f it. M o r e o v e r South Africa w o u l d have international law and practice behind 300 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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her in preventing them, as foreigners, from playing any role in her internal affairs. S o despite one last appeal for incorporation in 1 9 6 3 , South Africa b e g a n to m o v e t o w a r d s a policy not o n l y o f w e l c o m i n g the territories' c o m i n g independence but also o f carving out and granting political independence to those parts o f South Africa w h i c h , historically, had b e c o m e labour reserves. T h e boundaries o f the nation state w e r e to be used to reinforce the barriers o f language, c o l o u r and urbanisation. Blacks w e r e to be further excluded by declaring them foreigners. W i t h o u t w a v e r i n g from the g o a l o f maintaining c o n t r o l o f the c o r e o f the e c o n o m y , white South Africa's strategy gradually c h a n g e d d u r i n g the 1 9 5 0 s and early 1 9 6 0 s from incorporation to a policy o f dispossession. 1

M A I N T A I N I N G

T H E

W H I T E

R E P U B L I C ,

I961-76

There were t w o sides to the coin w i t h w h i c h the S o u t h African government s o u g h t to buy prosperity and security inside the laager o f an all-white Republic. O n e was the migrant labour system, the other was the Bantustan policy. B o t h had deep historic roots. O n e was modelled almost entirely o n the pattern w h i c h the gold-mining industry had e v o l v e d for itself o v e r t w o generations before 1 9 4 8 . T h e other g r e w o u t o f the nineteenth-century policies o f Sir T h e o p h i l u s Shepstone and the L a n d A c t o f 1 9 1 3 . T h e Natives (Urban Areas) A c t , as amended in 1 9 5 2 , had made the permanent urbanisation o f black w o r k e r s and their families more difficult but not impossible. H o w e v e r , g o v e r n m e n t policy was aimed not only at s l o w i n g d o w n b u t also at halting and ultimately at reversing the flow o f black people t o the cities. In 1968 labour regulations were p r o m u l g a t e d w h i c h prohibited n e w workers from c o m i n g from the rural areas unless they had entered into a contract w h i c h had t o be r e n e w e d annually back in the reserves. T h i s break effectively nullified section i o ( i ) ( b ) o f the Natives (Urban Areas) A c t w h i c h had made it possible for w o r k e r s to acquire residence rights for themselves and their families in t o w n . T h e consequences o f this policy b e c a m e m o s t clearly visible in the western C a p e w h e r e , in 1 9 6 6 , employers w e r e instructed that henceforth they must reduce the n u m b e r o f Africans o n their payrolls by 5 per cent per annum. A n immediate 1

For further analysis see SAIRR, Towards economic and politicaljustice in South Africa (Johannesburg, 1980).

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consequence was the w i n d i n g d o w n o f the local authorities' housing programmes to the point where, for some years after 1972, not one house was built for occupation by an African family. M e a n w h i l e another g o a l o f g o v e r n m e n t policy, the foster­ ing o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h , was assiduously pursued. Thousands o f jobs were created during these b o o m years as new d o c k s , roads, and buildings were constructed. Cape T o w n itself could not p r o v i d e e n o u g h labour so, naturally, more workers were pulled off the land. But the Africans w h o were drawn in were not supposed to be there. E m p l o y e r s were permitted to erect only ' t e m p o r a r y ' accommodation, w h i c h they did in the form o f damp, w i n d y , cold barns unfit for human occupation. T h e occupants referred to them a s ' stables'. But the demand for labour continued to expand, not least in state sectors such as the railways and harbours, where between 1968 and 1974 the number o f African w o r k e r s more than quadrupled from 1400 to o v e r 6000 men. By 1977, despite recession in the building industry where large numbers o f migrants had been employed, the number o f contract w o r k e r s in C a p e T o w n w a s approximately d o u b l e w h a t it had been in 1968. S o m e w h a t more solid structures were built to house w o r k e r s as time w e n t o n but, like the ' t e m p o r a r y ' barns (still being used a decade later), they were designed for men only, without their families. T h u s by 1976 the male:female ratio o f Africans in C a p e T o w n w a s , according to official statistics, almost 3 : 1 . In L a n g a , a township where the heaviest concentration o f migrants was housed, the proportion o f men to w o m e n was o v e r 1 2 : 1 . T h e shortage o f normal family housing both for the natural population g r o w t h o f the 10000 African families w h o had acquired residence rights in C a p e T o w n during earlier years, and also for more recent migrants from the country, was such that many people had n o alternative but to build corrugated iron shanties for themselves w h e r e v e r they could find some unused g r o u n d near the city. Concentrations o f African squatter c o m ­ munities m u s h r o o m e d , particularly after 1975, w h e n the scattered dwellings w e r e b r o u g h t together in t w o major areas. O n e o f these, M o d d e r d a m - W e k g e n o t - U n i b e l , where 25000 people lived, was destroyed by the g o v e r n m e n t ' s bulldozers o v e r six months beginning in the cold w e t winter o f 1977. T h e other, Crossroads, was continually threatened w i t h demolition t h o u g h later, after a unique combination o f grass-roots resistance and international 302 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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pressure, reprieved. D e s p i t e e v i d e n c e o f viable, well-organised c o m m u n i t i e s , a n d d e s p i t e t h e fact t h a t , at U n i b e l , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e a v e r a g e h o u s e h o l d h e a d h a d b e e n in C a p e T o w n f o r o v e r 1 1 y e a r s a n d his s p o u s e f o r m o r e t h a n five y e a r s , official p o l i c y w a s c l e a r . W i t h the special e x c e p t i o n o f C r o s s r o a d s residents, w i v e s and c h i l d r e n i l l e g a l l y in C a p e T o w n m u s t r e t u r n t o t h e ' h o m e l a n d s '. M e n w i t h jobs had to g o back to the labour c o m p o u n d s ; those w h o h a d l o s t t h e i r j o b s in t h e r e c e s s i o n o r w h o w o r k e d i n t h e informal sector w e r e required to leave the city and return to the reserves w h e r e there w a s virtually n o prospect o f w o r k . A b o v e all, r e s t r i c t i o n s w e r e t i g h t e n e d t o m a k e it m o r e d i f f i c u l t f o r p e o p l e in t h e r u r a l areas t o m o v e i n t o t h e c i t y , e i t h e r t o l o o k f o r w o r k or to join their h u s b a n d s and fathers. N o t o n l y in C a p e T o w n b u t e v e n m o r e s o i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n in t h e s o u t h e r n T r a n s v a a l as w e l l as i n D u r b a n , P o r t E l i z a b e t h and other t o w n s , the d e c a d e b e g i n n i n g in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s w i t n e s s e d an u n p r e c e d e n t e d e x p a n s i o n o f single-sex barracks i n t o w h i c h the w o r k e r s o f the c o u n t r y ' s e c o n o m i c miracle w e r e d i r e c t e d as t h e m i g r a n t l a b o u r s y s t e m b e c a m e y e t m o r e firmly e m b e d d e d as t h e c e n t r e - p i e c e o f a p a r t h e i d ' s p o l i t i c a l e c o n o m y . P r e c i s e figures are difficult t o o b t a i n , b u t it w o u l d s e e m t h a t b y t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s at l e a s t h a l f t h e b l a c k m e n l e g a l l y at w o r k i n t h e u r b a n areas o f S o u t h A f r i c a w e r e h o u s e d o n a s i n g l e basis in a c c o m m o d a t i o n m u c h o f w h i c h had been built within the past decade. B u t increasingly force had to be used to maintain the system. T h e n u m b e r o f c a s e s s e n t f o r trial u n d e r t h e p a s s l a w s r o s e t o a p e a k o f 6 7 0 300 in 1 9 6 8 . D e s p i t e t h e s u b s e q u e n t d o w n t u r n , t h e a v e r a g e a n n u a l n u m b e r o f p r o s e c u t i o n s in t h e first h a l f o f t h e 1 9 7 0 s w a s still e q u i v a l e n t t o m o r e t h a n o n e e v e r y m i n u t e o f t h e d a y a n d n i g h t t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r . D u r i n g t h e t h i r t y y e a r s after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , the total n u m b e r o f p r o s e c u t i o n s w a s m o r e than 1 1 . 7 m i l l i o n (table 6.12). D e s p i t e this m a s s i v e p o l i c e net, m a n y p e o p l e m a n a g e d t o l i v e in t h e c i t i e s i l l e g a l l y , e i t h e r p a y i n g a fine o r b r i b i n g the p o l i c e w h e n e v e r t h e y w e r e c a u g h t . O t h e r s l i v e d in the v a s t shanty areas that m u s h r o o m e d in t h o s e f r a g m e n t s o f B a n tustans w i t h i n c o m m u t i n g r a n g e o f cities (often i n v o l v i n g l o n g distances and arduous hours o f daily travel) but w h e r e urban restrictions against h o u s i n g and families did n o t apply. In C a p e T o w n , o v e r 1000 k i l o m e t r e s f r o m t h e n e a r e s t ' h o m e l a n d ' , t h e 303

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T a b l e 6 . 1 2 . Pass Law prosecutions,

1921-7j.

Annual average number of contraventions (in thousands) 1921-9

54.7

1930-9

110.8

1940-9

157.7

1950-9

318.7

1960-9

469.1

I970-5

541.5

Note: Until (and including) lower than prosecutions.

1962

figures are for convictions, which are slightly

Source: Union statistics for fifty years, F.4; Annual reports of the Commissioner of the South African police (Pretoria).

inexorable logic o f the policy led to the destruction o f hundreds o f h o m e s b y b u l l d o z e r s . B y u s i n g p e o p l e as w o r k e r s , a r g u e d D r V e r w o e r d , o n e did n o t thereby integrate them into one's society any m o r e than o n e integrated the o x , the ass, and the tractor w h i c h w e r e also instruments o f one's e c o n o m i c activity. Parallel w i t h the expansion o f the m i g r a n t labour system w e n t the u n f o l d i n g o f the Bantustan p o l i c y , that is, o f constituting the Bantu homelands into self-governing o r even nominally 'inde­ p e n d e n t ' territories. T h e P r o m o t i o n o f Bantu S e l f - G o v e r n m e n t A c t (1959) w a s f o l l o w e d b y the establishment in 1963 o f the T r a n s k e i L e g i s l a t i v e A s s e m b l y . T h i s r e p l a c e d t h e o l d Bunga, w h i c h , w i t h a majority o f elected v o t i n g members, had for so l o n g been the forum for Transkei political debate. T h e T L A had r o u g h l y t h e s a m e a u t h o r i t y as a p r o v i n c i a l c o u n c i l , w i t h e x e c u t i v e p o w e r o v e r s u c h m a t t e r s as r o a d s , e d u c a t i o n , a n d a g r i c u l t u r e , b u t u n l i k e t h e Bunga t h e A s s e m b l y c a n n e v e r b e said t o h a v e b e e n properly representative. N o t only w e r e elected m e m b e r s in a m i n o r i t y u n t i l 1 9 7 6 b u t it w a s b o r n , a n d l i v e d its w h o l e life, u n d e r the s h a d o w o f P r o c l a m a t i o n 4 0 0 . T h e s e e m e r g e n c y r e g u l a t i o n s ensured that n o political gathering c o u l d take place w i t h o u t the express permission o f a magistrate, and also e m p o w e r e d the p o l i c e t o d e t a i n w i t h o u t trial. T h e c h i e f m i n i s t e r o f t h e T r a n s k e i t h r o u g h o u t this p e r i o d w a s C h i e f K a i s e r M a t a n z i m a , m a n y o f 304

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w h o s e political o p p o n e n t s w e r e arbitrarily arrested, notably o n t h e e v e o f a v i t a l p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e e l e c t i o n . I n at least o n e c a s e the o r d e r t o detain s o m e b o d y for o b s t r u c t i n g t h e cause o f justice was signed before the police even asked h i m any questions. Side b y side w i t h the political d e v e l o p m e n t s , w h e r e b y ten different ' h o m e l a n d s ' w e r e h e r d e d a l o n g t h e p a t h t o w a r d s c o n ­ s t i t u t i o n a l i n d e p e n d e n c e , w e r e t h e s t e p s a i m e d first o f a l l at reducing the m o v e m e n t o f Africans to the major cities, a n d s e c o n d l y , at s t i m u l a t i n g s o m e e c o n o m i c g r o w t h w i t h i n t h e e m b r y o states. I n its w h i t e p a p e r o n t h e r e p o r t o f t h e T o m l i n s o n C o m m i s s i o n , w h i c h had been established to w o r k o u t the B a n tustan blueprint, the g o v e r n m e n t rejected the possibility o f w h i t e - c o n t r o l l e d capital b e i n g invested w i t h i n the ' h o m e l a n d s ' . T h e r e e m e r g e d instead the p o l i c y o f b o r d e r industries w h e r e b y , through the carrot o f tax railway-rating and other concessions, and the stick o f the Physical P l a n n i n g A c t (1967) w h i c h e m p o w e r e d the M i n i s t e r o f P l a n n i n g t o p r o h i b i t an increase in t h e n u m b e r o f African e m p l o y e e s in a n y particular factory, steps w e r e taken to direct industrial e x p a n s i o n o u t o f the existing urban areas t o various decentralised g r o w t h points, m a n y o f t h e m situated o n the b o r d e r s o f the reserves. T h e e v i d e n c e s u g g e s t s that t h e p o l i c y o f industrial decentralisation w a s n o t particularly successful in s t i m u l a t i n g e i t h e r b o r d e r i n d u s t r i e s o r , after t h e p r o h i b i t i o n o n w h i t e capital in b l a c k areas h a d b e e n d r o p p e d , r e g i o n a l e c o n o m i c g r o w t h within the homelands. Indeed more jobs seem to have been destroyed b y the application o f the p l a n n i n g legislation than w e r e created in the d e s i g n a t e d g r o w t h p o i n t s . 1

T h e t r u t h w a s t h a t t h o s e areas d e s i g n a t e d as B a n t u s t a n s h a d l o n g since b e c o m e labour reserves o n the periphery of, b u t w i t h s t r o n g s y m b i o t i c ties t o , t h e c e n t r a l c o r e o f t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n e c o n o m y . T h u s in the Transkei, for example, the n u m b e r o f m i g r a n t s in the five years prior t o i n d e p e n d e n c e d o u b l e d f r o m 191 600 i n 1 9 7 1 t o 3 7 7 8 0 0 i n 1 9 7 6 . B y t h i s t i m e n o less t h a n s i x out o f every seven Transkeians earning a cash income were d o i n g so in j o b s outside t h e territory, n o t a b l y o n t h e W i t w a t e r s r a n d a n d i n t h e w e s t e r n C a p e . F u r t h e r m o r e , a t least h a l f t h e A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n o f the R e p u b l i c d i d n o t h a v e e v e n that t e n u o u s link w i t h the Bantustans. B y the 1970s the p r o p o r t i o n s o f A f r i c a n s 1

K e i t h Gottschalk, 'Industrial decentralisation:

j o b s a n d w a g e s ' , South

Labour Bulletin, 1977, 3, 5.

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l i v i n g p e r m a n e n t l y o n t h e w h i t e - o w n e d f a r m s a n d in t h e t o w n s w e r e o f the order o f one-quarter and one-third respectively. T h o s e l i v i n g o n f a r m s w e r e in a p a r t i c u l a r l y difficult s i t u a t i o n , f o r t h e combination o f population g r o w t h with changing techniques o f agricultural p r o d u c t i o n w a s p u s h i n g p e o p l e off the land. M o v i n g directly to t o w n w a s illegal, so m a n y families w e n t to the densely p o p u l a t e d rural g h e t t o e s w h i c h m u s h r o o m e d in the ' h o m e l a n d s ' . T h e r e w i v e s a n d c h i l d r e n h a d t o b e left w h i l s t t h e m e n w e n t o f f t o t o w n as m i g r a n t w o r k e r s . N o t e v e r y b o d y m o v e d s i m p l y b e c a u s e o f t h e d e c l i n e in a g r i ­ c u l t u r a l e m p l o y m e n t (see t a b l e 6 . 5 ) . It is e s t i m a t e d t h a t b e t w e e n i960 and 1970 approximately half a million p e o p l e w e r e either e n d o r s e d o u t o f t o w n s o r c o m p e l l e d t o m o v e f r o m r u r a l areas (called ' b l a c k s p o t s ' ) w h e r e the presence o f Africans w a s c o n ­ sidered undesirable b y politicians and civil servants w i s h i n g to ' c o n s o l i d a t e the h o m e l a n d s ' . A n o t h e r million o r m o r e w e r e m o v e d o f f w h i t e - o w n e d f a r m s w h e r e t h e y l i v e d as t e n a n t s o f o n e s o r t o r a n o t h e r p a y i n g t h e i r r e n t e i t h e r i n c a s h o r , f r e q u e n t l y , in labour. T h e s e r e m o v a l s created m u c h hardship and bitterness, particularly a m o n g s t those w h o w e r e m o v e d to densely populated rural resettlement areas w h e r e there w a s n o agricultural land and w h e r e people w e r e miles from any e m p l o y m e n t opportunities. A f r i c a n s , w h e t h e r t h e y l i v e d in the o l d r e s e r v e s o r n o t , w e r e declared to be citizens o f o n e o f the ' h o m e l a n d s ' . T h i s meant that as e a c h B a n t u s t a n b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t , s t a r t i n g w i t h t h e T r a n s k e i in 1 9 7 6 , l a r g e n u m b e r s o f b l a c k s w e r e f o r m a l l y d e p r i v e d o f t h e i r S o u t h A f r i c a n c i t i z e n s h i p . T h e l o g i c a l e n d o f t h e p o l i c y , as g o v e r n m e n t s p o k e s m e n p r o c l a i m e d in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , w a s a R e p u b l i c o f S o u t h A f r i c a i n w h i c h all A f r i c a n i n h a b i t a n t s h a d been transformed into foreigners. It is p o s s i b l e t o i n t e r p r e t t h e p o l i c y o f a p a r t h e i d n o t s o m u c h as o n e w h i c h d i v i d e s b l a c k f r o m w h i t e , o r e v e n b l a c k f r o m b l a c k , a l t h o u g h it d o e s b o t h t h e s e t h i n g s in full m e a s u r e , b u t as o n e w h i c h d i v i d e s t h e b l a c k m a n i n h a l f : h e is a l a b o u r u n i t for the benefit a n d c o m f o r t o f w h i t e p e o p l e in t o w n s and o n farms, and a h u m a n b e i n g w i t h his civic and political rights and, for m a n y , e v e n his family rights restricted to the rural B a n t u s t a n s . B e h i n d all t h e r h e t o r i c o f a c o n s t e l l a t i o n o f s t a t e s , a c o m m o n w e a l t h o f n a t i o n s i n s o u t h e r n A f r i c a , e a c h w i t h its o w n ' h o m e l a n d ' , l a y the harsh reality o f a single e c o n o m y built o n the a s s u m p t i o n that f o u r - f i f t h s o f t h o s e w h o w o r k e d in a n d d r e w t h e i r s u s t e n a n c e f r o m 306 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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it w e r e n o m o r e t h a n l a b o u r u n i t s a n d h a d n o r i g h t t o b e t h e r e in a n y o t h e r c a p a c i t y . S u c h w a s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l flaw i n t h e g r a n d design o f apartheid a n d such w a s the basic reason for black r e s i s t a n c e t o it. Despite a p r o u d tradition o f judicial independence against arbi­ t r a r y state p o w e r , t h e l a w i n S o u t h A f r i c a h a d , as h a s b e e n c o n v i n c i n g l y a r g u e d , a l s o l o n g s e r v e d as a n i n s t r u m e n t o f p o l i t i c a l d o m i n a t i o n . Pass laws, for e x a m p l e , d i d n o t apply t o w h i t e s , b u t f o r A f r i c a n s t h e y w e r e a c a u s e o f p o l i c e h a r a s s m e n t a n d , as h a s been s h o w n , arrests o n a m a s s i v e scale. O n e significant d e v e l o p ­ ment w a s that the l a w b e c a m e increasingly d e t e r m i n e d b y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e fiat. N o w h e r e w a s this m o r e e v i d e n t t h a n i n legislation regarding w h e r e Africans m i g h t w o r k and w h a t jobs they might perform. Proclamations and departmental circulars, w h i c h had never been debated in parliament, acquired the force of law. This g r o w t h o f executive p o w e r , w h i c h bypassed both parliament and the courts and w a s n o t matched b y a n y significant a t t e m p t s t o i m p o s e e f f e c t i v e c h e c k s a g a i n s t its a b u s e , s p r a n g n o t only from determination t o redesign the society in a c c o r d a n c e with ideological blueprints b u t also from the necessity o f dealing with increasing resistance t o the policies b e i n g i m p o s e d o n blacks by means o f the state's l e g a l - a d m i n i s t r a t i v e m a c h i n e r y . 1

2

S o m e t i m e s executive action w a s aimed against leaders a n d organisers, s o m e t i m e s against writers a n d their ideas, thus re­ d u c i n g t h e flow o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i d e a s . B l a c k s d i d n o t n e e d P e t e r A b r a h a m s , A l e x la G u m a , E z e k i e l M p h a h l e l e , o r t h e y o u n g p o e t s o f t h e 1 9 7 0 s t o tell t h e m w h a t life w a s l i k e i n t h e t o w n s h i p s , a l t h o u g h they d i d need t h e m for their o w n self-awareness a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p a s t . B u t w h i t e s d i d n o t k n o w e v e n t h e facts and became increasingly ignorant o f w h a t w a s h a p p e n i n g in their o w n country. Indeed, n o t o n l y readers o f b o o k s b u t television v i e w e r s in L o n d o n o r N e w Y o r k o f t e n s a w a n d h e a r d m o r e o f life w i t h i n S o w e t o o r L a n g a t h a n d i d w h i t e s l i v i n g n e x t d o o r i n Johannesburg o r Cape T o w n . A n d so, o v e r the years, the white electorate w a s led into an intellectual darkness that w a s t o leave it g r a s p i n g f o r a r e a l i t y it c o u l d n o t s e e . T h e d e n i a l o f habeas corpus i n s e v e r a l different 1

2

Acts

passed

A l b i e S a c h s , Justice in South Africa ( B e r k e l e y , 1973). G . M . B u d l e n d e r , ' A d m i n i s t r a t i v e r u l e o f A f r i c a n w o r k e r s * , Kesponsa Meridiana,

1975,

3> 307 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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b e t w e e n 1963 a n d 1 9 7 6 e m p o w e r e d t h e p o l i c e t o d e t a i n p e o p l e w i t h o u t being o b l i g e d to bring them before any court, or to grant t h e m access to a l a w y e r , or e v e n to inform their families w h e r e they w e r e . P e o p l e vanished from a n y t h i n g b e t w e e n a few days to p e r i o d s o f o v e r a y e a r w i t h o u t a n y c h a r g e h a v i n g b e e n laid a g a i n s t them. Often, t h o u g h not always, detention w a s used to extract information. Disturbing reports, some g i v e n on oath, began to e m e r g e a s s e r t i n g t h e w i d e s p r e a d u s e o f t o r t u r e in N a m i b i a as w e l l as in S o u t h A f r i c a . detained

under

1

the

I n 1963 M r L . N g u d l e d i e d after h a v i n g b e e n General

Laws

Amendment

Act. He

was

alleged t o h a v e h a n g e d himself. F r o m this time until the death in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 o f S t e v e B i k o , first p r e s i d e n t o f t h e African

South

Students' O r g a n i s a t i o n and honorary president o f the

B l a c k P e o p l e ' s C o n v e n t i o n , at l e a s t 4 1 p e o p l e , d e t a i n e d w i t h o u t any c h a r g e s h a v i n g b e e n b r o u g h t against t h e m , died in the h a n d s o f the police. B u t s o m e political o p p o n e n t s w e r e c h a r g e d and the courts w e r e required

to

pronounce

judgement

on

activities

which

in

d e m o c r a t i c societies w e r e part o f the n o r m a l process o f public debate. In a p r e - d a w n

r a i d in D e c e m b e r

1956, 156 respected

citizens w e r e arrested and c h a r g e d w i t h h i g h treason. T h e n u b o f t h e s t a t e ' s c a s e w a s t h e F r e e d o m C h a r t e r , a d o c u m e n t in w h i c h the A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s and others had s o u g h t to spell o u t t h e i r p o l i t i c a l g o a l s a l o n g t h e l i n e s o f s o c i a l d e m o c r a t i c p a r t i e s in t h e w e s t e r n w o r l d . T h e trial d r a g g e d o n f o r o v e r f o u r y e a r s u n t i l the remaining defendants w e r e f o u n d not guilty and acquitted. B y this t i m e h o w e v e r the A N C itself had b e e n b a n n e d a n d o f the t r e a s o n trialists w e r e s o o n t o

find

many

themselves similarly

attacked by decrees against w h i c h there w a s n o appeal to any j u d g e . In 1967 the T e r r o r i s m A c t defined terrorism

(retrospec­

t i v e l y t o 1 9 6 2 ) s o w i d e l y t h a t , as t h e D e a n o f L a w at t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f N a t a l p u t it, n o b o d y in S o u t h A f r i c a c o u l d e x i s t w i t h o u t d o i n g s o m e t h i n g w h i c h , in t e r m s o f t h e A c t , c o u l d b e c o n s t r u e d terrorism.

2

as

O n e o f t h e m o s t p u b l i c i s e d o f t h e m a n y trials t h a t t o o k

p l a c e in t e r m s o f t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n w a s t h a t o f n i n e y o u n g ' b l a c k 1

S A I n s t i t u t e o f R a c e R e l a t i o n s , Detention without trial in South Africa

( J o h a n n e s b u r g , 1977); T h e C h r i s t i a n I n s t i t u t e o f S o u t h e r n A f r i c a ,

Africa?

1976-1977

Torture in South

( C a p e T o w n , n . d . ) ; H . H u n k e a n d J. E l l i s , Torture: a cancer in our society

( W i n d h o e k , 1978); U n i t e d N a t i o n s , * M a l t r e a t m e n t a n d t o r t u r e o f p r i s o n e r s in S o u t h

A f r i c a ' , Report of the Special Committee on Apartheid ( N e w Y o r k , 1973). A . S . M a t t h e w s , Law, order and liberty in South Africa ( C a p e T o w n , 1971). 2

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T H E

W H I T E

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c o n s c i o u s n e s s ' l e a d e r s w h o s e trial in P r e t o r i a f r o m 1 9 7 4 t o 1 9 7 6 o n a n u m b e r o f a l l - e m b r a c i n g c h a r g e s c u l m i n a t e d in t h e i r b e i n g found guilty and sentenced to b e t w e e n 5 and 6 years imprisonment on R o b b e n Island, w h e r e m a n y o f the older generation o f political leaders w e r e already incarcerated. A n o t h e r m e a s u r e o f s o c i a l s t r e s s , a l b e i t less d i r e c t l y p o l i t i c a l in 1

nature, w a s the astonishing n u m b e r o f murders, w h i c h rose f r o m a n a v e r a g e o f s e v e n p e r d a y in i 9 6 0 t o t w e n t y p e r d a y in 1 9 7 7 . O v e r this s a m e p e r i o d

o f time well o v e r

1200 p e r s o n s

were

e x e c u t e d , g i v i n g S o u t h A f r i c a t h e u n e n v i a b l e r e p u t a t i o n in t h e late 1960s o f b e i n g r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a l m o s t h a l f o f t h e l e g a l e x e c u t i o n s in t h e w o r l d .

2

A y e t m o r e s t r i k i n g m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h e rise o f

v i o l e n c e in t h e r e g i o n w a s t h e r a p i d i n c r e a s e in S o u t h

Africa's

m i l i t a r y b u d g e t in r e s p o n s e t o t h e r i n g o f fire t h a t b e g a n t o s p r e a d round

h e r b o r d e r s in t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s as t h e v a r i o u s

movements

from

liberation

Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola,

Namibia,

and from S o u t h Africa itself e m b a r k e d u p o n military, guerrilla, campaigns. T h e i n c r e a s e in r e s o u r c e s d e v o t e d t o d e f e n c e e n a b l e d Africa

to build

dealing

up

with any

considerable

armies

south

military o f the

strength

Sahara

South

capable

that w e r e

of not

reinforced b y military aid f r o m o u t s i d e the c o n t i n e n t . In t e r m s o f m a n p o w e r the a r m e d forces w e r e e x p a n d e d b y means o f w h i t e c o n s c r i p t i o n , f r o m j u s t u n d e r 1 0 0 0 0 m e n in 1 9 6 1 t o 1 1 0 0 0 0 m e n in 1 9 7 4 . I n l i n e w i t h i t s i n c r e a s i n g i m p o r t a n c e ,

the p e r i o d

of

citizen-force training g r e w f r o m three m o n t h s in 1961 t o an initial p e r i o d o f t w o years p l u s c o n t i n u o u s training o f 19 d a y s a year for ten years. In addition to the citizen and p e r m a n e n t forces there w a s also the police, i n c l u d i n g the security police. T h e B u r e a u for State

Security

was

established

in

1969

to

co-ordinate

and

c o m p l e m e n t police security and military intelligence. S u p p o r t i n g all t h e s e w a s a h o m e - g u a r d o f 7 5 0 0 0 c o m m a n d o s o r g a n i s e d defend

their

residential

and

industrial

areas

in

case o f

to

civil

disorder. T h e hardware necessary to equip these forces w a s acquired n o less r a p i d l y . D e s p i t e a 1963 U n i t e d N a t i o n s r e s o l u t i o n c a l l i n g f o r an a r m s e m b a r g o a g a i n s t S o u t h A f r i c a , t h e R e p u b l i c w a s a b l e , b y 1

B u t s e e F r a n t z F a n o n , The wretched of the earth ( N e w Y o r k , 1963) f o r i n s i g h t i n t o the link b e t w e e n violence and a colonialist political structure. 2

J o h n D u g a r d , Human rights and the South African legal order ( P r i n c e t o n , 1978), 126.

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shifting orders from Britain to France and elsewhere, o v e r the next decade, to import a n d / o r to build up her o w n capacity to p r o d u c e (often under licence) a w i d e range o f military e q u i p m e n t i n c l u d i n g aircraft

such

as I m p a l a

(the

Italian

Aermacchi MB326)

and

M i r a g e s ( F r e n c h ) ; helicopters ( F r e n c h ) ; missiles, especially the C a c t u s / C r o t a l e anti-aircraft

system ( S A / F r e n c h ) ; radar defence

systems ( U K and West G e r m a n y ) ; herbicides, including t w o types u s e d f o r m i l i t a r y p u r p o s e s i n V i e t n a m ( U S A ) ; as w e l l as a v a r i e t y o f o t h e r e q u i p m e n t f r o m P o r t u g a l , Spain, Israel, and R u s s i a . the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s a b o u t a t h o u s a n d contractors and

1

By

sub-contractors

w e r e a c t i v e l y e n g a g e d in the l o c a l a r m s industry a n d the c o u n t r y was

p r a c t i c a l l y s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t in t h e p r o d u c t i o n

o f r o c k e t s , ar­

m o u r e d cars, a m m u n i t i o n , b o m b s (including napalm),

firearms

a n d m i n e s . R e s e r v e s o f o i l , e s t i m a t e d t o b e s u f f i c i e n t f o r five y e a r s , h a d b e e n b u i l t u p . I n 1 9 7 7 it w a s w i d e l y r e p o r t e d , t h o u g h denied b y the g o v e r n m e n t ,

firmly

that S o u t h Africa w a s b u i l d i n g a

n u c l e a r t e s t i n g site in t h e K a l a h a r i D e s e r t . I n s h o r t , b y t h e t i m e o f the m a n d a t o r y arms e m b a r g o i m p o s e d b y the U n i t e d N a t i o n s i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 7 7 , S o u t h A f r i c a w a s far m o r e p r e p a r e d f o r w a r than she had b e e n in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 3 9 . Politically h o w e v e r , despite t h e e x t e n t o f h e l p f r o m t h e w e s t i n p r o v i d i n g a r m s , s h e w a s far m o r e isolated.

THE

S T R U G G L E

F O R

L I B E R A T I O N ,

1961-77

R e s i s t a n c e in S o u t h A f r i c a after i 9 6 0 w a s i n e x t r i c a b l y l i n k e d w i t h t h e w i d e r e v e n t s o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n as t h e y u n f o l d e d f r o m G h a n a ' s i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1957 t o the c o l l a p s e o f the P o r t u g u e s e

empire

in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s . B u t t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n s t r u g g l e w a s n o t t h e s a m e as t h a t i n c o u n t r i e s s e e k i n g t o f r e e t h e m s e l v e s f r o m c o n t r o l b y a d i s t a n t m e t r o p o l i t a n p o w e r . It w a s a n a l t o g e t h e r t o u g h e r , m o r e p r o l o n g e d , a n d m o r e d i f f i c u l t b a t t l e b e t w e e n p e o p l e all o f w h o m w e r e firmly r o o t e d in a c o u n t r y w h o s e r u l e r s h a d at t h e i r d i s p o s a l the t e c h n o l o g y and organisation w h i c h m a k e s m o d e r n tarianism possible. S u c h a situation

authori­

led to the e v o l u t i o n o f a

n u m b e r o f different, and s o m e t i m e s c o m p e t i n g , strategies. 1

A n t h o n y S a m p s o n , The arms bazaar ( S e v e n o a k s , 1978), 1 6 7 - 8 ; S i g n e L a n d g r e n -

B a c k s t r o m , Southern Africa:

the escalation of a conflict ( S t o c k h o l m I n t e r n a t i o n a l P e a c e

R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e , S t o c k h o l m , 1976).

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S T R U G G L E

FOR

L I B E R A T I O N

D u r i n g 1 9 6 1 , w i t h i n a y e a r after t h e t w o A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s e s h a d b e e n b a n n e d , n o less t h a n f o u r d i f f e r e n t u n d e r g r o u n d r e s i s t a n c e g r o u p s e m e r g e d . U m k h o n t o w e S i z w e (Spear o f the N a t i o n ) led by N e l s o n Mandela, w h o had been T r a n s v a a l leader o f the A N C , was formed w i t h the aim o f b r i n g i n g a b o u t political c h a n g e b y means o f selective s a b o t a g e against specific installations and buildings. Similarly P o q o ( A l o n e ) w h i c h had tenuous links w i t h the P A C , the Y u i C h u i C h a n C l u b ( w h i c h g r e w into the N a t i o n a l Liberation Front), c o m p o s e d mainly o f y o u n g black intellectuals w h o had b r o k e n a w a y from the U n i t y m o v e m e n t , and the African Resistance M o v e m e n t made up largely o f y o u n g whites, began to plan and, in s o m e cases t o e x e c u t e , militant f o r m s o f resistance. B e t w e e n D e c e m b e r 1961 and the end o f 1964 there w e r e m o r e than 200 a c t s o f s a b o t a g e o r a t t e m p t e d s a b o t a g e p r i m a r i l y a g a i n s t s t a t e property, i n c l u d i n g police stations and railway lines. B u t the s e c u r i t y p o l i c e w e r e w e l l o r g a n i s e d , a n d v i r t u a l l y all u n d e r g r o u n d activity d u r i n g this p e r i o d s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n u n e a r t h e d a n d c r u s h e d i n a s e r i e s o f a r r e s t s a n d trials i n c l u d i n g t h a t o f t h e U m k h o n t o h i g h c o m m a n d captured o n a farm, Rivonia, outside J o h a n n e s b u r g in 1963. T h e m a j o r i t y o f t h o s e jailed o r h a n g e d for their u n d e r g r o u n d political activities w e r e o f c o u r s e b l a c k , b u t resistance w a s b y n o m e a n s confined to any o n e g r o u p . N g u n i lawyers; Afrikaans poets; Sotho journalists; English-speaking h o u s e w i v e s ; Marxists and Christians; Muslims and J e w s ; milkmen a n d e n g i n e e r s ; all m a n n e r o f S o u t h A f r i c a n s a n d N a m i b i a n s became c a u g h t up in d a n g e r o u s u n d e r g r o u n d w o r k . 1

Others w e n t into exile and from there began military training. I n A u g u s t 1 9 6 6 t h e first m a j o r a r m e d c o n f l i c t s o u t h o f t h e Z a m b e z i since the w a r s o f dispossession had e n d e d t w o gener­ ations previously t o o k place w h e n S W A P O guerrillas clashed w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a n forces in n o r t h e r n N a m i b i a . E x a c t l y a y e a r later a combined A N C / Z A P U ( Z i m b a b w e African People's Union) force f o u g h t R h o d e s i a n t r o o p s in a series o f e n g a g e m e n t s in the W a n k i e area. T h e i n s u r g e n t s w e r e d e f e a t e d a n d t h e A N C / Z A P U a l l i a n c e w a s heavily criticised by b o t h Z A N U ( Z i m b a b w e African National U n i o n ) a n d t h e P A C o n t h e g r o u n d t h a t it w o u l d d r a w S o u t h 1

N a m e d after t h e h e a d o f C h i n a ' s t r a d e - u n i o n o r g a n i s a t i o n , w h o l e d t h e P e k i n g d e l e g a t i o n t o t h e A f r o - A s i a n S o l i d a r i t y C o n f e r e n c e h e l d i n T a n g a n y i k a , F e b r u a r y 1963.

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A F R I C A

A f r i c a n t r o o p s i n t o R h o d e s i a a n d t h a t it w a s b a d g u e r r i l l a t a c t i c s t o t r y a n d g o b b l e u p a r e g u l a r a r m y . I n t h e e v e n t t h e f a i l u r e , after t w o m o r e s i m i l a r a t t e m p t s e a r l y i n 1968 a n d

1970, to

infiltrate

S o u t h Africa via R h o d e s i a caused the A N C to turn to

other

m e t h o d s until the v i c t o r y o f F R E L I M O in M o z a m b i q u e o p e n e d a shorter o v e r l a n d r o u t e v i a S w a z i l a n d into S o u t h Africa. B y 1978 it w a s e s t i m a t e d

that s o m e 4000 b l a c k

South

u n d e r g o i n g military training outside the c o u n t r y .

Africans

were

1

C l o s e l y allied w i t h the resort to arms and the escalating guerrilla w a r w a s active international d i p l o m a c y . T h e A N C and the P A C e s t a b l i s h e d offices i n d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s i n c l u d i n g Z a m b i a , T a n ­ zania, A l g e r i a , India, G r e a t Britain and the U S A and, later in A n g o l a and M o z a m b i q u e . D i p l o m a t i c links were also established w i t h other countries including Russia, China, and Nigeria, while the A N C in particular m a d e sure that there w a s a r e g u l a r S o u t h A f r i c a n a n t i - a p a r t h e i d p r e s e n c e at t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d m e e t ­ i n g s o f the O A U . A l l this did m u c h to m o b i l i s e w o r l d o p i n i o n against

apartheid.

In

Africa

the

commitment

to

end

m i n o r i t y rule in the s o u t h w a s spelt o u t clearly in the

white Lusaka

M a n i f e s t o ( 1 9 6 9 ) w h i c h , w h i l s t u n c o m p r o m i s i n g i n its a t t a c k o n racism, nevertheless laid the basis for p o s s i b l e future n e g o t i a t i o n . Another important

point o f pressure w a s the c a m p a i g n

or­

ganised, largely f r o m outside the c o u n t r y , b y the S o u t h A f r i c a n Non-Racial O l y m p i c Committee (Sanroc) to boycott segregated sports teams representing the country abroad. A l l players administrators

w e r e a n x i o u s to g e t back into the

and

international

arena but there w a s s o m e division b e t w e e n those w h o believed they should push

ahead

with integrating

previously

all-white

c l u b s a n d l e a g u e s w h i l s t l e a v i n g t h e res't o f t h e s o c i e t y t o c a t c h u p i n its o w n t i m e , a n d t h o s e w h o , a r g u i n g t h a t * Y o u c a n n o t p l a y normal

s p o r t in a n a b n o r m a l

society', w a n t e d the b o y c o t t

remain until apartheid had been

to

dismantled.

A m o n g s t those w h o believed that violent r e v o l u t i o n w a s not possible g i v e n the military strength and determination o f whites w e r e s o m e w h o a r g u e d t h a t it w a s n e c e s s a r y t o m a k e u s e o f s u c h p l a t f o r m s as w e r e a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f a p a r t h e i d i n order

to w o r k to c h a n g e that structure.

Thus, Chief

Gatsha

Buthelezi, a former m e m b e r o f the A N C y o u t h league, used the p r o t e c t i o n a f f o r d e d b y h i s p o s i t i o n as c h i e f e x e c u t i v e c o u n c i l l o r 1

Financial Mail, n A u g u s t 1978.

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F O R

L I B E R A T I O N

o f the K w a z u l u L e g i s l a t i v e A u t h o r i t y t o speak o u t o n political i s s u e s in t h e late 1960s as n o b l a c k p o l i t i c i a n h a d d o n e s i n c e t h e b a n n i n g o f the A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s e s . F u r t h e r m o r e , he built u p an organised and independent political base w h i c h extended b e y o n d t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f K w a z u l u . H e s o u g h t t o shift t h e f o c u s o f a c t i o n a w a y from the Bantustan structure to a b r o a d e r cultural movement, Inkhatha, which though Zulu-dominated was not, he insisted, an ethnic o r g a n i s a t i o n . In 1 9 7 7 the minister o f p o l i c e w a r n e d t h a t h e w o u l d t a k e s t e p s t o b a n I n k h a t h a i f it o p e n e d its d o o r s t o n o n - Z u l u m e m b e r s , b u t B u t h e l e z i r e f u s e d t o c o m ­ ply. N e v e r t h e l e s s the c h i e f w a s w i d e l y criticised, particularly b y y o u n g e r blacks w h o a r g u e d that his strategy s e r v e d m o r e t o legitimise the policy o f apartheid than to p r o v i d e a fulcrum o n w h i c h t o l e v e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t a w a y f r o m its c h o s e n p a t h . M a n y feared the g r o w t h o f an e x c l u s i v e and d e s t r u c t i v e Z u l u n a t i o n a l i s m . B u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f I n k h a t h a e m e r g i n g as a p o w e r f u l vehicle o f black resistance remained. A similar strategy, t h o u g h l a c k i n g B u t h e l e z i ' s political skill, w a s f o l l o w e d b y t h e L a b o u r P a r t y f o u n d e d in 1 9 6 6 t o fight f o r t h o s e seats o n t h e C o l o u r e d P e r s o n s R e p r e s e n t a t i v e C o u n c i l (set u p b y the g o v e r n m e n t to replace direct representation in parliament) w h i c h w e r e n o t n o m i n a t e d b y the state president. T h i s s t r a t e g y , r e j e c t e d 20 y e a r s p r e v i o u s l y b y A f r i c a n s w h e n t h e y w i t h d r e w f r o m the N a t i v e R e p r e s e n t a t i v e C o u n c i l , w a s v e ­ h e m e n t l y o p p o s e d , particularly in the w e s t e r n C a p e , w h e r e the p o l i t i c a l d e s c e n d a n t s o f t h e U n i t y m o v e m e n t still h a d c o n s i d e r a b l e i n f l u e n c e . F o l l o w i n g T a b a t a a n d o t h e r s , t h e y m a i n t a i n e d t h a t all institutions created b y the g o v e r n m e n t w e r e essentially established t o s i d e - t r a c k p e o p l e f r o m t h e real a r e n a w h e r e t h e s t r u g g l e f o r p o w e r h a d t o b e w a g e d . W h e n , in 1 9 7 6 , t h e g o v e r n m e n t r e j e c t e d t h e m a j o r findings o f t h e T h e r o n C o m m i s s i o n , i n c l u d i n g o n e t o t h e effect t h a t ' C o l o u r e d ' p e o p l e s h o u l d o b t a i n d i r e c t p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n in t h e c e n t r a l p a r l i a m e n t , t h e s t a n d i n g o f t h e C R C fell t o a n a l l - t i m e l o w . A f t e r the S u p p r e s s i o n o f C o m m u n i s m A c t had been used to m o w d o w n w h o l e ranks o f trade-union leadership by the simple p r o c e s s o f b a n n i n g t h e m , the l a b o u r m o v e m e n t w a s fairly q u i e t for m o s t o f the 1960s. B u t early in 1973 a w a v e o f strikes w e l l e d u p in D u r b a n a n d s w e p t t h r o u g h t h e c o u n t r y p u s h i n g u p w a g e s in an u n p r e c e d e n t e d b o u t o f e m p l o y e r s e l f - e x a m i n a t i o n . T h e n , i n

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

S O U T H E R N

A F R I C A

S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 3 , b e g a n t h e first o f t h e m a j o r c o m p o u n d

con­

frontations that w e r e to r o c k the m i n i n g industry. In the four years u p t o S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 s o m e 200 m e n w e r e k i l l e d a n d o v e r 1300 i n j u r e d i n a p p r o x i m a t e l y 78 d i f f e r e n t i n c i d e n t s c a u s e d in m i n e s around

the

grievances,

country

b y a variety o f factors

inadequate

migrant labour system. disturbances

but

what

structure 1

including

of communication,

wage

and

the

T h e r e had l o n g been instances o f such was new

w a s the

frequency

and

the

intensity o f the confrontations w h i c h i n v o l v e d large n u m b e r s o f miners. D u r i n g this p e r i o d s o m e e m p l o y e r s , i n c l u d i n g major

mining

m a g n a t e s led b y H a r r y O p p e n h e i m e r , indicated a w i l l i n g n e s s , w h i c h h a d n o t existed in p r e v i o u s l a b o u r crises, to c o n s i d e r the prospect o f unionisation o f their black w o r k e r s . T h e g o v e r n m e n t t o o felt c o m p e l l e d t o m o v e a n d , i n 1 9 7 3 , l e g i s l a t i o n w a s p a s s e d to m a k e s o m e p r o v i s i o n for c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n w o r k e r s and e m p l o y e r s . H o w e v e r , the liaison c o m m i t t e e s w h i c h the

state

p r o m o t e d w e r e m u c h criticised by trade unionists o n the g r o u n d that b y putting w o r k e r s and m a n a g e m e n t o n the same c o m m i t t e e effective

p o w e r w a s left i n t h e

hands o f employers.

Works

committees to w h i c h only w o r k e r s were elected made some form o f b a r g a i n i n g possible, but they w e r e so constituted that w o r k e r s w e r e k e p t in isolation f r o m the w i d e r t r a d e - u n i o n m o v e m e n t . N o p r o v i s i o n w a s m a d e for full-time u n i o n organisers to participate in o r g u i d e the w o r k e r s ' n e g o t i a t i o n s . D e s p i t e the u n w i l l i n g n e s s o f the

state t o c o n c e d e m u c h

unionism

to

flourish,

and

in the w a y o f e n a b l i n g

despite

the c o n t i n u e d

trade

harassment,

sometimes e v e n to death, o f those assisting w o r k e r s to organise, t h e l a b o u r m o v e m e n t c o n t i n u e d t o g r o w d u r i n g t h e first h a l f o f the 1970s. Its p o t e n t i a l p o w e r r e m a i n e d . N o less c h a l l e n g i n g w a s the t h i n k i n g o f a y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n o f b l a c k intellectuals w h o b e g a n t o e m e r g e in the s e c o n d half o f the 1960s w i t h a p h i l o s o p h y o f b l a c k c o n s c i o u s n e s s , w h i c h a r g u e d the need to enhance black self-awareness b y means o f w i t h d r a w a l into e x c l u s i v e black organisations, o f w h i c h the S o u t h

African

S t u d e n t s ' O r g a n i s a t i o n ( S A S O ) , f o u n d e d in 1969, w a s the m o s t important. T h i s m o v e m e n t w a s undertaken w i t h i n the c o n t e x t o f a s s e r t i n g t h e i n c l u s i v e u n i t y o f t h e c o u n t r y as e m p h a s i s e d in t h e 1

D u d l e y Horner and Alide K o o y , 'Conflict on South African mines ( S a l d r u w o r k i n g p a p e r 29, C a p e T o w n , 1980).

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S T R U G G L E

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L I B E R A T I O N

movement's slogan ' O n e Azania. O n e N a t i o n ' - Azania being the name b y w h i c h they wanted a black-dominated South Africa to b e k n o w n . T h e m o v e m e n t l e a r n t a g o o d d e a l - as t h e i r f a t h e r s a n d grandfathers h a d d o n e before t h e m - f r o m blacks in the U n i t e d S t a t e s . N o r w a s it o n l y A m e r i c a n w r i t i n g , b y M a l c o l m X a n d others that w a s i m p o r t a n t ; the w o r k o f Frantz F a n o n , for e x ­ ample, t h o u g h also banned, w a s obtained a n d avidly read. F o r s o m e y e a r s S A S O , d e s p i t e its m i l i t a n t c r i t i c i s m o f t h e S o u t h African system, w a s g i v e n a surprising amount o f rope by the g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h , misunderstanding the sharp attack o n the role p l a y e d b y w h i t e l i b e r a l s , s e e m e d t o h o p e t h a t at t h e b o t t o m o f black consciousness lay an acceptance o f the w h o l e p h i l o s o p h y o f eiesoortige ontwikkeling ( o n e ' s o w n s o r t o f d e v e l o p m e n t ) o n w h i c h white control w a s based. T h e h o p e p r o v e d vain and b y 1973 the g o v e r n m e n t h a d s t a r t e d t o b a n its l e a d e r s , o n e o f w h o m , A b r a h a m T i r o , w a s the f o l l o w i n g year killed in s u s p i c i o u s c i r c u m s t a n c e s by a parcel b o m b that reached h i m in B o t s w a n a w h e r e h e w a s co-ordinating black student activities in southern Africa. Later in t h e s a m e y e a r , f o l l o w i n g a r a l l y t o c e l e b r a t e F R E L I M O ' s v i c t o r y i n M o z a m b i q u e , m u c h o f t h e b l a c k s t u d e n t l e a d e r s h i p still left i n s i d e t h e c o u n t r y w a s s w e p t u p i n t o g a o l . C o i n c i d i n g w i t h , a n d t o s o m e e x t e n t a n e x p r e s s i o n o f , t h e rise o f b l a c k c o n s c i o u s n e s s w a s a f r e s h b u r s t o f w r i t i n g as p e o p l e f o u n d w a y s o f expressing their feelings p u b l i c l y inside the c o u n t r y . B u t e v e n p o e t r y , o b l i q u e t h o u g h its shafts o f t e n w e r e , w a s n o t w i t h o u t its d a n g e r s a n d a n u m b e r o f p o e t s a n d p l a y - w r i t e r s w e r e b a n n e d . It is a g a i n s t this b a c k g r o u n d t h a t t h e e r u p t i o n o f e v e n t s w h i c h surprised seasoned observers o f the S o u t h African scene, black and white alike, can best b e understood. T h e march o n 16 June 1976 o f s c h o o l c h i l d r e n in S o w e t o , s o p r o v o c a t i v e l y handled b y the p o l i c e , s p a r k e d off a w a v e o f protest, i n c l u d i n g b u r n i n g o f b u i l d i n g s , t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y . A l t o g e t h e r a b o u t 700 p e o p l e , a large proportion o f them teenagers, w e r e killed, most o f them s h o t b y p o l i c e . O v e r 6000 p e r s o n s w e r e a r r e s t e d a n d p r o s e c u t e d . T h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s n o t unduly stretched b y the revolt, for the army, while o n standby, n e v e r had t o be called in, b u t the episode m a r k e d the b e g i n n i n g o f an a l t o g e t h e r n e w m o o d o f fearless self-assurance in a g e n e r a t i o n w h i c h h a d b e e n raised w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f ' B a n t u ' and ' C o l o u r e d ' education, y e t had rejected 1

1

J o h n K a n e - B e r m a n , Soweto ( J o h a n n e s b u r g ,

1978).

34

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A F R I C A

it t o t a l l y . T h e b o y c o t t o f s c h o o l s w h i c h t h e A N C h a d t r i e d a n d f a i l e d t o a c h i e v e at t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f B a n t u E d u c a t i o n in 1 9 5 3 spread like a bushfire and continued to rage

fiercely.

By August

1 9 7 7 in S o w e t o , n o t o n l y h a d t h e p u p i l s s u c c e s s f u l l y o r g a n i s e d a t o t a l b o y c o t t o f all s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s b u t t h e y h a d c a u s e d t h e m a s s r e s i g n a t i o n , in t h e m i d s t o f a d e e p e c o n o m i c r e c e s s i o n , o f m o r e than half their teachers. Similarly m e m b e r s o f the S o w e t o Urban

Bantu

Council were

forced

to

resign.

Although

the

scholars had w o n the battle against c o m p u l s o r y A f r i k a a n s , the g o v e r n m e n t had b y n o means yet lost the w a r o v e r educational reform. In 1978 pupils w e r e d i v i d e d and s o m e children returned to school. T h e teachers w h o remained continued to struggle w i t h a heavy-handed bureaucracy w h o s e lip-service to change

was

unmatched by action. A n o t h e r f o r m o f resistance w a s perhaps the m o s t effective o f all.

S i m p l y b y d i s o b e y i n g certain legislation and i g n o r i n g

its

p r o h i b i t i o n s p e o p l e f o r c e d the g o v e r n m e n t c o n t i n u a l l y t o face n e w r e a l i t i e s t h a t fell o u t s i d e its p l a n . T h e m o s t n o t a b l e f o r m o f this ' i n f o r m a l ' resistance w a s that against the pass l a w s , o n e a i m o f w h i c h w a s t o p r e v e n t p e o p l e s e t t l i n g in t o w n . P r e c i s e

figures

are i m p o s s i b l e t o o b t a i n b u t in C a p e T o w n , for e x a m p l e , the actual A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n w a s t h o u g h t t o b e p e r h a p s as m u c h as 80 p e r c e n t a b o v e t h e official

figure.

A n d in S o w e t o , w h e r e the 1970

c e n s u s c o u n t e d 6 0 0 0 0 0 p e o p l e , it w a s w i d e l y b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e m o r e than a million. B u t e v e n a m o n g s t those w h o s e presence was

illegal w e r e m a n y

w h o had

forced their presence to

be

r e c o g n i s e d and accepted. T h u s the squatter c o m m u n i t i e s l i v i n g a r o u n d J o h a n n e s b u r g after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , l e d b y m e n like James S o f a s o n k e M p a n z a , c o m p e l l e d reluctant local auth­ orities to grant

them

effective rights t o h o u s i n g in t o w n .

g e n e r a t i o n later A f r i c a n squatters

A

w e r e still d o g g e d l y b a t t l i n g

a g a i n s t e v i c t i o n b u t , as i n C a p e T o w n d u r i n g t h e m i d

1970s,

m e e t i n g w i t h the increasing force o f g o v e r n m e n t bulldozers and b a t o n s . N o r w a s it o n l y in u r b a n a r e a s t h a t g o v e r n m e n t m e t w i t h s t r o n g o p p o s i t i o n . T h e r e a c t i o n o f A f r i c a n w o m e n in the r e m o t e w e s t e r n T r a n s v a a l t o t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f p a s s e s in 1 9 5 7 a n d t h e peasants'

revolt

in

Pondoland

during

i960

were

but

two

manifestations o f determined resistance w h i c h w e r e crushed by superior might.

1

1

C h a r l e s H o o p e r , Brief authority ( L o n d o n , i960); G o v a n M b e k i , South Africa: the peasants' revolt ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h , 1964).

316

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S T R U G G L E

FOR

L I B E R A T I O N

T h o s e w h o struggled for liberation did not confine themselves to resistance. T h e r e w a s also a l o n g tradition o f affirmative action b u i l d i n g u p s e l f - h e l p c o m m u n i t y p r o j e c t s s u c h as t h e Z e n z e l e m o v e m e n t , w h i c h b e g a n t o g r o w in t h e 1 9 3 0 s a n d l a t e r affiliated to the I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o u n t r y W o m e n o f the W o r l d . A n d o n e o f t h e i m m e d i a t e fruits o f t h e b l a c k - c o n s c i o u s n e s s m o v e m e n t w e r e the c o m m u n i t y

projects

s u c h as t h e

Z a n e m p i l o C l i n i c in

the

e a s t e r n C a p e a n d a c o o p e r a t i v e c l o t h i n g f a c t o r y in C a p e T o w n . B u t t h e s e l a t t e r t w o w e r e r e g a r d e d as s u b v e r s i v e a n d t h e y w e r e b a n n e d b y t h e state. The

line d i v i d i n g the

politics o f exclusion from

those

of

inclusion w h i c h has b e e n traced t h r o u g h the history o f this p e r i o d ran a l s o t h r o u g h t h e C h u r c h . T h i s b e c a m e m o s t c l e a r l y a p p a r e n t f o l l o w i n g a c o n f e r e n c e c o n v e n e d at C o t t e s l o e in J o h a n n e s b u r g b y t h e W o r l d C o u n c i l o f C h u r c h e s at t h e t i m e o f t h e S h a r p e v i l l e c r i s i s in i 9 6 0 . T h e C o t t e s l o e s t a t e m e n t

by c h u r c h leaders,

including

those o f the D u t c h R e f o r m e d C h u r c h , w a s repudiated b y V e r w o e r d a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y b y all t h e A f r i k a a n s - s p e a k i n g c h u r c h e s . B u t the split did n o t f o l l o w precise d e n o m i n a t i o n a l o r l a n g u a g e lines. S o m e o f the s t r o n g e s t o p p o s i t i o n to the t h e o r y and practice of

apartheid

came

from

within

the

three

Dutch

Reformed

churches, eleven o f w h o s e theologians had published

a sharp

attack o n race discrimination shortly before the C o t t e s l o e C o n ­ f e r e n c e in J o h a n n e s b u r g . A n d , f r o m t h e t i m e o f its e s t a b l i s h m e n t in 1963 u n t i l it w a s b a n n e d in 1 9 7 7 , t h e C h r i s t i a n I n s t i t u t e l e d b y the R e v d B e y e r s N a u d e , a f o r m e r m o d e r a t o r

o f the

southern

T r a n s v a a l s y n o d o f the D u t c h R e f o r m e d C h u r c h , played a major r o l e in s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e o p p o s i t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l C h r i s t i a n s a n d of some denominations

to the i d e o l o g y o f apartheid.

No

less

i m p o r t a n t w a s t h e w o r k o f t h e C h r i s t i a n I n s t i t u t e in f o r g i n g l i n k s b e t w e e n the established churches and the rapidly g r o w i n g A f r i c a n Independent C h u r c h e s w h i c h rejected w h i t e leadership, and w h i c h p r o v i d e d an a p p r o p r i a t e and

c o h e s i v e n e s s in

cultural

transition.

Besides the embroiled

in

the

turbulent

process

of economic

and

1

churches, the

structure for n u r t u r i n g social security

universities

political arena.

and

the press

were

also

in

1959

Legislation passed

authorising the g o v e r n m e n t to i m p o s e restrictions o n universities based o n c o l o u r w a s v i g o r o u s l y o p p o s e d , particularly 1

by

the

J. P . K i e r n a n , ' P o o r a n d P u r i t a n : a n a t t e m p t t o v i e w Z i o n i s m as a c o l l e c t i v e

r e s p o n s e t o u r b a n p o v e r t y ' , African Studies, 1977, 36, 1.

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E n g l i s h - m e d i u m universities w h o s e students were actively organ­ i s e d , t h r o u g h t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n o f S o u t h A f r i c a n S t u d e n t s , in their o p p o s i t i o n to apartheid. A l o n g tradition o f press f r e e d o m in t h e c o u n t r y h e l p e d t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e h a n d o f e d i t o r s w h o s e newspapers came under increasingly frequent attack. B u t there w a s m u c h t h e n e w s p a p e r s d i d n o t p r i n t f o r fear o f state r e p r i s a l s . M o r e o v e r , for the majority o f papers, n e w s w a s generally seen to be that w h i c h interested w h i t e readers. N e v e r t h e l e s s the role o f s e v e r a l n e w s p a p e r s in f a c i n g b o t h g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e g e n e r a l public w i t h uncomfortable truths and w i t h trenchant criticism was an i m p o r t a n t , a l t h o u g h b y i t s e l f i n a d e q u a t e , c h e c k o n t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y a r b i t r a r y p o w e r o f t h e state. B y t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s r e s i s t a n c e i n S o u t h A f r i c a w a s stiffened b y the astonishing fearlessness o f children g o i n g o u t against bullets a r m e d o n l y w i t h dustbin lids and stones. A t the same time a process o f clarifying targets c o u l d be traced by y o u n g blacks, one o f w h o m p o i n t e d o u t t h a t , ' I n i 9 6 0 s o m e 30000 A f r i c a n s m a r c h e d p e a c e f u l l y i n t o t h e c e n t r e o f C a p e T o w n ; in 1 9 7 6 t h e i r c h i l d r e n b u r n t l i q u o r o u t l e t s , a n d s c h o o l s in t h e b l a c k t o w n s h i p s ; n e x t t i m e it w i l l b e w h i t e h o u s e s . ' T h i s n e w c o u r a g e w a s n o t u n c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e v i c t o r y o f F R E L I M O in M o z a m b i q u e a n d t h e g u e r r i l l a s t r u g g l e s in R h o d e s i a a n d N a m i b i a w h i c h h a d a n i m p o r t a n t p s y c h o l o g i c a l i m p a c t o n all S o u t h A f r i c a n s . O v e r t h e t h r e e y e a r s f r o m t h e c o u p in L i s b o n in A p r i l 1 9 7 4 t h r o u g h t h e i n v a s i o n o f A n g o l a in 1 9 7 5 , a n d t h e u p r i s i n g in S o w e t o , L a n g a a n d e l s e w h e r e in 1 9 7 6 t o t h e k i l l i n g o f S t e v e B i k o in 1 9 7 7 , S o u t h A f r i c a c r o s s e d a w a t e r s h e d . I n t h e face o f m o u n t i n g w o r l d p r e s s u r e t h e g o v e r n m e n t e m b a r k e d on a limited p r o g r a m m e o f selective d e s e g r e g a t i o n . B u t it s h o w e d n o s i g n s o f y i e l d i n g o n t h e f u n d a ­ mental structure o f apartheid w h i c h w a s designed to exclude black S o u t h A f r i c a n s f r o m effective political p o w e r . N o t e v e n the c o u r a g e o f the y o u n g c o u l d yet guarantee that sort o f c h a n g e from within. E l s e w h e r e in s o u t h e r n A f r i c a , h o w e v e r , t h e t w o d e c a d e s f o l l o w ­ i n g G h a n a ' s i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1 9 5 7 w e r e y e a r s o f c o n s i d e r a b l e p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e as t h e p r o c e s s o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n p e r m e a t e d t h e continent. F o r the three countries o f B o t s w a n a , L e s o t h o and S w a z i l a n d the l o n g s t r u g g l e against political i n c o r p o r a t i o n had a l m o s t been w o n b y i960. In 1962 P r i m e M i n i s t e r V e r w o e r d 318

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S T R U G G L E

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L I B E R A T I O N

a c k n o w l e d g e d publicly that S o u t h Africa accepted the possibility o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , a l t h o u g h h e still h o p e d t h a t t h e t h r e e t e r r i t o r i e s m i g h t y e t see t h e b e n e f i t s o f b e c o m i n g p a r t o f t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n C o m m o n w e a l t h o f N a t i o n s . T h e first o f t h e

pre-independence

e l e c t i o n s t o o k p l a c e i n 1 9 6 4 in S w a z i l a n d w h e r e , a y e a r p r e v i o u s l y , w i d e s p r e a d s t r i k e s h a d c a u s e d B r i t a i n t o air-lift t r o o p s i n t o t h e country. A n u m b e r o f political organisations e m e r g e d w i t h broad agreement

on

three basic d e m a n d s :

that the

king become

constitutional m o n a r c h ; that i n d e p e n d e n c e be granted

a

immedi­

a t e l y ; a n d t h a t all r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n b e a b o l i s h e d . T h e k i n g a c c e p t e d the i m p l i c i t c h a l l e n g e and f o r m e d his o w n I m b o k o d v o movement

1

to contest the elections w h i c h he w o n w i t h o u t a single

o p p o s i t i o n c a n d i d a t e r e t a i n i n g h i s d e p o s i t , let a l o n e w i n n i n g a seat. T h e e l e c t i o n h a d t a k e n p l a c e u n d e r a c o n s t i t u t i o n

which

g u a r a n t e e d a n e q u a l s h a r e o f seats t o t h e w h i t e c o m m u n i t y , t o t h e S w a z i h i e r a r c h y , a n d t o v o t e r s o n t h e n a t i o n a l r o l l . B u t as s o o n as it h a d w o n t h e e l e c t i o n s t h e I m b o k o d v o d i s f r a n c h i s e d all w h i t e S o u t h A f r i c a n s in S w a z i l a n d , c h a l l e n g e d t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n as b e i n g racist, and d e m a n d e d i m m e d i a t e i n d e p e n d e n c e . B y F e b r u a r y 1967 a n e w constitution acceptable b o t h to the I m b o k o d v o (to w h i c h m a n y o f the y o u n g radicals had

flocked

after 1 9 6 4 ) a n d t o B r i t a i n

h a d b e e n d r a f t e d . T h e c o u n t r y g a i n e d its i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1 9 6 8 , t w o y e a r s after B o t s w a n a a n d L e s o t h o . T h e p r o b l e m s o f d e v i s i n g suitable institutions

which would

c o n t a i n different interest g r o u p s a n d m a k e o r d e r l y c h a n g e p o s s i b l e w e r e formidable. F o r S w a z i l a n d , particularly, the duality b e t w e e n l o y a l t y t o t h e k i n g in w h o m w a s v e s t e d all t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e n a t i o n , a n d t h e e m e r g e n c e o f a n e w set o f l o y a l t i e s t o l a w a n d t o the c o u n t r y , w a s a source o f increasing tension. T h e k i n g ' s p o w e r w a s b e i n g encroached u p o n and increasingly challenged b y the younger more educated people w h o were m o v i n g into adminis­ trative and other jobs w i t h i n the g o v e r n m e n t and the sector o f the e c o n o m y . In A p r i l 1973 the k i n g issued an

private order

in c o u n c i l w h i c h s u s p e n d e d t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n , d e c l a r e d a s t a t e o f e m e r g e n c y , v e s t e d all p o w e r i n h i m s e l f , a n d e n a b l e d h i m t o d e t a i n p e r s o n s f o r 60 d a y s at a t i m e , w i t h o u t trial. T h e l e a d e r o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n , D r A . P. Z w a n e , President o f the N g w a n e N a t i o n a l 1

T h e full name, Imbokodvo kmalabala,

means literally, 'the

brings-together-many-colours'. Hilda Kuper, Sobhu^a II,

grinding-stone-that-

Ngwenyama and King of

Swaziland (London, 1978), 250.

319

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Liberation Congress, was subsequently detained four times. B y 1 9 7 7 t h e k i n g w a s still firmly i n c o n t r o l . H o w e v e r , t h e r e w e r e i n c r e a s i n g s i g n s , s u c h as t h e t e a c h e r d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n o f m i d - 1 9 7 6 , that the c l e a v a g e b e t w e e n the c o n s e r v a t i v e , traditional hierarchy g o v e r n i n g t h r o u g h the S w a z i N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l and the m o r e educated, urbanised people was deepening dangerously although t h e k i n g , a g e d n e a r l y 80, w i t h h i s i m m e n s e a u t h o r i t y , w a s a b l e to c o m m a n d a certain consensus. In L e s o t h o C h i e f Jonathan w o n the pre-independence elections i n 1965 w i t h a m i n o r i t y v o t e . H e h a d t o face a n i m m e d i a t e challenge f r o m the y o u n g k i n g w h o , t h o u g h n o t p o s s e s s i n g the s a m e w e i g h t o f a u t h o r i t y as K i n g S o b h u z a , w a s n o n e t h e less d e t e r m i n e d to retain s o m e i n d e p e n d e n c e for the civil service and t h e p o l i c e w h e n i n d e p e n d e n c e c a m e . H o w e v e r , in a n h i s t o r i c decision the police o b e y e d C h i e f Jonathan's orders to p r e v e n t p e o p l e g a t h e r i n g at a Pitso c a l l e d b y t h e k i n g , w h o s e p o w e r w a s thereby effectively curtailed a l t h o u g h he remained titular head o f t h e n a t i o n . I n 1 9 7 0 C h i e f J o n a t h a n w a s d e f e a t e d at t h e p o l l s b y the C o n g r e s s Party but, refusing to c o n c e d e defeat, he seized p o w e r illegally in a c o u p . A c o u n t e r - c o u p failed in 1 9 7 4 . T h e leader o f the C o n g r e s s Party, N t s u M o k h e h l e , escaped to B o t s w a n a but m a n y political opponents w e r e beaten up or killed whilst others w e r e found guilty o f h i g h treason and gaoled for s o m e years. F o r B o t s w a n a t h e first d e c a d e o f p o l i t i c a l i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s m u c h s m o o t h e r . F u s i n g in his p e r s o n b o t h the traditional a n d the m o d e r n , Sir Seretse K h a m a , the rightful heir o f the N g w a t o chieftainship, and the m a n w h o h a d risked his p o s i t i o n and earned the d i s a p p r o v a l o f b o t h the c o l o n i a l p o w e r and the b i g n e i g h b o u r b y m a r r y i n g the wife o f his c h o i c e , w a s able to w i n and maintain the s u p p o r t o f the vast majority o f his p e o p l e w i t h o u t b e i n g so t h r e a t e n e d t h a t h e felt it n e c e s s a r y e i t h e r t o b a n o t h e r p o l i t i c a l parties o r t o i m p r i s o n his o p p o n e n t s . B u t B o t s w a n a had other troubles w h i c h , by the mid-1970s, w e r e b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y a c u t e . S i t u a t e d at t h e c e n t r e o f s o u t h e r n Africa, she shared l o n g borders w i t h the three white-ruled c o u n t r i e s w h e r e the s t r u g g l e for liberation w a s b e c o m i n g in­ c r e a s i n g l y b i t t e r a n d v i o l e n t . F o r B o t s w a n a t h i s m e a n t first t h e p r o b l e m o f r e f u g e e s as p e o p l e s t r e a m e d a c r o s s at d i f f e r e n t t i m e s from S o w e t o , from O v a m b o l a n d , and from the south-western 320

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districts o f R h o d e s i a . T h e r e w a s pressure t o o f r o m the guerrilla m o v e m e n t s to a l l o w the passage o f a r m s and m e n , b u t o n this B o t s w a n a , l i k e L e s o t h o a n d S w a z i l a n d , h a d t o t a k e a firm s t a n d . Moral support was possible but more active involvement was suicidal. B o t s w a n a w a s not able to a v o i d b e i n g burnt by the w a r w h i c h raged particularly o n the R h o d e s i a n border, w h e r e Smith's t r o o p s , a l l e g e d l y in h o t p u r s u i t , e n t e r e d B o t s w a n a s e v e r a l t i m e s and killed a n u m b e r o f civilians. A l t h o u g h there w a s w a r b o t h i n N a m i b i a a n d in R h o d e s i a t h e r e s e e m e d t o b e s o m e h o p e i n t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s that the conflict w o u l d be r e s o l v e d w i t h o u t further u n d u e d a m a g e to B o t s w a n a . H o w e v e r , the l o n g - t e r m v i e w to the s o u t h w a s far less p r o m i s i n g . T h e r e t h e m i l i t a r y s t r u g g l e s e e m e d o n l y j u s t b e g i n n i n g a n d t h e p r o s p e c t f o r B o t s w a n a o f finding i t s e l f in t h e n o - m a n ' s l a n d b e t w e e n g u e r r i l l a b a s e s a n d t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n a r m y w a s far f r o m r e a s s u r i n g . S w a z i l a n d t o o w a s c a u g h t in a similar p o s i t i o n : w e d g e d b e t w e e n M a p u t o a n d the W i t w a t e r s r a n d , it w a s w e l l s i t u a t e d f o r g u n - r u n n i n g a n d t h e t r a n s i t o f guerrillas. L e s o t h o ' s m a i n p r o b l e m s c e n t r e d a r o u n d its e c o n o m i c b o n d a g e t o S o u t h A f r i c a . T h e c o u n t r y h a d l o n g f u n c t i o n e d as a l a b o u r r e s e r v e little different f r o m t h e T r a n s k e i o r t h e C i s k e i . T h e difficulties i n v o l v e d in r e d u c i n g its e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e o n South Africa by creating e m p l o y m e n t opportunities and produc­ i n g g o o d s w i t h i n its o w n b o r d e r s w e r e i m m e n s e . A g r i c u l t u r a l potential o n the m o u n t a i n o u s , o v e r p o p u l a t e d land w a s l o w . A p a r t f r o m a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l p i p e o f d i a m o n d s , p r o s p e c t i n g y i e l d e d little in t h e w a y o f m i n e r a l s . D e v e l o p m e n t o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g w a s constrained b y the smallness o f the internal market, effectively r e d u c e d still f u r t h e r b y r e a d y a c c e s s t o t h e s h o p s a n d g o o d s o f the R e p u b l i c . A n y h o p e s o f selling p r o d u c t s w i t h i n the w i d e r m a r k e t o f t h e c u s t o m s u n i o n w e r e d a s h e d b y P r e t o r i a ' s a c t i o n in preventing investors from establishing either a motor-assembly p l a n t o r a fertiliser f a c t o r y . D e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e M a l i b a m a t s o w a t e r project w a s d e p e n d e n t u p o n an a g r e e m e n t w i t h S o u t h Africa to b u y the water, w h i c h for s o m e years she declined to d o . O n e r e m a i n i n g possibility w a s tourism. T h e chief attraction to the w h i t e S o u t h A f r i c a n s w h o flocked a c r o s s w e r e t h e g a m b l i n g casinos and soft-porn m o v i e s rather than the spectacular m o u n t a i n scenery. T h e r e n e g o t i a t i o n in 1 9 6 9 o f t h e c u s t o m s a g r e e m e n t a n d t h e 321

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s h a r p rise i n e a r n i n g s o f g o l d - m i n e r s i m p r o v e d L e s o t h o ' s c u r r e n t a c c o u n t , s o t h a t b y 1 9 7 3 - 4 it w a s n o l o n g e r d e p e n d e n t u p o n a grant-in-aid f r o m the British g o v e r n m e n t in o r d e r to balance the b u d g e t . N e v e r t h e l e s s the l o n g - t e r m prospects for L e s o t h o ' s e c o n o m y w e r e , i f a n y t h i n g , w o r s e at t h e e n d o f its first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e t h a n t h e y w e r e at t h e b e g i n n i n g , f o r d u r i n g this p e r i o d the rate o f g r o w t h o f internal e m p l o y m e n t w a s w e l l b e l o w the rate o f natural p o p u l a t i o n increase, and the e m e r g i n g spectre o f u n e m p l o y m e n t h a u n t i n g S o u t h A f r i c a itself w a s an o m i n o u s sign to the p e o p l e o f L e s o t h o , w h o f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s increasingly b e h i n d b l a c k S o u t h A f r i c a n s in the q u e u e for j o b s . W h i l e the South African mines w e r e unlikely to dispense altogether w i t h w o r k e r s f r o m L e s o t h o , t h e r e s e e m e d little l i k e l i h o o d t h a t d e m a n d f o r t h e m w o u l d i n c r e a s e s u b s t a n t i a l l y in t h e f o r e s e e a b l e f u t u r e o r that S o t h o w o r k e r s w o u l d be d r a w n into the agricultural sector, w h e r e o v e r a l l e m p l o y m e n t w a s o n the decline, o r into manufac­ turing w h i c h had never e m p l o y e d many foreign black w o r k e r s . O n e c o n s e q u e n c e to L e s o t h o (and the other l a b o u r - s u p p l y i n g c o u n t r i e s in the r e g i o n ) o f the i n c r e a s i n g i m p o r t a n c e o f the n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r y w a s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h it f a c i l i t a t e d S o u t h Africa's p o l i c y o f containing u n e m p l o y m e n t b y the simple ex­ p e d i e n t o f e x p o r t i n g it. I n c o n t r a s t t o L e s o t h o w a s S w a z i l a n d w h e r e , as w e h a v e s e e n , t h e e c o n o m y w a s g r o w i n g r a p i d l y . B y t h e 1960s t h e p i n e p l a n t a t i o n s w e r e a m o n g t h e l a r g e s t in t h e w o r l d a n d w e r e p r o d u c i n g b o t h timber and paper in substantial quantities. T h e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f i r o n - o r e p r o v i d e d e m p l o y m e n t , as w e l l as i n d u c i n g t h e b u i l d i n g o f a r a i l w a y , o p e n e d in 1 9 6 4 , w h i c h l i n k e d t h e c o u n t r y b o t h to M a p u t o and to the W i t w a t e r s r a n d . D e s p i t e these d e v e l o p m e n t s Swaziland also continued to send migrants to w o r k in S o u t h A f r i c a . B o t s w a n a ' s e c o n o m y s h o w e d t h e m o s t i m p r o v e m e n t i n t h e first decade o f independence. F r o m the mid-1960s there w a s a g o o d d e a l o f p r o s p e c t i n g a n d s o m e n o t a b l e finds. T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f t h e s e w e r e t h e t w o d i a m o n d p i p e s at O r a p a a n d J w a n e n g a n d t h e c o p p e r - n i c k e l d e p o s i t s at S e l i b e - P i k w e . T h e t i m i n g o f t h e s e d i s c o v e r i e s w a s i m p o r t a n t f o r , a l t h o u g h in t h e e a r l y n e g o t i a t i o n s the B o t s w a n a g o v e r n m e n t l a c k e d the necessary e x p e r i e n c e to b a r g a i n a d e q u a t e l y o v e r t h e t e r m s o f t h e c o n c e s s i o n s , it w a s l a t e r a b l e t o r e n e g o t i a t e t h e s e a n d e n s u r e t h a t o v e r 50 p e r c e n t o f t h e 322

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p r o f i t s w e r e p a i d b a c k , r a t h e r t h a n b e i n g s i p h o n e d o f f a b r o a d , as had

happened

in t h e

neighbouring countries

of Zambia

and

1

N a m i b i a . D u r i n g the ten years f r o m 1966 t o 1975 the a n n u a l rate o f g r o w t h o f G N P a v e r a g e d 5.1 p e r c e n t , a n d a l t h o u g h t e c h n i c a l difficulties at S e l i b e - P i k w e , c o m b i n e d w i t h a s h a r p fall in t h e p r i c e o f c o p p e r after 1 9 7 4 , d e f e r r e d s o m e o f t h e h o p e i n v e s t e d in t h e mineral b o o m , the prospects for further substantial d e v e l o p m e n t s in t h a t s e c t o r w e r e g o o d . T w o i m p o r t a n t p r o b l e m s n e v e r t h e l e s s accompanied

this

growth. One

w a s that

the

major

share

of

i n v e s t m e n t in t h i s s e c t o r w a s S o u t h A f r i c a n ; t h e o t h e r w a s t h e l a r g e a m o u n t o f c a p i t a l r e q u i r e d t o c r e a t e o n e j o b in a c o u n t r y suffering severely f r o m

underemployment.

G r o w t h in t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r , as in m i n i n g , w a s a c c o m ­ panied b y serious difficulties. O n e w a s the u n c e r t a i n t y o f e x p o r t s following

Britain's

entrance

into

the

Common

Market

with

c o n c e s s i o n s a g a i n s t t h e n e w h i g h tariffs h a v i n g t o b e b a r g a i n e d f o r o n e y e a r at a t i m e . L e s s v i s i b l e b u t n o less i m p o r t a n t

was

irreversible ecological d a m a g e caused by extending g r a z i n g into unsuitable

areas. T h i r d w e r e the l o n g e r t e r m s o c i o - e c o n o m i c

implications o f the apparently i n c r e a s i n g s k e w n e s s o f rural i n c o m e distribution,

as t h e w e a l t h y t o w n s m e n

e m p l o y e d in t h e

civil

s e r v i c e a n d e l s e w h e r e i n v e s t e d in c a t t l e , w h i l e c o u n t r y m e n w i t h n o stock w e r e thus effectively disinherited o f the land to w h i c h , 2

theoretically, they had a c c e s s . N o r w a s the g a p confined t o the agricultural sector. In the civil service b y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s the ratio o f salaries for super-scale p o s t s w a s o f the o r d e r o f 1 0 : 1 c o m p a r e d w i t h a r a t i o o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 : 1 in m o s t d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s . T h u s , e v e n w i t h i n s o h o m o g e n e o u s a c o u n t r y as B o t s w a n a , t h e cleavage b e t w e e n rich and p o o r w a s deep. In

Namibia

the

first

lustrum

o f the

1960s w a s

relatively

u n e v e n t f u l . A t t e n t i o n w a s f o c u s s e d o n p r o c e e d i n g s at T h e H a g u e w h e r e orders had been s o u g h t against S o u t h Africa for violation o f the m a n d a t e . In 1966 the International C o u r t o f Justice refused t o p r o n o u n c e o n t h e m a t t e r s b e f o r e it o n t h e g r o u n d s t h a t t h e applicant before

states, L i b e r i a and

the

court.

Ethiopia, had

F o l l o w i n g this

decisions were made

by interested

a

n o legal

number

parties.

of

standing

far-reaching

SWAPO

issued

a

1

I am indebted to Charles Harvey for this point. Norman Reynolds, 'Rural development in Botswana' (Saldru w o r k i n g paper 13, Cape T o w n , 1977); Botswana, Ministry of Finance and D e v e l o p m e n t Planning, Central 2

Statistics Office, The rural income distribution survey in Botswana 1974/ / (Gaborone, 1976).

323

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s t a t e m e n t f r o m D a r es S a l a a m t h a t t h e r e w a s n o w n o a l t e r n a t i v e b u t ' t o rise in a r m s a n d b r i n g a b o u t o u r o w n l i b e r a t i o n ' . August

1966 the

first

clashes b e t w e e n S W A P O guerrillas

In and

S o u t h A f r i c a n s e c u r i t y f o r c e s o c c u r r e d in n o r t h e r n N a m i b i a . T w o months

later the

United

Nations

General Assembly resolved

formally to terminate the mandate and to put N a m i b i a under the direct responsibility o f the U N . S o u t h Africa r e s p o n d e d ently. C l a i m i n g incorrectly that the court's technical

differ­

finding

was

a r u l i n g in h e r f a v o u r , t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t i g n o r e d t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s and p r o c e e d e d virtually to c o m p l e t e the incor­ p o r a t i o n o f t h e t e r r i t o r y a n d t o m o u l d it m o r e f u l l y i n t o its o w n image. I n 1968 l e g i s l a t i o n w a s p a s s e d e n a b l i n g t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t

of

Bantustans carefully m o d e l l e d o n S o u t h Africa's o w n e m e r g i n g system.

1

T h e f o l l o w i n g year the S o u t h W e s t A f r i c a Affairs A c t

e m p o w e r e d the R e p u b l i c to transfer the majority o f

fiscal

and

o t h e r p o w e r s still r e s i d i n g in t h e W i n d h o e k L e g i s l a t i v e A s s e m b l y to Pretoria. Statistics t o o b e c a m e increasingly fused w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a ' s s o t h a t a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e d i r e c t i o n in w h i c h n e t p a y m e n t s b e t w e e n the t w o countries w e r e

flowing

became virtually im­

p o s s i b l e . E a r l y in 1 9 6 8 t h e T e r r o r i s m A c t o f 1 9 6 7 w a s i n v o k e d f o r t h e first t i m e t o c h a r g e 37 N a m i b i a n s f o r a c t s c o m m i t t e d

before

t h e l a w w a s p a s s e d . T h e m e n w e r e b r o u g h t f r o m N a m i b i a t o trial in

Pretoria,

where

most

were

sentenced

to

long

terms

of

i m p r i s o n m e n t . T h e i r l e a d e r , T o i v o H e r m a n ja T o i v o , in a m o v i n g s t a t e m e n t f r o m t h e d o c k , firmly r e j e c t e d S o u t h A f r i c a ' s r i g h t t o rule N a m i b i a . T h i s v i e w w a s implicitly u p h e l d b y the International C o u r t o f J u s t i c e i n J u n e 1 9 7 1 w h e n it r u l e d t h a t , in t e r m s o f t h e UN of

r e v o c a t i o n o f the mandate in 1966, the c o n t i n u e d South

Africa

in N a m i b i a

w a s illegal. T h e

South

presence African

g o v e r n m e n t rejected the j u d g e m e n t . A f e w d a y s later the

two

boards o f w h a t w e r e s o o n to join into the E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n C h u r c h and w h i c h represented the majority o f i n d i g e n o u s N a m i b ­ ians m e t t o discuss the crisis a n d an O p e n L e t t e r , s i g n e d b y the t w o chairmen, B i s h o p A u l a and Pastor G o w a s e b , w a s sent to the prime minister outlining the extent to w h i c h S o u t h African policy infringed the D e c l a r a t i o n o f H u m a n R i g h t s , asserting that their c o u n t r y s h o u l d b e r e g a r d e d as a s i n g l e u n i t , a n d r e q u e s t i n g 1

the

S o u t h W e s t A f r i c a , Report of the Commission of Enquiry into South West African

Affairs, 1962-196) ( O d e n d a a l R e p o r t , 1964).

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g o v e r n m e n t t o e n a b l e it t o m o v e p e a c e f u l l y t o i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e s e p o i n t s w e r e spelt o u t m o r e fully t o M r V o r s t e r b y the t w o c h u r c h leaders w h e n they m e t h i m s u b s e q u e n t l y in W i n d h o e k . T h e f o l l o w i n g m o n t h the C o m m i s s i o n e r - G e n e r a l for O v a m b o land, replying to increasing criticism o f the contract-labour s y s t e m , s t a t e d t h a t it c o u l d n o t b e r e g a r d e d as a f o r m o f s l a v e r y because m e n reported voluntarily for recruitment. T h i s p r o v e d t o b e t h e last s t r a w a n d , in a w e l l o r g a n i s e d m o v e , t h e N a m i b i a n s s t r u c k . S t a r t i n g i n W i n d h o e k o n 13 D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 1 w o r k e r s paralysed m a n y parts o f the e c o n o m y b y d o w n i n g tools in protest against the labour system. W i t h i n a w e e k m o r e than 1 1 0 0 0 w o r k e r s h a d c o m e o u t a n d b y m i d - J a n u a r y at l e a s t 2 1 0 0 0 p e o p l e h a d , it is e s t i m a t e d , b e e n i n v o l v e d i n s o m e f o r m o f p r o t e s t i n 23 p l a c e s , i n c l u d i n g 1 1 m i n e s . O v e r 13 000 w o r k e r s w e r e t r a n s p o r t e d b y the g o v e r n m e n t and others w i t h d r e w themselves to O v a m b o land w h e r e their presence s e r v e d t o b r o a d e n the base o f resistance b y i n c l u d i n g p e a s a n t o p p o s i t i o n . O v e r 100 k m o f b o r d e r f e n c e , for e x a m p l e , w e r e d e s t r o y e d in o n e n i g h t . T h e p o l i c e a n d a r m y m o v e d in a n d e a r l y i n F e b r u a r y e m e r g e n c y r e g u l a t i o n s s i m i l a r t o those in the T r a n s k e i w e r e p r o c l a i m e d , furnishing authorities w i t h w i d e p o w e r s to prevent meetings and to detain people w i t h o u t trial. S t e p s w e r e a l s o t a k e n t o a l t e r t h e f o r m o f t h e r e c r u i t i n g system; S W A N L A was abolished and replaced with h o m e l a n d ' labour bureaux; greater flexibility in the c h o i c e o f j o b w a s introduced. B u t the essential features o f the m i g r a n t l a b o u r system, w h i c h p r e v e n t e d a m a n f r o m l i v i n g w i t h his w i f e and his children w i t h i n c o m m u t i n g distance o f his place o f w o r k , remained intact. B y the e n d o f F e b r u a r y 1972 this r o u n d o f internal resistance w a s b r o k e n . c

D e s p i t e w o r l d pressure, S W A P O raids, and the practical logistics o f creating a multitude o f minute independent financial and administrative structures, the systematic application o f the policy m i g h t h a v e g o n e o n for m a n y years had not the A p r i l 1974 c o u p in L i s b o n radically t r a n s f o r m e d the scene. T h e p r o t e c t i v e A n g o l a n buffer a l o n g t h e n o r t h e r n N a m i b i a n b o r d e r w a s s w e p t a w a y . G o n e for the m o m e n t w a s the p r o s p e c t o f p a r t i t i o n i n g N a m i b i a and c a r v i n g o u t a n e w O v a m b o state s t r a d d l i n g the K u n e n e and s u p p l y i n g water, electricity and labour to the whitecontrolled e c o n o m y further south. A n e w plan had to be m a d e . I n J u n e 1 9 7 4 t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n p r i m e m i n i s t e r s t a t e d t h a t it w a s

3*5

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S O U T H E R N

A F R I C A

u p to the p e o p l e o f S o u t h W e s t Africa to decide their future. A f t e r a year o f negotiations led b y the local leader o f the N a t i o n a l Party, a c o n f e r e n c e m e t i n t h e W i n d h o e k T u r n h a l l e ( G y m n a s i u m ) at t h e beginning o f September 1975. T h e delegates represented

ethnic

g r o u p s ( w i t h w h i t e s as o n e g r o u p ) a n d t h u s S W A P O , as a n a t i o n a l party, w a s e x c l u d e d . N e v e r t h e l e s s the declaration o f intent, issued b y t h e T u r n h a l l e C o n f e r e n c e , t o m o v e t o w a r d s i n d e p e n d e n c e as a s i n g l e state w i t h the p a r t i c i p a t i o n

o f all g r o u p s

in a

new

g o v e r n m e n t w a s a significant c h a n g e f r o m the d i r e c t i o n in w h i c h Pretoria had previously been pressing. M e a n w h i l e the S o u t h A f r i c a n D e f e n c e F o r c e w h i c h , since the early skirmishes w i t h S W A P O , had built a substantial

military

b a s e at G r o o t f o n t e i n a n d o c c u p i e d m u c h o f t h e a r e a s o u t h o f t h e b o r d e r , w a s o r d e r e d in J u l y 1 9 7 5 t o e n t e r A n g o l a . S o u t h A f r i c a ' s reasons included a desire to protect the K u n e n e s c h e m e w h i c h w a s still b e i n g b u i l t , a n d t h e h o p e o f s t r e n g t h e n i n g a n t i - M P L A f o r c e s in t h e c i v i l w a r t h e n r a g i n g . I n m i d - O c t o b e r a S o u t h A f r i c a n a r m y c o l u m n m a r c h e d rapidly n o r t h t o w a r d s L u a n d a . B u t a m o n t h later the picture had c h a n g e d radically. S o v i e t arms, i n c l u d i n g

the

' Stalin o r g a n s ' w h i c h halted H o l d e n R o b e r t o ' s F N L A a r m y o n the outskirts

o f the capital o n the e v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e ,

and

C u b a n troops w e r e p o u r i n g into A n g o l a . B y m i d - N o v e m b e r the S o u t h A f r i c a n s w e r e s t u c k at N o v o R e d o n d o w i t h n o p r o s p e c t o f further a d v a n c e w i t h o u t fearful escalation o f a w a r that w a s rapidly b e c o m i n g a nightmare to Pretoria strategists. B u t w o r s e was to c o m e : t o w a r d s the end o f the m o n t h t w o S o u t h A f r i c a n s o l d i e r s , c a p t u r e d in A n g o l a , w e r e d i s p l a y e d t o t h e w o r l d ' s p r e s s in L a g o s a n d , t h e n e x t d a y , N i g e r i a , w h i c h in J u n e h a d

been

b a c k i n g U N I T A , a n n o u n c e d t h a t it w o u l d r e c o g n i s e t h e M P L A g o v e r n m e n t , citing the U N I T A and F N L A acceptance o f S o u t h A f r i c a n s u p p o r t as a m a j o r f a c t o r i n t h e d e c i s i o n . B y J a n u a r y 1 9 7 6 S o u t h Africa had n o o p t i o n but to cut her losses and w i t h d r a w , having achieved nothing intervention,

1

but the increase, if not the

original

o f C u b a n t r o o p s in A f r i c a .

In the same m o n t h the Security C o u n c i l resolved u n a n i m o u s l y that S o u t h A f r i c a w i t h d r a w her illegal administration in N a m i b i a a n d c a l l e d f o r free e l e c t i o n s u n d e r U N c o n t r o l . I n A u g u s t 1 9 7 6 the T u r n h a l l e C o n f e r e n c e a g r e e d o n e v e n t u a l i n d e p e n d e n c e 1

and

T h i s p o i n t is u n c l e a r . F o r a n a t t e m p t t o sift t h e e v i d e n c e s e e J o h n s o n , How long

will South Africa survive?, 137-54.

326

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T H E

S T R U G G L E

F O R

L I B E R A T I O N

T a b l e 6 . 1 3 . Employment in Namibia, 197J.

Percentage whites as proportion of total in sector

Total

Percentage proportion of labour force

Subsistence/communal commercial / capitalist

90000 52 800

30.5 17.9

0

Government and other services

28 300 17500 13 200

9.6 4.5

51 9 35

12 500 11000

4.2 3-7

23 0

10400 9300 8000 7500 6000 29000

3-5 3-1 2.7

39 9 0 7

Sector Agriculture

Mining and quarrying Manufacturing, electricity and water Construction Self-employed in subsistence areas Commerce and finance Transport and communication Domestic service Fishing Defence/resistance/refugees Unemployed and unspecified Total labour force Source:

295 500

5-9

M

l

2.0 9.8

100

0 13

Wolfgang Thomas, Economic development in Namibia (Mainz, 1978).

the S o u t h A f r i c a n p r i m e minister accepted the decision, thus formally marking the end o f S o u t h Africa's l o n g attempt to incorporate the mandated territory. B u t w h e n colonialism ends neo-colonialism tends t o begin, and the prospect o f cutting formal political links b y n o means implied that S o u t h Africa r e n o u n c e d all i n t e r e s t i n t h e s h a p e o f t h e e m e r g i n g g o v e r n m e n t . I n o r d e r t o understand the constraints within w h i c h N a m i b i a n politics w o u l d s u b s e q u e n t l y b e p l a y e d o u t it is h e l p f u l t o g l a n c e at t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e e c o n o m y - a n d its l i n k s w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a - a t t h i s t i m e (table 6.13). I n terms o f c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o the g r o s s d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t o f t h e c o u n t r y it is e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e p r o p o r t i o n s i n 1 9 7 5 w e r e : m i n i n g 27 p e r c e n t ; m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n 1 7 p e r c e n t ; agriculture 16 p e r cent a n d the tertiary sector, i n c l u d i n g g o v e r n m e n t s e r v i c e s , 40 p e r cent. F r o m m i n i n g , w h i c h w a s the 3*7

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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A F R I C A

m a j o r s o u r c e o f t a x r e v e n u e , e s t i m a t e d g r o s s e a r n i n g s in 1 9 7 3 c o m p r i s e d 61 p e r c e n t f r o m d i a m o n d s ; 18 p e r c e n t f r o m c o p p e r ; 9 p e r c e n t f r o m z i n c ; a n d 8 p e r c e n t f r o m l e a d . B u t , after s o m e R 200 m i l l i o n i n v e s t m e n t b y B r i t i s h a n d S o u t h A f r i c a n c o m p a n i e s , u r a n i u m p r o d u c t i o n s t a r t e d in 1 9 7 6 , a n d w a s e x p e c t e d t o b e m u c h t h e l a r g e s t s o u r c e o f e x p o r t e a r n i n g s b y t h e e a r l y 1980s d e s p i t e t h e fact t h a t t h e R ó s s i n g m i n e w a s t i e d b y l o n g - t e r m d e l i v e r y c o n t r a c t s t o t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m at a l o w p r i c e . A measure o f N a m i b i a ' s e c o n o m i c subservience m a y be seen in t h e fact t h a t , o f t h e c o m p a n i e s w h i c h b e t w e e n t h e m c o n t r o l l e d t h e 20 m a j o r m i n e s in t h e c o u n t r y , 12 w e r e p r i m a r i l y S o u t h A f r i c a n , w h i l e five w e r e A m e r i c a n , f o u r w e r e B r i t i s h , o n e w a s C a n a d i a n , a n d t h e rest o f d i v e r s e o w n e r s h i p . N o r w a s it o n l y i n m i n i n g that S o u t h African interest w a s p a r a m o u n t . In the capitalist farming sector, w h i c h p r o d u c e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y ninetenths o f agricultural o u t p u t , a substantial p o r t i o n o f the land w a s o w n e d b y S o u t h African individuals and c o m p a n i e s , w h i l e the p r o c e s s i n g o f m e a t ( a n d fish) a n d t h e m a r k e t i n g o f a g r i c u l t u r a l e x p o r t s w e r e l a r g e l y in S o u t h A f r i c a n h a n d s . A n d t h e g o v e r n m e n t sector, including railways and other communications, w a s , o f c o u r s e , an extension o f S o u t h A f r i c a ' s o w n . T h u s the t w o c o u n t r i e s w e r e b o u n d t i g h t l y t o g e t h e r a l t h o u g h , as h a s b e e n a r g u e d a b o v e , the absence o f large-scale oscillating m i g r a t i o n to S o u t h A f r i c a o v e r a l o n g p e r i o d o f t i m e left N a m i b i a w i t h o n e important degree o f freedom not inherited b y M o z a m b i q u e , L e s o t h o , Botswana, or Swaziland w h e n they became independent. N e v e r t h e l e s s o f all t h e c o u n t r i e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e R e p u b l i c it w a s in N a m i b i a t h a t S o u t h A f r i c a ' s v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s w e r e g r e a t e s t a n d w h e r e , in t h e p e r i o d o f t r a n s i t i o n t o i n d e p e n d e n c e , s h e s o u g h t t o retain the greatest influence.

C O N C L U S I O N

T h i s chapter has focussed primarily o n political and e c o n o m i c issues. Y e t p e o p l e also w r o t e p o e t r y , c o m p o s e d and p l a y e d music, danced, peered through microscopes, painted, designed bridges, built d a m s , healed the sick, and w e r e creative in a m y r i a d w a y s . T h e r e w a s indeed an e x u b e r a n t vitality, a sense o f e n e r g y , w h i c h ran t h r o u g h t h e s o c i e t y a n d f o u n d e x p r e s s i o n in m a n y f o r m s r a n g i n g f r o m t h e l y r i c s o f K i n g K o n g t o t h e p o e t r y o f t h e sestigers; from the plays o f A t h o l F u g a r d to the jazz o f D o l l a r B r a n d . T h e r e 328 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

C O N C L U S I O N

w a s m u c h o f beauty and truth that g r e w o n the dung-heap o f S o u t h Africa's social system. B u t o n e final q u e s t i o n r e m a i n s . W a s S o u t h A f r i c a i n t h i s p e r i o d b e s t s e e n as a n a b e r r a t i o n i n t h e w o r l d o f c i v i l i s e d p e o p l e ; a n o u t c a s t f r o m s o c i e t y ? O r w a s it b e s t u n d e r s t o o d as a m i c r o c o s m o f t h e w o r l d at l a r g e ? T h e r e w a s m u c h t h a t w a s u n c o m f o r t a b l y familiar a b o u t S o u t h Africa. A m e r i c a n visitors f o u n d s t r o n g similarities t o the pattern o f s e g r e g a t i o n that existed in the D e e p S o u t h as r e c e n t l y as t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s . E u r o p e a n s s a w a s p e c t s o f t h e m i g r a n t l a b o u r system reflected in their o w n treatment o f Gastarbeiter. T h e j u x t a p o s i t i o n o f c o m f o r t a b l e w e a l t h b e s i d e grinding poverty, w h i c h appalled visitors from Western E u r o p e o r N o r t h A m e r i c a , w a s familiar t o those w h o l i v e d in N e w D e l h i or R i o de Janeiro. T h e tensions springing from ethnic and cultural d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e n o m o r e difficult t h a n i n M a l a y s i a o r t h e S u d a n . N o r w a s t h e i m m e n s e p o w e r o f t h e state w i t h its f o r c i b l e interference w i t h personal freedom s o m e t h i n g w i t h w h i c h Chileans, C a m b o d i a n s , o r inhabitants o f the G u l a g A r c h i p e l a g o w e r e unfamiliar. M a n y o f the divisions and tensions w h i c h wracked South Africa during the twentieth century were to be found in other parts o f the w o r l d : b l a c k / w h i t e ; r i c h / p o o r ; migrant/non-rriigrant; citizen/non-citizen; c o r e / p e r i p h e r y ; capi­ talist w e s t / T h i r d W o r l d ; state p o w e r / i n d i v i d u a l f r e e d o m . A n d within the wider southern African region the relationship b e t w e e n a m a g n e t i c e c o n o m y w h o s e fields o f f o r c e e x t e n d e d o v e r a n a r e a w h i c h i n c l u d e d o t h e r n a t i o n a l states w a s i t s e l f a n e x a m p l e o f t h e o n e - w a y filter f u n c t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l b o u n d a r i e s i n a w o r l d o f uneven development. Indeed, with increasing awareness o f the m u t u a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e o f all c o u n t r i e s i n t h e ' g l o b a l v i l l a g e ' , t h e r e w a s a p r o f o u n d s e n s e i n w h i c h t h e p r o b l e m s - as d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e s o l u t i o n s - f a c i n g s o u t h e r n A f r i c a d u r i n g this p e r i o d o f its h i s t o r y s h o u l d b e s e e n n o t o n l y as t h o s e o f a b a c k w a r d a r e a still t r a p p e d i n t h e p a s t b u t a l s o , p a r a d o x i c a l l y , as i s s u e s w h i c h w o u l d i n c r e a s i n g l y c h a l l e n g e the w h o l e w o r l d in t h e future. A n d it w a s t h e a t t e m p t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e s e g l o b a l i s s u e s i n t h e i r particular S o u t h A f r i c a n c o n t e x t that g a v e a sense o f u r g e n c y t o the debate a m o n g s t historians, e c o n o m i s t s a n d others in the 1970s as t h e y g r a p p l e d w i t h s u c h q u e s t i o n s as t h e n a t u r e o f t h e relationship b e t w e e n class a n d race o r b e t w e e n d e v e l o p m e n t a n d u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t in a capitalist society. Y e t there w a s m u c h that w a s u n i q u e a b o u t S o u t h Africa. N o 329 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

S O U T H E R N

A F R I C A

o t h e r c o u n t r y , after t h e d e f e a t o f t h e T h i r d R e i c h , b u i l t r a c e i n t o its l e g a l s t r u c t u r e s o t h a t w h o m a p e r s o n m i g h t m a r r y , w h e r e a p e r s o n m i g h t l i v e , b e e d u c a t e d o r s w i m in the sea, w h e t h e r a person m i g h t v o t e , or h o w a person m i g h t w o r k , w e r e critically affected b y a n c e s t r y a n d s k i n c o l o u r . N o o t h e r c o u n t r y i n t h e w o r l d h a d b u i l t its p o l i t i c a l e c o n o m y e x p l i c i t l y o n a s y s t e m o f o s c i l l a t i n g m i g r a t i o n w h i c h t r e a t e d its w o r k e r s n o t as p e r s o n s b u t as l a b o u r u n i t s , a n d w h i c h m a d e it a c r i m e f o r w o m e n t o l i v e w i t h their h u s b a n d s . N o o t h e r c o u n t r y in the w o r l d used the l a w quite so systematically to control the lives o f those w h o lived w i t h i n it. I n n o o t h e r s o c i e t y d i d s o m a n y p e o p l e feel s o d e m e a n e d b y the structures o f racism. M o r e and m o r e , in the years after the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , S o u t h Africa b e c a m e the ' b e l o v e d outcast ' ; an extreme manifestation o f all t h a t o t h e r s o c i e t i e s f e a r e d a n d r e j e c t e d a b o u t t h e m s e l v e s . A B r i t i s h t e l e v i s i o n film o f t h e N a z i c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p s s h o c k e d t h o s e w h o s a w it n o t l e a s t b e c a u s e o f t h e w a y i n w h i c h , i n t h e hands o f a S o u t h African script writer,

1

it s h o w e d h o w o r d i n a r y

m e n and w o m e n c o u l d b e c o m e c a u g h t u p in the perpetration o f a b a r b a r i s m that w a s b e y o n d belief. Similarly in S o u t h A f r i c a the very normality

o f people seemed

to

blind

them

to the

evil

c o n s e q u e n c e s o f structures t h e y h a d built u p in p u r s u i t o f a g o a l w h i c h placed self-preservation, g r o u p security and

prosperity

before love o f neighbour. T h e t r o u b l e d sub-continent in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s s e e m e d to

be

m o v i n g i n e x o r a b l y t o w a r d s m a s s i v e c o n f l i c t as t h o s e e x c l u d e d , not only from political p o w e r but increasingly from citizenship itself, s o u g h t m i l i t a r y s u p p o r t t o h e l p t h e m b r e a k l o o s e f r o m t h e oppression w h i c h gripped them. South Africa, proclaimed one o f its g e n e r a l s i n 1 9 7 7 , w a s at w a r . B u t t h e

firing

line did n o t lie,

as t h e g e n e r a l s t h o u g h t , a l o n g t h e n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e r e g i o n . T h e truth w a s e v e n m o r e painful than that. A s Saint2

E x u p é r y h a s p o i n t e d o u t i n a d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t , t h e firing l i n e w a s i n v i s i b l e : it p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h e h e a r t s o f t h e p e o p l e . F o r it w a s civil war. 1

C h a r l e s B l o o m b e r g in t h e T h a m e s T e l e v i s i o n s e r i e s , The world at war, p r o d u c e d by J e r e m y Isaacs. 2

A n t o i n e d e S a i n t - E x u p é r y , Wind, sand and stars ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h , 1966), 145.

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CHAPTER 7

ENGLISH-SPEAKING WEST AFRICA

Can the English-speaking countries o f W e s t Africa - Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra L e o n e , Liberia and the G a m b i a - be considered as a separate g r o u p ? A p a r t from Sierra L e o n e and Liberia they are not contiguous and might seem t o have little in c o m m o n other than their imported official l a n g u a g e ; e v e n this has very different status a m o n g different g r o u p s in each country. F o r the Creoles o f Sierra L e o n e and Liberians o f A m e r i c a n descent it is their native language; for the Hausa-speaking peoples o f Northern N i g e r i a it takes second place to their o w n language, reduced to writing l o n g before the advent o f the British. T h e impact o f colonial rule by Britain on its West African colonies was uneven. F o r some g r o u p s , in particular the coastal communities under British rule for o v e r a century, it deeply affected their culture and g a v e them strong links w i t h others similarly affected elsewhere in W e s t Africa. E v e n for A m e r i c o Liberians that British connexion was important because o f their religious and educational links with F r e e t o w n . T h e real founder o f Nigerian political journalism in the 1890s, for instance, was John Payne Jackson, an A m e r i c o - L i b e r i a n . T h e n u m b e r affected by such links, h o w e v e r , was tiny. A n d in all five countries there have been ' t w o n a t i o n s ' : small coastal communities with l o n g connexions with Britain or, in the case o f Liberia, A m e r i c a , and much larger communities w h i c h came under British rule only at the turn o f the century. Politically the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the territories after independence showed marked divergencies. T h e G a m b i a remained a multi-party democracy. G h a n a experienced one-party civilian dictatorship, multi-party democracy, ' d o m i n a n t p a r t y ' rule, and military government. Sierra L e o n e had multi-party, and t w o versions o f one-party, rule, as well as a military regime. Nigeria experienced a period o f turbulent multi-party g o v e r n m e n t , f o l l o w e d b y 13 years o f military rule, and then an American-type presidential government. Liberia m o v e d from personal, if benign, autocracy 53i

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to a liberal f o r m o f one-party rule, and then to military rule. T h e r e w a s n o u n a n i m i t y in f o r e i g n p o l i c y , and there w a s s o m e t i m e s d e e p e n m i t y b e t w e e n t h e s e c o u n t r i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y in N k r u m a h ' s d a y . T h e interterritorial organisations for currency, research, airways and parallel functions o n c e established for the four British colonies w e r e dismantled, w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f the W e s t African E x a m i n a t i o n s C o u n c i l , w h i c h L i b e r i a joined in 1969. T r a d e b e t w e e n t h e c o u n t r i e s c o n t i n u e d t o b e as i n s i g n i f i c a n t as it h a d b e e n i n t h e c o l o n i a l e r a . T h e g r e a t B r i t i s h firms, s u c h as t h e U n i t e d A f r i c a C o m p a n y o r P a t e r s o n Z o c h o n i s , w h i c h w e r e h o u s e h o l d n a m e s i n all o f t h e m , i n c l u d i n g L i b e r i a , l o s t t h e i r c o m m e r c i a l d o m i n a n c e . A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e , m o v e m e n t o f staff b y t h e s e firms b e t w e e n t h e t e r r i t o r i e s c e a s e d , a l t h o u g h m o v e ­ m e n t o f individual citizens, including traders, continued o n a c o n s i d e r a b l e scale. Y e t , a p a r t f r o m h i s t o r i c a l c o n v e n i e n c e , t h e r e is still r e a s o n t o treat t h e s e c o u n t r i e s as a g r o u p . I n a s e n s e t h e m e r g i n g o f t h e * t w o n a t i o n s ' in each c o u n t r y m e a n t the m o v e m e n t inland f r o m the c o a s t o f m a n y o f t h e e x t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e s w h i c h t h e five c o u n t r i e s shared. T h e national legal systems had a c o m m o n o r i g i n and theor­ etical attachment t o the rule o f l a w c o n t i n u e d t o be s t r o n g . T h e i r universities had strong links. T h e i r administrative, police and military practices remained similar. A sense o f a shared political p a s t p e r s i s t e d . N a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s b e g a n s o o n e r in t h e a n g l o p h o n e than in the f r a n c o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s and there w e r e a l w a y s s t r o n g links b e t w e e n the politicians o f the British colonies. D r A z i k i w e , f o r e x a m p l e , first m a d e h i s n a m e i n t h e G o l d C o a s t . T h e r e l i n g e r e d in a n g l o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s the v i e w n o t o n l y that s o m e f r a n c o p h o n e countries w e r e n o t really i n d e p e n d e n t o f F r a n c e but that their leaders did n o t w a n t t h e m to be. T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f this political d i v i s i o n d i m i n i s h e d r a p i d l y b u t it s u r v i v e d i n t o t h e late 1 9 7 0 s . A l t h o u g h t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h c o n n e x i o n h a d less a n d less t o d o w i t h p o l i t i c s , it r e m a i n e d i m p o r t a n t in t h e fields o f e d u c a t i o n a n d t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e . It b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r c o u n t l e s s W e s t A f r i c a n s in o r g a n i s a t i o n s o f m a n y k i n d s , s o m e n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l . A b o v e all t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e itself, still little c h a l l e n g e d as t h e language o f g o v e r n m e n t , law, higher education and b i g business, w a s n o t o n l y r e g a r d e d as a u n i f y i n g f o r c e i n s i d e e a c h c o u n t r y b u t f a c i l i t a t e d c o o p e r a t i o n a m o n g a n g l o p h o n e A f r i c a n s . It l i n k e d

33

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them to a cultural system t o w h i c h they themselves w e r e m a k i n g a significant

contribution.

A l l t h i s m a y b e said t o h a v e affected o n l y t h e é l i t e s a n d t o b e a

dwindling

imperial

legacy.

T o the politicians

it

certainly

m a t t e r e d less t h a n w i d e r A f r i c a n l i n k s a n d in n o w a y w e a k e n e d these. B u t for an u n d e r s t a n d i n g

o f the recent history o f these

countries a k n o w l e d g e o f the a n g l o p h o n e links remains necessary, e v e n i f L i b e r i a is a s p e c i a l c a s e .

THE

No

I M P A C T

O F T H E S E C O N D

W O R L D W A R

l e a d i n g n a t i o n a l i s t in E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g W e s t A f r i c a c l a i m e d

that the 1939-45 w a r significantly c h a n g e d his political o u t l o o k , though

many

testified

invasion o f Ethiopia

t o t h e effect

on them

o f Mussolini's

in 1 9 3 5 . I n h i s a u t o b i o g r a p h y ,

Kw'ame

N k r u m a h hardly mentions the 1939-45 war, during most o f w h i c h h e w a s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w h i l e C h i e f A w o l o w o , w h o w a s in L o n d o n in t h e w a r y e a r s , g i v e s it o n l y p a s s i n g m e n t i o n i n h i s p o l i t i c a l m a n i f e s t o , Path to Nigerian freedom, p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 4 7 .

1

A l t h o u g h D r N n a m d i A z i k i w e constantly stressed the need for Britain t o declare w a r aims for the future o f the c o l o n i e s a n d later deplored Britain's lack o f gratitude to her colonial subjects w h o had helped her w i n the w a r , his o w n political p h i l o s o p h y h a d b e e n f o r m e d l o n g b e f o r e , as h i s Renascent Africa, shows.

2

p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 3 7 ,

T h e same w a s true o f the Sierra L e o n e a n

nationalist

l e a d e r , I. T . A . W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n , w h o s e p r e v i o u s r a d i c a l i s m a n d trade-union activity s o alarmed the Sierra L e o n e g o v e r n m e n t that he w a s interned for m u c h o f the w a r . Is it t h e n m i s t a k e n t o s e e t h e 1 9 3 9 - 4 5 w a r as a w a t e r s h e d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f W e s t A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s m ? T h e a n s w e r is t h a t t h e war

did n o t create, b u t stimulated

and g a v e scope to, forces

a l r e a d y at p l a y . S u p e r f i c i a l l y , h o w e v e r , p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y i n B r i t i s h W e s t A f r i c a o n t h e e v e o f t h e w a r w a s still c o n c e r n e d w i t h ' t h e i d e a l s o f e a r l y V i c t o r i a n r a d i c a l i s m ' as L o r d H a i l e y p u t i t .

3

Thus

the N i g e r i a n Y o u t h M o v e m e n t , w h o s e leaders w e r e n o t v e r y y o u n g , d e m a n d e d r e f o r m b u t n o t s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t at its c o n f e r 1

O b a f e m i A w o l o w o , Path to Nigerian freedom ( L o n d o n , 1947), 2 7 - 8 , 36.

2

N n a m d i A z i k i w e , Renascent Africa ( A c c r a , 1937, r e p r . L o n d o n , 1968).

3

Journal of the Royal African Society, A p r i l 1937, 36, 140-1.

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e n c e i n L a g o s i n 1 9 4 0 . I n t h e G o l d C o a s t , p o l i t i c s w a s as m u c h c o n c e r n e d w i t h r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n c h i e f s a n d c o m m o n e r s as b e t w e e n the country and the colonial p o w e r . T h e o n l y funda­ mental critiques o f the colonial system in pre-war British W e s t Africa had c o m e f r o m A z i k i w e a n d W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n jointly in t h e G o l d C o a s t , a n d s e p a r a t e l y in t h e i r o w n c o u n t r i e s . B u t as Y a w T w u m a s i a n d others h a v e s h o w n , the urban and rural discontent o n w h i c h A z i k i w e a n d , after t h e i r r e t u r n , b o t h A w o l o w o a n d N k r u m a h w e r e a b l e t o d r a w in f o r m i n g p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s w i t h m a s s b a c k i n g and d e m a n d i n g s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t h a d their roots in p r e - w a r c o n d i t i o n s , w h i c h w e r e exacerbated b y w a r t i m e inflation a n d r e s t r i c t i o n s . T h i s d i s c o n t e n t h a d b e e n m a n i f e s t e d in t h e G o l d C o a s t c o c o a h o l d - u p o f 1938 against the ' p o o l ' c o n t r o l l e d b y e x p a t r i a t e firms. T h e s i m i l a r h o l d - u p i n W e s t e r n N i g e r i a w a s less effective. 1

O n t h e e v e o f t h e w a r A f r i c a n s in all f o u r B r i t i s h W e s t A f r i c a n territories w e r e a l o n g w a y from the s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t d e m a n d e d by Wallace-Johnson and A z i k i w e . In Nigeria the northern prov­ inces did n o t e v e n c o m e within the c o m p e t e n c e o f the Legislative C o u n c i l . N o N i g e r i a n sat o n t h e E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l . T h e L e g i s ­ l a t i v e C o u n c i l h a d a m a j o r i t y o f officials, a n d o f t h e A f r i c a n m e m b e r s o n l y four w e r e elected, and then o n a restricted franchise. O n l y four N i g e r i a n s o c c u p i e d senior posts in the administrative service, t h o u g h others held senior a p p o i n t m e n t s in the judicial a n d medical services. In the G o l d C o a s t there w e r e o n l y three elected m e m b e r s o f the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l , w h i c h c o u l d n o t legislate for A s a n t e and the N o r t h e r n Territories n o r for British T o g o l a n d , w h i c h , a l t h o u g h it w a s u n d e r L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s m a n d a t e , w a s a d m i n i s t e r e d as p a r t o f t h e G o l d C o a s t . I n S i e r r a L e o n e , t o o , there w e r e only three elected African m e m b e r s o f the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l , w h i c h h a d a n official m a j o r i t y . N o A f r i c a n s sat o n t h e E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l . I n t h e G a m b i a p o l i t i c s w e r e c o n f i n e d t o B a t h u r s t ( B a n j u l ) m u n i c i p a l offices. 2

I n all f o u r c o l o n i e s t h e o u t b r e a k o f w a r p r o d u c e d p r o t e s t a t i o n s o f loyalty from many quarters. T h o u s a n d s volunteered for the f o r c e s . M o n e y w a s r a i s e d f o r w a r c h a r i t i e s , p r a y e r s w e r e offered for an A l l i e d v i c t o r y . E d u c a t e d W e s t A f r i c a n s realised w h a t a N a z i 1

S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , G . O . O l u s a n y a , The Second World War and politics in Nigeria 19)9-19J3 ( L o n d o n , 1973), 63-6. T h e G o v e r n o r o f the G o l d Coast did, h o w e v e r , c o m m o n l y apply laws passed b y the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l t o the w h o l e c o u n t r y . 2

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THE

S E C O N D

W O R L D W A R

t r i u m p h m i g h t m e a n for t h e m . O n l y in N i g e r i a , a n d there, until t h e N C N C w a s f o u n d e d , l a r g e l y t h r o u g h The West African Pilot, w e r e the British constantly and sometimes bitterly reminded that Africans, t o o , expected s o m e political rewards for their w a r s e r v i c e s . The West African Pilot w e l c o m e d t h e A t l a n t i c C h a r t e r i n 1941, a n d attacked C h u r c h i l l for his e x c l u s i o n o f the c o l o n i e s from its a m b i t . A few concessions were, however, made to African demands for a greater share in their g o v e r n m e n t . I n 1942 t w o A f r i c a n members were appointed to the G o l d Coast E x e c u t i v e Council, o n e o f t h e m a chief, N a n a Sir O f o r i A t t a , t h u s c o n t i n u i n g British policy, strongly criticised b y the intelligentsia, o f placing h e a v y r e l i a n c e o n t h e c h i e f s as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e p e o p l e . I n 1943 t w o Nigerians were nominated to the Nigerian E x e c u t i v e Council. In 1943 S i e r r a L e o n e a n s w e r e a l s o a p p o i n t e d t o t h a t c o u n t r y ' s Executive Council. T h e appointment o f t w o G o l d Coasters, A . L . A d u a n d K . A . B u s i a , as d i s t r i c t c o m m i s s i o n e r s i n 1 9 4 2 w a s h a i l e d as a m a j o r b r e a k t h r o u g h . G o l d C o a s t e r s h a d h e l d s u c h p o s t s i n t h e 1 8 9 0 s ; b u t s i n c e 1 9 0 0 field a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n a l l f o u r colonies had been the exclusive preserve o f the British. These modest constitutional advances t o o k place against a b a c k g r o u n d o f rapid e c o n o m i c a n d social c h a n g e . D u r i n g the w a r the British W e s t A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s b e c a m e m o r e c l o s e l y integrated w i t h the British e c o n o m y than e v e r before. F r o m 1942 a senior British cabinet minister w a s based in A c c r a t o co-ordinate the c o l o n i e s ' w a r effort. F o r t h e first t i m e t h e c o l o n i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s seriously c o n c e r n e d t h e m s e l v e s w i t h m a x i m i s i n g p r o d u c t i o n in all fields. F o r e x a m p l e , 1 8 0 0 0 l a b o u r e r s w e r e f o r c e d t o w o r k i n t h e m i n e s i n N i g e r i a , a n official m a r k e t i n g - b o a r d s y s t e m f o r e x p o r t crops w a s established, and production drives w e r e launched. A s Peter B a u e r puts it: 'leaflets w e r e d r o p p e d f r o m aeroplanes t o explain t o w o m e n and children c r a c k i n g p a l m kernels in the r e m o t e A f r i c a n b u s h o r g r o w i n g g r o u n d n u t s in the arid semidesert s o u t h o f the Sahara, that their p r o d u c e w a s u r g e n t l y required in the w a r for f r e e d o m ' . 1

State intervention, h o w e v e r , strengthened the position o f e x p a t r i a t e firms, s i n c e it w a s e a s i e r t o o p e r a t e c o n t r o l s t h r o u g h t h e m than t h r o u g h the rising class o f A f r i c a n entrepreneurs a n d s m a l l t r a d e r s , w h o w e r e t h u s a l i e n a t e d a n d b e c a m e after t h e w a r a main source o f nationalist support. T h e controls placed b y the 1

P . T . B a u e r , West African trade ( L o n d o n , 1954), 252.

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colonial g o v e r n m e n t s on prices paid to primary producers,

the

rapid inflation arising f r o m s h o r t a g e s o f i m p o r t s and the increase in t h e n u m b e r o f p e o p l e

flocking

into the t o w n s s e e k i n g w o r k

in t h e n e w i n d u s t r i e s a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o j e c t s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e war

effort

added

fuel

to

the

nationalist

fire.

There

was

multiplication o f trade u n i o n s w h i c h w e r e to p r o v e in b o t h G o l d C o a s t and N i g e r i a i m p o r t a n t supporters o f the

a the

nationalist

cause. In 1945, before the w a r ' s end, N i g e r i a experienced a 44-day general strike against the cost o f l i v i n g . T h e w a r a l s o e n c o u r a g e d l o c a l s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y n o t o n l y in f o o d but

in s u c h i t e m s as f u r n i t u r e a n d

soap - the possibilities o f

p r o d u c i n g t h e s e l o c a l l y i m p r e s s e d n a t i o n a l i s t s . It a l s o m e a n t a c o n s t r u c t i o n b o o m in s o m e a r e a s , a n d s i g n i f i c a n t

improvements

i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , n o t a b l y a i r f i e l d s , b u i l t a n d e x p a n d e d i n all f o u r c o l o n i e s , a n d in L i b e r i a , as R A F a n d A m e r i c a n s t a g i n g p o s t s ( t h e p r e s e n c e o f s o m e 5000 w e l l - p a i d U S s o l d i e r s , m a n y b l a c k , in L i b e r i a is s a i d t o h a v e h a d a ' m a r k e d i m p a c t ' o n ' t r i b a l ' p e o p l e , still s e c o n d - c l a s s c i t i z e n s t h e r e ) .

1

F o r t h e first t i m e t h e

Sierra

L e o n e C o l o n y w a s connected w i t h the Protectorate by a m o t o r a b l e road. Parallel w i t h the cautious constitutional a d v a n c e s , the British g o v e r n m e n t also i n t r o d u c e d the 1940 U K C o l o n i a l D e v e l o p m e n t and Welfare A c t expressing the c o n c e p t , h o w e v e r feebly, o f the duty

of

colonial

powers

to

promote

economic

and

social

d e v e l o p m e n t in t h e i r c o l o n i e s . A l t h o u g h it o w e d its o r i g i n p a r t l y t o c o n c e r n a b o u t c o n d i t i o n s in t h e C a r i b b e a n , its i n t r o d u c t i o n a l s o o w e d m u c h t o w a r t i m e s e n t i m e n t , a n d it i n s i s t e d o n

trade-union

f r e e d o m i n affected c o l o n i e s . A major c o n t r i b u t i o n o f the British W e s t A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s to t h e w a r effort w a s t h e p r o v i s i o n o f t r o o p s a n d c a r r i e r s . A t t h e war's end majority

W e s t African forces numbered

o f w h o m had volunteered

conscripted - against

some

150000-the

for service and

were

8000 at its b e g i n n i n g . T h e y h a d

not

fought

E u r o p e a n s a n d h e l p e d t o l i q u i d a t e a c o l o n i a l e m p i r e in E t h i o p i a , fighting beside white South Africans. O v e r half w e n t to India and distinguished served

t h e m s e l v e s a g a i n s t t h e J a p a n e s e in B u r m a ;

as P i o n e e r s

in

the

Middle

East.

A

few, most

they Sierra

L e o n e a n s , o b t a i n e d c o m m i s s i o n s in the R o y a l A i r F o r c e , b u t w i t h o n e o r t w o e x c e p t i o n s all W e s t A f r i c a n s o l d i e r s , m o s t i l l i t e r a t e , 1

J. G . L i e b e n o w , Liberia: the evolution of privilege ( I t h a c a , 1969), 7 7 - 8 .

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S E C O N D

W O R L D

W A R

w e r e c o m m a n d e d b y British officers. D e s p i t e the fact that A f r i c a n rates o f p a y w e r e m u c h l o w e r than t h o s e o f the B r i t i s h , b r o u g h t cash to s o m e subsistence e c o n o m y areas and

they

compared

f a v o u r a b l y w i t h civilian rates. A r m y technical training also offered n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s . T h e contrast b e t w e e n p a y and p r o s p e c t s in the a r m y a n d c i v i l i a n life l e d e x - s e r v i c e m e n t o l o o k f o r r e d r e s s t o t h e post-war

politicians, most

contributed

notably

proportionately

far

in the

more

G o l d Coast,

to

the

forces

which

than

did

N i g e r i a . B u t w h i l e in the G o l d C o a s t e x - s e r v i c e m e n w e r e p r o m i ­ n e n t i n t h e 1948 A c c r a d i s t u r b a n c e s , i n N i g e r i a t h e m a j o r i t y c a m e f r o m the n o r t h and those in the s o u t h dissipated their in s p l i n t e r Few

influence

organisations.

ex-servicemen

became

political

leaders - M o k w u g o

O k o y e , l e a d e r o f N i g e r i a ' s Z i k i s t m o v e m e n t , is o n e e x c e p t i o n a n d t h e first g e n e r a t i o n o f a n g l o p h o n e A f r i c a n m i n i s t e r s

-

were

n o t a b l y i g n o r a n t o f m i l i t a r y m a t t e r s . N o r is it p o s s i b l e a c c u r a t e l y t o assess

the

political influence

o f their

service overseas

ex-soldiers. F r o m limited personal experience o f serving W e s t A f r i c a n s in E t h i o p i a ,

I could not

g o as far as

on with

Gabriel

Olusanya, w h o declared, ' soldiers w h o w e n t to w a r came back as n e w m e n w i t h n e w i d e a s ' .

1

W a r was primarily a matter o f

s u r v i v a l ; r e l a t i v e l y f e w s o l d i e r s f r o m a n y n a t i o n c a n h a v e s e e n it as a n i n t e l l e c t u a l l y l i b e r a t i n g e x p e r i e n c e o f p e r m a n e n t v a l u e . Y e t a w i d e r e x p e r i e n c e and p e r s p e c t i v e had b e e n g a i n e d , and i f this s e e m e d r a t h e r u n d r a m a t i c at a n i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l , c o l l e c t i v e l y it contributed

to

a critical e v a l u a t i o n

o f the

post-war

colonial

situation. T h e c i v i l i a n s , t o o , w e r e n o less c o n s c i o u s o f t h e d i s a s t e r s

to

British arms than w e r e the soldiers. B u t there w a s n o land fighting in W e s t A f r i c a

although

after

their

success in the

Ethiopian

campaign o f 1 9 4 0 - 1 , W e s t African units temporarily

returned

h o m e to guard against possible attacks from the V i c h y - c o n t r o l l e d F r e n c h c o l o n i e s . Y e t t h e d o u b l y artificial d i v i s i o n b e t w e e n

the

francophone and a n g l o p h o n e countries resulting from the adher­ ence to V i c h y o f the F r e n c h c o l o n i a l authorities - in m a n y cases, p u t t i n g p e o p l e o f the s a m e ethnic g r o u p o n different a

world

conflict - must

have

bewildered

and

Africans, including some technically ' V i c h y '

angered subjects

in the British forces. 1

Olusanya, The Second

World War,

sides in

97.

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many serving

E N G L I S H - S P E A K I N G

W E S T

A F R I C A

O n e g r o u p o f W e s t Africans was politically active throughout t h e w a r : t h e s t u d e n t s a b r o a d , o f w h o m b y 1945 t h e r e w e r e s o m e 1 5 0 in B r i t a i n a n d s o m e 30 in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h e W e s t A f r i c a n S t u d e n t s U n i o n ( W A S U ) in L o n d o n c o n s t a n t l y r a i s e d A f r i c a n problems,

including

the

need

for

substantial

constitutional

change, w i t h British ministers and M P s . T h e corresponding b o d y in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , i n c l u d e d m a n y , p a r t i c u l a r l y I b o s , w h o w e r e t o b e c o m e n a t i o n a l i s t l e a d e r s . B u t in t h e i r c a s e it w a s c o n t a c t w i t h new

concepts

and

systems

rather than

the

war

itself w h i c h

p r o b a b l y had the greater influence.

D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

E v e n after t h e w a r f e w i n W e s t m i n s t e r o r W h i t e h a l l c o u l d f o r e s e e i n d e p e n d e n c e , e v e n f o r W e s t A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s , w i t h i n 20 y e a r s . But some L a b o u r M P s could reconcile democracy and

adult

s u f f r a g e at h o m e w i t h c o l o n i a l r u l e a b r o a d , o n l y b e c a u s e t h a t r u l e w a s s e e n as a t e m p o r a r y t r u s t e e s h i p . It is a L a b o u r P a r t y m y t h , h o w e v e r , that the A f r i c a n colonies reached i n d e p e n d e n c e Labour

rule. O n l y the

Gambia became independent

under

under

a

L a b o u r g o v e r n m e n t , a n d it w a s t h e C o n s e r v a t i v e I a n M a c L e o d w h o s h o w e d the greatest enthusiasm for A f r i c a n s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t . T h e H i g h T o r y Oliver Lyttelton not only found himself urging an apparently c o m p l a c e n t K w a m e N k r u m a h to speed u p

prep­

arations for independence, but also established a close personal r a p p o r t w i t h N i g e r i a n p o l i t i c i a n s at t h e c o n f e r e n c e s t h a t p a v e d t h e w a y f o r N i g e r i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e . Y e t , as A . P . T h o r n t o n

put

it,

on both sides of the House of Commons more attitudes were being struck than principles expressed. Radicals read up on what radicals had been wont to say about the British Empire and said it again... but, remembering their responsibilities, said it in muted tones. Tories continued to strike the imperial note every so often, but more in nostalgia than from conviction. 1

T h e c h a n g e in w o r l d forces and Britain's w e a k n e s s h a d t a k e n the s t e a m o u t o f B r i t i s h i m p e r i a l i s m b y 1 9 4 5 . A d o o r w a s ajar i n W e s t A f r i c a w h i c h n e e d e d o n l y firm p u s h i n g t o o p e n . In n o case w a s independence result

i n C o m m o n w e a l t h W e s t A f r i c a a c h i e v e d as

o f violent

struggle,

even

if the

deaths

following

the the

e x - s e r v i c e m e n ' s d e m o n s t r a t i o n in A c c r a in 1 9 4 8 a n d t h e s h o o t i n g 1

A . P . T h o r n t o n , The imperial idea and its enemies ( L o n d o n , 1975), 332.

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o f 29 m i n e r s b y t h e p o l i c e d u r i n g d i s t u r b a n c e s i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a in 1949 e n c o u r a g e d political m i l i t a n c y , c o n t r i b u t e d to nationalist resentment, and p r o v i d e d p o w e r f u l m y t h s . It w a s p e r s o n a l e q u a l i t y a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n in g o v e r n m e n t s e r v i c e , in c o m m e r c e , a n d in e d u c a t i o n w h i c h W e s t A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t s h a d first d e m a n d e d , a l o n g w i t h t h e r e d r e s s o f s p e c i f i c g r i e v a n c e s . S u c h e q u a l i t y , it b e c a m e c l e a r t o e d u c a t e d A f r i c a n s , w a s a l w a y s uncertain under colonial rule. S o the d e m a n d for s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t - a m o r e a c c u r a t e t e r m t h a n i n d e p e n d e n c e at this s t a g e - g r e w in t h e m i d - 1 9 4 0 s , at least i n t h e G o l d C o a s t a n d Nigeria. E v e n those w h o c o n c e d e d that the British had n o t been o p p r e s s i v e felt t h a t r u l e b y w h i t e m e n w a s h u m i l i a t i n g , a n d t h a t E u r o p e a n s c o u l d n e v e r prefer A f r i c a n o v e r imperial interests. T h e i m p e t u s for W e s t A f r i c a n i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s , in this w o r t h y sense, racial. T h e n a t i o n a l i s t s , u n l i k e t h o s e o f E u r o p e o r m u c h o f A s i a , c o u l d n o t s e e k t o r e c r e a t e a P o l a n d o r a B u r m a , o r in g e n e r a l appeal to past polities. T h e y d e m a n d e d , instead, the right to rule t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e artificial u n i t s i n t o w h i c h E u r o p e h a d p u t t h e m . T h e y n o longer s o u g h t independence for ancient K a n o or A s a n t e , or e v e n for the Y o r u b a o r the W o l o f o r any o f the W e s t A f r i c a n peoples n u m e r o u s e n o u g h to deserve the n a m e o f nation. A l t h o u g h the d e m a n d for s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t b e c a m e increasingly v o c i f e r o u s a n d i n t h e e n d , i r r e s i s t i b l e , i n all c a s e s i n B r i t i s h W e s t Africa independence f o l l o w e d p r o l o n g e d negotiations and careful, t h o u g h always inadequate, preparation. T h e r e were no European settlers a n d t h e r e w e r e n o s t r a t e g i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n s t o e n c o u r a g e British resistance to the d e m a n d , w h i c h , h o w e v e r , w a s n e v e r u n i v e r s a l a n d w a s o p p o s e d b y i n f l u e n t i a l l o c a l g r o u p s in all f o u r countries except, until the e v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , the G o l d C o a s t . In the G a m b i a , earlier c o n s i d e r e d e v e n b y G a m b i a n politicians t o be t o o small to b e self-sufficient, there w a s n o d e m a n d for i n d e p e n d e n c e until the early 1960s. T h e N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l o f the C o l o n y o f Sierra L e o n e o p p o s e d e v e n the representation o f the Protectorate, the greater part o f the c o u n t r y , in the legislature, w h i l e the Sierra L e o n e P e o p l e ' s Party, w h i c h w a s to take Sierra L e o r i e t o i n d e p e n d e n c e i n 1 9 6 1 , a r o s e in t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e l a r g e l y as a r e a c t i o n t o t h i s c o n t e m p t u o u s C r e o l e a t t i t u d e . I n N i g e r i a t h e N o r t h e r n P e o p l e ' s C o n g r e s s ( N P C ) , w h i c h in 1950 b e c a m e a political alliance b e t w e e n traditional forces and the majority o f t h e , still v e r y f e w , w e s t e r n - e d u c a t e d p e o p l e i n t h e N o r t h e r n

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Region, was concerned not with independence but with protecting n o r t h e r n i n t e r e s t s f r o m t h e p o l i t i c a l p r e s u m p t i o n s , as t h e N P C leaders saw them, o f southern politicians. T h e nationalist leaders w h o s l o w l y m o v e d to d e m a n d ' r e q u e s t ' is a b e t t e r w o r d i n m o s t c a s e s - i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e i n n o case either p r o m p t e d b y outside forces or intent o n internal social r e v o l u t i o n . Indeed the c o n v e r s i o n o f the N P C to the cause o f i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s s e e n b y s o m e as r e f l e c t i n g t h e v i e w s o f t h o s e t r a d i t i o n a l f o r c e s w h i c h t h o u g h t t h a t B r i t i s h officials w e r e n o w c o m m i t t e d to policies w h i c h c o u l d only erode traditional p o w e r . T h e y felt t h e y s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e s u p p o r t a n i n d e p e n d e n c e u n d e r w h i c h a party o f w h i c h they c o u l d a p p r o v e w o u l d h o l d the reins. T h e parties w h i c h t o o k the G a m b i a , Sierra L e o n e and N i g e r i a t o i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e all c o a l i t i o n s , e m b r a c i n g a v a r i e t y o f v i e w p o i n t s . B u t the d o m i n a n t elements w e r e moderate, and sometimes conservative, closely connected w i t h b o u r g e o i s fam­ ilies, o r w i t h chiefly h o u s e s . W i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f S i a k a S t e v e n s in Sierra L e o n e n o n e o f the leaders had a base a m o n g the s l o w l y g r o w i n g trade unions. T h e y s o u g h t a transfer o f political p o w e r , not the transformation o f society. T o the extent that e c o n o m i c p o w e r h a d n o t b e e n m o d i f i e d b y i n s t i t u t i o n s s u c h as t h e m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s set u p b y t h e c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t , t h e y w e r e c o n t e n t , at first at l e a s t , t o a l l o w it t o r e m a i n u n d i s t u r b e d i n t h e h a n d s o f overseas companies and market forces, while seeking greater opportunities for local businessmen. T h e G o l d C o a s t w a s g e n e r a l l y t h o u g h t , at l e a s t b y w e s t e r n o b s e r v e r s , t o b e different. B u t the R u s s i a n s , b e f o r e adjusting their sights to suit their international interests, originally, and f r o m their p o i n t o f v i e w r i g h t l y , r e f e r r e d t o a n d r e j e c t e d all t h e W e s t A f r i c a n l e a d e r s as ' b o u r g e o i s - n a t i o n a l i s t s ' ; a n d at first t h e y i n c l u d e d K w a m e N k r u m a h in this d e s p i s e d c a t e g o r y . F o r e v e n his C o n ­ v e n t i o n P e o p l e ' s P a r t y ( C P P ) , as its 1 9 5 1 e l e c t i o n m a n i f e s t o s h o w e d i n its s e c t i o n o n h i r e - p u r c h a s e , c o u l d b e m o r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h protecting traders than their customers and w a s c o n c e r n e d with consumers and with expanding African entrepreneurship rather than w i t h the rights o f w o r k e r s and peasants. A l t h o u g h r e f l e c t i n g real p o p u l a r f e e l i n g , r i g h t e o u s r e s e n t m e n t o v e r racialism, and a c o n v i c t i o n that o n l y Africans c o u l d m a k e just decisions a b o u t the use o f A f r i c a n resources, the parties to w h i c h B r i t a i n ' s i m p e r i a l p o w e r w a s transferred w e r e parties in 340

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w h o s e d e l i b e r a t i o n s t h e r i c h a n d i n f l u e n t i a l - a n d , it m u s t b e e m p h a s i s e d , the e d u c a t e d - p r e d o m i n a t e d a n d w h i c h w e r e in g e n e r a l financially s u p p o r t e d b y i n d i g e n o u s c o m m e r c i a l i n t e r e s t s rather than b y the p e o p l e ' s p e n n i e s . In this, if n o t a l w a y s in their a p p r o a c h t o e x t e r n a l affairs o r t o t h e p l a c e o f f o r e i g n e n t e r p r i s e in t h e i r e c o n o m i e s , t h e r e w a s a s i g n i f i c a n t s i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n t h e G a m b i a ' s P e o p l e ' s C o n g r e s s Party ( P C P ) , the Sierra L e o n e People's Party ( S L P P ) , and Nigeria's National Council o f Nigeria a n d t h e C a m e r o o n s (later t h e N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l o f N i g e r i a n Citizens, N C N C ) , the A c t i o n G r o u p , and the N o r t h e r n P e o p l e ' s Congress ( N P C ) . N o r were there signs, outside Nigeria's N o r t h e r n R e g i o n , o f radical o p p o s i t i o n to these t r i u m p h a n t organisations, all o f w h i c h first c a m e t o p o w e r t h r o u g h e l e c t i o n s - e v e n i f s o m e t i m e s restricted o r indirect - c o n d u c t e d b y British officers.

The Gold Coast

6

i94 ~J7

I n 1 9 4 6 , t h e G o l d C o a s t w a s still c o n s i d e r e d B r i t a i n ' s ' m o d e l c o l o n y ' in A f r i c a . T h e n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n , i n t r o d u c e d b y the G o v e r n o r , Sir A l a n B u r n s , p r o v i d e d for an A f r i c a n majority, largely indirectly elected, in the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l . T h e chiefs, t h o u g h o f t e n i n s e r i o u s c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e i r p e o p l e s , w e r e still s e e n b y t h e B r i t i s h as t h e p e o p l e ' s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a n d as p o w e r f u l p a r t n e r s o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . T h e g r e a t e s t o f t h e m t h e asantehene o f A s a n t e , c a m e t o A c c r a t o s h o w h i s s u p p o r t f o r t h e n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n . B r i t i s h officers still i n i t i a t e d p o l i c y ; b u t a h e a d t h e r e seemed to stretch a peaceful road to a distant independence p e r h a p s i n 15 y e a r s ' t i m e . T h i s w a s a s o r t o f d a t e t h e L a b o u r C o l o n i a l Secretary, A r t h u r C r e e c h - J o n e s , o r an influential C o l o n i a l Office civil s e r v a n t like A n d r e w C o h e n h a d in m i n d . I m p r o v i n g infrastructure and a b o o m i n g r e v e n u e s u g g e s t e d that o n c e post­ w a r shortages w e r e o v e r c o m e , the c o l o n y , the richest in Africa, w o u l d e a s i l y s t a n d o n its o w n feet. I t w a s c o c o a , o f w h i c h t h e G o l d C o a s t w a s the w o r l d ' s leading p r o d u c e r and w h o s e w o r l d price w a s b o o m i n g , that w a s the basis o f prosperity, and w h i c h , in the s o u t h , had p r o d u c e d n o t o n l y a class o f t h r i v i n g farmers, b u t n u m e r o u s merchants and the means for education. 1

National unity, h o w e v e r , w a s tenuous e v e n t h o u g h the population w a s m o r e h o m o g e n e o u s than that o f m o s t A f r i c a n 1

S e e R . D . P e a r c e , The turning point in Africa ( L o n d o n , 1982), 166.

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colonies. Southern politics had scarcely penetrated into A s a n t e , w h i c h the n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n had b r o u g h t u n d e r the c o m p e t e n c e o f t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l ; far less t h e N o r t h e r n T e r r i t o r i e s , w h i c h remained under direct c o n t r o l o f the g o v e r n o r until 1 9 5 1 . A n d A f r i c a n i s a t i o n o f t h e s e n i o r p o s t s in t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e r v i c e , w a s v e r y s l o w ; a m o n g heads o f ministries and c h i e f r e g i o n a l officers there w a s n o t a s i n g l e A f r i c a n as late as 1 9 5 4 . T w e n t y m o n t h s after t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e B u r n s c o n s t i t u ­ t i o n , r i o t s in m a n y p a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y , i n w h i c h t h e r e w e r e 29 deaths, shattered the illusion o f peaceful c h a n g e . T h e elementarys c h o o l l e a v e r s , t h e m a i n s t a y o f t h e a g i t a t i o n a g a i n s t c h i e f s at p o p u l a r level, transferred their a n t a g o n i s m s to the central g o v e r n m e n t i t s e l f a n d t o t h e b i g f o r e i g n firms, a n d j o i n e d w i t h ex-servicemen and other discontented g r o u p s . In the p r e v i o u s year the U n i t e d G o l d C o a s t C o n v e n t i o n ( U G C C ) - the ' C o n v e n t i o n ' — had been founded, largely b y suc­ c e s s f u l p r o f e s s i o n a l m e n a n d m e r c h a n t s in t h e c o a s t a l t o w n s , p a r t l y to express dissatisfaction w i t h the p o w e r f u l p o s i t i o n o f chiefs in t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l , p a r t l y t o p r e p a r e t h e c o u n t r y as a w h o l e f o r s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t - t h e first t i m e t h i s o b j e c t i v e h a d s e r i o u s l y been discussed. A l t h o u g h U G C C leaders w e r e briefly detained f o r t h e i r a l l e g e d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e 1948 d i s t u r b a n c e s , m o s t o f t h e m w e r e as s u r p r i s e d b y t h e s e d i s t u r b a n c e s as w e r e t h e B r i t i s h officials. W h i l e t h e i r d e t e n t i o n at first g a v e t h e m n a t i o n a l popularity, the disturbances released forces they c o u l d not contain, in A s a n t e as m u c h as in t h e C o l o n y . O n e U G C C l e a d e r , h o w e v e r , a s s e s s e d t h e p o s i t i o n a c c u r a t e l y . K w a m e N k r u m a h , after t e n y e a r s in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d a p e r i o d i n v o l v e d i n P a n - A f r i c a n p o l i t i c s in B r i t a i n , h a d b e e n i n v i t e d i n 1 9 4 7 t o r e t u r n t o b e c o m e f u l l - t i m e s e c r e t a r y o f t h e U G C C . F r o m t h e s t a r t it w a s c l e a r t h a t h e w a s o f a different s t a m p f r o m t h e U G C C l e a d e r s , w h o w e r e r e a d y t o u s e t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s as e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t t h e i r d e m a n d t o t h e Colonial Office for s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t , but w h o n e v e r d o u b t e d that t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s d e s t i n e d t o fall i n t o t h e h a n d s o f p e o p l e l i k e t h e m s e l v e s . N k r u m a h , a l t h o u g h he w a s later t o b e c o m e a dictator, at this t i m e a n d f o r m a n y y e a r s u n d e r s t o o d a n d c o u l d c o n t r o l t h e m a s s e s . H e b e l i e v e d t h a t o n e m a n ' s — o r w o m a n ' s — v o t e w a s as g o o d a n d as v a l u a b l e as a n o t h e r ' s a n d h e w a s a l w a y s a c c e s s i b l e to any citizen - t o o accessible for the g o o d o f his g o v e r n m e n t

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w h e n he came to p o w e r . H e also understood, together with men w h o later b e c a m e his lieutenants, the i m p o r t a n c e o f detailed organisation o f political support, including that o f newspapers. H e split w i t h the C o n v e n t i o n t o f o r m his o w n C o n v e n t i o n P e o p l e ' s Party ( C P P ) in J u n e 1949. In the meantime, o n the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f a C o l o n i a l Office c o m m i s s i o n into the dis­ turbances, an all-African c o m m i t t e e under M r Justice C o u s s e y had d r a w n u p a n e w constitution, w h i c h p r o v i d e d for a majority o f African elected Ministers and an elected National A s s e m b l y . T h e C P P at o n c e a d o p t e d the s l o g a n ' S e l f - G o v e r n m e n t N o w ' ; a n d a l t h o u g h its l e a d e r s ' a p p r o a c h w a s u n c e r t a i n , t h e p a r t y i n t h e e n d r e j e c t e d t h e p r o p o s e d n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i c h still f o u n d a p l a c e f o r B r i t i s h officials i n t h e E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l . A t t h e e n d o f 1 9 4 9 the C P P threatened t o take ' P o s i t i v e A c t i o n ' to o b l i g e the British g o v e r n m e n t t o s u m m o n a c o n s t i t u e n t a s s e m b l y , a l t h o u g h it w a s clear that in the g e n e r a l election t o b e held in 1951 u n d e r the Coussey constitution the party could w i n p o w e r and largely a c h i e v e its o b j e c t i v e s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y . I n J a n u a r y 1 9 5 0 ' P o s i t i v e A c t i o n ' , in a half-hearted fashion, w a s declared, largely because the T U C proclaimed a general strike for industrial reasons. T h i s time the G o l d C o a s t g o v e r n m e n t did not lose control and N k r u m a h and other C P P leaders w e r e charged o n various counts and g i v e n g a o l sentences. W h i l e N k r u m a h w a s in g a o l the success o f his p a r t y ' s attention t o o r g a n i s a t i o n a n d t h e d e m o r a l i s a t i o n o f t h e U G C C a n d its supporters w e r e s h o w n b y the C C P ' s o v e r w h e l m i n g v i c t o r y in the A c c r a municipal elections o f 1950, a v i c t o r y w h i c h led to U G C C w a r n i n g s a b o u t red r e v o l u t i o n . T h e G o v e r n o r , Sir Charles A r d e n - C l a r k e , and the C o l o n i a l Office, h o w e v e r , w e r e sure that the C P P w o u l d w i n the 1951 general election and that N k r u m a h w o u l d h a v e to be released from g a o l to lead a C P P g o v e r n m e n t . A f t e r the party's o v e r w h e l m i n g v i c t o r y in 1951 (on a relatively small turn-out f o l l o w i n g l o w registration) he w a s released to b e c o m e L e a d e r o f G o v e r n m e n t B u s i n e s s in a cabinet o v e r w h i c h the g o v e r n o r presided. It w a s t o b e a n o t h e r s i x y e a r s b e f o r e t h e G o l d C o a s t b e c a m e independent. B u t there c o u l d n o w be n o g o i n g b a c k w i t h o u t the use o f a r m e d force. T h e delay w a s d u e partly to the C P P ' S i n c r e a s i n g e m p h a s i s o n its a m b i t i o u s s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c r e f o r m s . B y 1957 the n u m b e r o f pupils in primary and m i d d l e s c h o o l s , for

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e x a m p l e , had m o r e than d o u b l e d and those in technical and secondary schools had quadrupled, while there had been great i m p r o v e m e n t in c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g t h e b e g i n n i n g o f T e m a H a r b o u r . T h e p a r t y ' s realistic a p p r o a c h in s o m e areas o f administration w a s s h o w n b y the g o v e r n m e n t ' s resumption o f c o m p u l s o r y c u t t i n g - o u t o f t r e e s as t h e o n l y m e a n s o f c o n t r o l l i n g s w o l l e n - s h o o t disease in c o c o a , a p o l i c y m u c h resented b y farmers and w h i c h the party itself had attacked in the 1951 election c a m p a i g n . It can b e a r g u e d , i n d e e d , that the C P P ' s greatest contribution to Ghana's progress was made before independence. A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e i n c r e a s i n g e c o n o m i c difficulties ( t h e r e h a d b e e n n o real e c o n o m i c c h a n g e ) , a g r o w i n g o b s e s s i o n w i t h e x t e r n a l affairs, t h e l o s s o f i d e a l i s m as t h e g o v e r n m e n t b e c a m e e n t i r e l y authoritarian, and a w i d e n i n g g a p b e t w e e n profession and reality prevented the a c c o m p l i s h m e n t o f social reform. M o r e s e r i o u s as a n o b s t a c l e t o t h e e a r l y a c h i e v e m e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , h o w e v e r , w a s t h e rise o f t h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t ( N L M ) after t h e 1 9 5 4 e l e c t i o n , w h i c h t h e C P P a g a i n w o n h a n d s o m e l y a l t h o u g h at t h e c o s t o f i n t e r n a l d i v i s i o n i n t h e p a r t y . T h e e l e c t i o n s a w t h e rise o f i n d e p e n d e n t s a n d l o c a l g r o u p s , and the N L M , based in A s a n t e , d r e w t o g e t h e r C P P rebels, local leaders and chiefs in a m o v e m e n t , often v i o l e n t and p o w e r f u l e n o u g h to delay the negotiations w i t h L o n d o n for self-government w h i c h w e r e expected to f o l l o w the election. M a n y chiefs had o p p o s e d t h e C P P , a n d n o w t h e y felt t h a t t h e y c o u l d o p e n l y s u p p o r t - o r in t h e c a s e o f t h e asantehene, l e a d - a c r u s a d e a g a i n s t independence under the party. In A s a n t e , t o o , particular bitterness w a s caused, o r w a s f o s t e r e d , b y t h e N L M , o v e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s fixing f o r f o u r y e a r s o f t h e p r i c e t o b e p a i d t o f a r m e r s f o r t h e i r c o c o a at a l e v e l l e s s than a third o f ruling w o r l d prices. T h e m o v e w a s intended partly t o c o m b a t i n f l a t i o n , p a r t l y t o raise d e v e l o p m e n t f u n d s f r o m t h e difference b e t w e e n the w o r l d price and the local price. H a l f the c o u n t r y ' s c o c o a w a s g r o w n in A s a n t e , a n d n o t o n l y f a r m e r s b u t c o c o a traders, merchants, and e v e n landlords o f b o o m i n g K u m a s i , r e s e n t e d this g o v e r n m e n t r e s t r i c t i o n o n t h e flow o f m o n e y t o A s a n t e , w h i c h for s o m e N L M leaders represented a h e a v y personal loss o f i n c o m e . S o p o w e r f u l d i d t h e m o v e m e n t s e e m t h a t t o test C P P s t r e n g t h the British d e m a n d e d a further election, w h i c h w a s held in 1956, 345

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b e f o r e final n e g o t i a t i o n s . T h e e l e c t i o n s h o w e d t h a t t h e C P P h a d o v e r w h e l m i n g s t r e n g t h in the c o l o n y , and in T r a n s - V o l t a T o g o , w i t h m i n o r i t y b u t still s i g n i f i c a n t s u p p o r t i n A s a n t e a n d t h e n o r t h . B u t o n l y 57 p e r c e n t o f t h e v o t e r s o u t o f a 50 p e r c e n t t u r n - o u t s u p p o r t e d t h e C P P , r e p r e s e n t i n g p e r h a p s 30 p e r c e n t o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . It w a s t h e s m a l l s i z e o f t h i s t o t a l v o t e , r a t h e r t h a n its d i s t r i b u t i o n , w h i c h d i d n o t reflect an i n s u p e r a b l e n o r t h - s o u t h

or

any other kind o f territorial o r tribal d i v i s i o n , that mattered

for

the

Dr

future.

For

this

was not

the

b a s i s f o r d e c l a r i n g , as

N k r u m a h w a s later t o d o , a o n e - p a r t y state; and G h a n a w a s n o t a g a i n t o e x p e r i e n c e a free a n d fair e l e c t i o n u n t i l 1 9 6 9 .

Nigeria

194J-60

P o l i t i c s i n N i g e r i a c a m e t o life i n 1945 w i t h t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e p r o p o s a l s f o r t h e R i c h a r d s C o n s t i t u t i o n , n a m e d after t h e governor. While bringing Northern

Nigeria into

the

then

central

s y s t e m a n d e x t e n d i n g N i g e r i a n representation in the L e g i s l a t i v e and

E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l s , this

established

three

regions

with

representative bodies o f their o w n . T h e proposals, h o w e v e r , w e r e strongly

criticised b y nationalists,

partly

because the

consti­

tution had been i m p o s e d w i t h o u t consultation, partly because the elections w e r e to be ' i n d i r e c t ' . F u r t h e r m o r e , w h e n the Richards C o n s t i t u t i o n w a s d e b a t e d in the H o u s e o f C o m m o n s in 1 9 4 5 , a mere

29 m i n u t e s

w e r e d e v o t e d t o it, w h i c h d i s g u s t e d

many

Nigerians. B e f o r e 1948, politics in N i g e r i a w e r e m o r e turbulent than those in G h a n a . T h e N C N C - the N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l o f N i g e r i a and the C a m e r o o n s , so-called because a part o f C a m e r o u n under

UN

Trusteeship was administered w i t h Nigeria - was a mass m o v e ­ m e n t , i f o n l y in l i m i t e d parts o f the c o u n t r y , o f the k i n d w h i c h the C P P w a s to surpass. N n a m d i A z i k i w e ( Z i k ) w a s a p o p u l a r leader, and an orator - if n o t o r g a n i s e r - w h o m N k r u m a h m i g h t e n v y . B u t in contrast to the G o l d C o a s t a n o t h e r force w a s w a i t ­ i n g in the n o r t h w h i c h w a s t o d o m i n a t e politics until the soldiers t o o k o v e r in 1966. T h i s w a s the N o r t h e r n

People's Congress

( N P C ) , less a political p a r t y t h a n the e x p r e s s i o n o f an e n t r e n c h e d social a n d political s y s t e m . T h e N C N C had, in fact, m a d e political allies i n t h e t h e n N o r t h e r n P r o v i n c e s b e f o r e t h e N P C , w h i c h w a s formally

inaugurated

in

1 9 4 9 as a c u l t u r a l

organisation,

appeared o n the scene. B u t because o f the threatening 346 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

had

influence

D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

18 Nigeria, 1964. o f the N o r t h e r n E l e m e n t s P r o g r e s s i v e U n i o n ( N E P U ) , an ally o f the N C N C , l e a d i n g n o r t h e r n e r s t u r n e d the N P C i n t o an

open

p o l i t i c a l b o d y in 1 9 5 0 . In t h e m e a n t i m e t h e B r i t i s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , l a r g e l y u n d e r influence

o f its C h i e f

Secretary,

Sir

Hugh

Foot,

later

the

Lord

C a r a d o n , had decided that the N i g e r i a n g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d n o t be 9

* o v e r t a k e n b y e v e n t s as t h e G o l d C o a s t g o v e r n m e n t h a d b e e n in 1

1 9 4 8 . S o it p r o p o s e d t h a t a r e v i e w o f t h e R i c h a r d s C o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e a b r u p t i n t r o d u c t i o n o f w h i c h , as w e l l as its p r o v i s i o n s , h a d excited nationalist antipathy, s h o u l d be u n d e r t a k e n b y a series o f local c o n f e r e n c e s c u l m i n a t i n g in a national o n e . T h e g o v e r n m e n t had also made important proposals to a d v a n c e Africanisation o f the senior civil s e r v i c e w h i c h , t o g e t h e r w i t h the consultations, helped to d a m p e n the N C N C s

constitutional

fire.

F o r t h e first t i m e t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n s u l t a t i o n s r e a l l y b r o u g h t the N o r t h e r n P r o v i n c e s into N i g e r i a n national politics, if o n l y for l e a d i n g n o r t h e r n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t o p r o t e c t w h a t t h e y s a w as t h e i r 1

H u g h F o o t , A start in freedom

( L o n d o n , 1964), 103-6.

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W E S T

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interests against s o u t h e r n influences. B u t this p a r t i c i p a t i o n also p r o v o k e d northerners t o question their o w n emirate system. T h e N P C became a party in time for the elections to the Northern H o u s e o f A s s e m b l y under the constitution resulting from the n a t i o n - w i d e d i s c u s s i o n s ; i t s l e a d e r w a s t h e sardauna o f S o k o t o , scion o f the great h o u s e o f U s u m a n d a n F o d i o a n d a talented administrator. In these discussions northern s p o k e s m e n had successfully insisted that representation in the p r o p o s e d national H o u s e o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s s h o u l d reflect p o p u l a t i o n , w h i c h m e a n t t h a t o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e l a t e s t c e n s u s figures t h e n o r t h w o u l d h a v e half the seats. It also meant that the northern leaders, confident in the c o n s e r v a t i s m o f their o w n p e o p l e , w e r e relying o n t h e m to o u t - v o t e the radicals. 1

T h e n e w constitution also p r o v i d e d for a central council o f ministers w i t h a Nigerian majority, a m o n g w h o m the N o r t h e r n R e g i o n w o u l d have one-third o f those elected, and regional councils o f ministers for the W e s t e r n , Eastern, and N o r t h e r n P r o v i n c e s , n o w designated regions. A m o n g those elected in 1952 to the four legislatures w e r e few w h o c o u l d b e called radicals. T h e administration's determination n o t to be taken unawares seemed t o h a v e b e e n successful, a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t l o n g series o f conferences w h i c h negotiated Nigerian independence were marked m o r e b y disputes a m o n g the N i g e r i a n s than disputes b e t w e e n t h e m and the C o l o n i a l Office. A s w e l l as t h e N P C , t h e elections p r o d u c e d a n o t h e r n e w force replacing the moribund Nigerian Y o u t h M o v e m e n t . T h i s was the Action G r o u p under Chief Obafemi A w o l o w o . A l t h o u g h he p r o d u c e d d e t a i l e d p r o g r a m m e s f o r it b e f o r e t h e e l e c t i o n , C h i e f A w o l o w o later f o r m e d t h e party o u t o f those w h o h a d w o n election to the Western H o u s e o f Assembly. A w o l o w o became leader o f the n e w Western R e g i o n g o v e r n m e n t . T h e first c o n s t i t u t i o n t o p r o v i d e f o r t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f N i g e r i a n ministers f o u n d n o n e o f the leaders o f the main parties i n office a t t h e c e n t r e . S o t h e s e n i o r N P C f e d e r a l m i n i s t e r a n d l a t e r Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir A b u b a k a r T a f a w a B a l e w a , respected 2

1

T h e last c e n s u s h a d b e e n t a k e n i n 1931, a n d g a v e t h e N o r t h e r n R e g i o n 11.4 m i l l i o n a g a i n s t 8.6 m i l l i o n f o r t h e r e s t o f t h e c o u n t r y . T h e 1953 c e n s u s g a v e t h e N o r t h e r n R e g i o n 16.8 m i l l i o n a g a i n s t 13.6 m i l l i o n f o r t h e rest o f t h e c o u n t r y , e x c l u d i n g S o u t h e r n Cameroons. A b u b a k a r T a f a w a B a l e w a w a s appointed t o the n e w l y created post o f prime m i n i s t e r o f t h e F e d e r a t i o n i n 1957 a n d w a s k n i g h t e d i n i960. B e f o r e b e c o m i n g p r i m e minister h e l e d t h e N P C in t h e H o u s e o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s as federal minister o f transport. H e w a s o f relatively h u m b l e origin. 2

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m o r e f o r his integrity a n d his intelligence than f o r his d e c i s i v e n e s s , a l w a y s s e e m e d t o b e inhibited b y t h e fact that his N P C party l e a d e r , t h e sardauna, o c c u p i e d t h e n o m i n a l l y i n f e r i o r p o s t o f premier o f the N o r t h e r n R e g i o n . T h e a p p a r e n t u n i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e c e n t r a l a n d - after t h e 1 9 5 3 constitution conference - the federal, g o v e r n m e n t in relation t o the regions w a s the main feature o f N i g e r i a n politics u p t o independence. B u t the s e c o n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t feature h a d already become prominent; the demand for division o f the country into smaller regions, called 'states'. S u c h demands w e r e e n c o u r a g e d b y the g r a n t i n g o f r e g i o n a l status t o t h e tiny S o u t h C a m e r o o n s T r u s t e e s h i p i n 1 9 5 3 . A b o v e all it w a s m a i n t a i n e d i n t h e s o u t h t h a t t h e a l l o c a t i o n o f h a l f t h e seats i n t h e f e d e r a l H o u s e o f Representatives to the Northern R e g i o n meant permanent d o m i n a t i o n o f federal p o w e r b y the N P C , w h i c h w o u l d a l w a y s be assured o f a great majority o f these n o r t h e r n seats. A l t h o u g h v o t i n g f o r t h e m w a s o n t h e f a c e o f it d e m o c r a t i c , s o u t h e r n r e s e n t m e n t r e f l e c t e d t h e v i e w t h a t t h e N P C , b e c a u s e o f its a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y t o w h i c h n o r t h e r n e r s still d e f e r r e d , w o u l d a l w a y s find w a y s o f m a i n t a i n i n g its r e g i o n a l majority. I n practice t h e N P C ruled centrally w i t h allies, n o r m a l l y the N C N C , b u t s o m e t i m e s i n c l u d i n g t h e A c t i o n G r o u p . ' T r i b a l i s m ' , it is s a i d , h a s d o m i n a t e d N i g e r i a n p o l i t i c s . B u t s o m e o f the bitterest political disputes h a v e been w i t h i n ethnically related c o m m u n i t i e s , s o m e o f w h i c h in N i g e r i a n u m b e r m a n y millions o f people. T h i s w a s particularly true a m o n g the Y o r u b a ; b u t t h e 1953 crisis i n E a s t e r n N i g e r i a w a s t h e r e s u l t o f a d i s p u t e between A z i k i w e and s o m e I b o ministers, while the K a n o - b a s e d a n d H a u s a / F u l a n i - l e d N E P U o p p o s e d its o w n N o r t h e r n R e g i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t . Y e t t r i b a l i s m b e c a m e m o r e , n o t l e s s , i m p o r t a n t as N i g e r i a n politics d e v e l o p e d . B y the time o f independence, in i960, it w a s f e a r e d , r i g h t l y as it t u r n e d o u t , t h a t a c o u n t r y w h i c h h a d c o m e t o i n d e p e n d e n c e as a r e s u l t o f c o m p r o m i s e s u n d e r B r i t i s h a u s p i c e s m i g h t n o t i n d e f i n i t e l y p u r s u e t h e s e c o m p r o m i s e s after independence. It w a s A l h a j i S i r A b u b a k a r T a f a w a B a l e w a w h o a p p e a r e d t o m a n y t o b e the guarantee that N i g e r i a w o u l d n o t split apart. F o r a l t h o u g h , as w e h a v e s a i d , h e w a s r e g a r d e d i n t h e n o r t h p r i m a r i l y as a l i e u t e n a n t o f t h e sardauna h e w a s still w i d e l y r e s p e c t e d i n the south a n d b e y o n d N i g e r i a . H e w a s criticised b y s o m e N i g e r i a n M P s f o r b e i n g t o o p r o - w e s t e r n i n e x t e r n a l affairs a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r y

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f o r h a v i n g m a d e at i n d e p e n d e n c e a l i m i t e d d e f e n c e a g r e e m e n t w i t h B r i t a i n . Y e t i m m e d i a t e l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e h e t o o k a firm line at t h e U N a b o u t t h e C o n g o , d e m a n d i n g t h e e x c l u s i o n o f t h e g r e a t p o w e r s f r o m t h e c o u n t r y ' s affairs, w h i l e h i s g o v e r n m e n t s o o n after b r o k e d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w i t h F r a n c e b e c a u s e o f h e r a t o m i c tests in t h e S a h a r a . I n d e p e n d e n c e w a s , in t h e e n d , n o t t h e r e s u l t o f a m a s s m o v e m e n t , but o f peaceful negotiation w i t h the British. N i g e r i a ' s p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p a r t i e s m a y h a v e suffered in t h e i r o w n e s t i ­ m a t i o n , and that o f m a n y others, f r o m this lack o f militancy. B u t at i n d e p e n d e n c e , e v e n i f t h e elite w h o h a d i n h e r i t e d B r i t i s h p o w e r w e r e intent o n retaining their position, N i g e r i a n politicians appear t o h a v e b e e n d e t e r m i n e d t o l i v e d o w n t h e d i v i s i o n s in t h e i r country between north and south, M u s l i m and Christian, Y o r u b a a n d I b o , o l d a n d y o u n g , e d u c a t e d a n d u n e d u c a t e d . Y e t it p r o v e d i m p o s s i b l e , w i t h o u t further and b l o o d y conflict, to erase f r o m Black Africa's b i g g e s t and m o s t c o m p l e x c o u n t r y the legacy o f its artificial c r e a t i o n .

Sierra Leone

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A s late as 1 9 5 1 S i e r r a L e o n e ' s L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l still h a d a m a j o r i t y o f B r i t i s h officials. Y e t t h e l o n g - e s t a b l i s h e d F r e e t o w n schools and F o u r a h B a y C o l l e g e had p r o d u c e d the m o s t h i g h l y e d u c a t e d g r o u p in B l a c k A f r i c a . W h a t c a u s e d t h i s p o l i t i c a l underdevelopment ? S i e r r a L e o n e d e m o n s t r a t e d i n its m o s t a c u t e f o r m t h e ' t w o nations' character o f many African countries. T h e Creoles o f F r e e t o w n and the tiny ' C o l o n y ' area w e r e descendants o f captives rescued from slave ships b y the R o y a l N a v y , or repatriated from L o n d o n and the A m e r i c a s . E n g l i s h w a s their l a n g u a g e , they t o o k E n g l i s h names, w e r e m o s t l y k e e n Christians, and had lost their e t h n i c affiliations. T h e y w e r e B r i t i s h c i t i z e n s a n d p r o u d o f it. B y contrast, in the P r o t e c t o r a t e , w h i c h formally b e c a m e part o f Sierra L e o n e o n l y i n 1 8 9 6 , w e r e p e o p l e s w h o s e affinities l a y w i t h n e i g h b o u r i n g G u i n e a and Liberia, the largest g r o u p s b e i n g the M e n d e o f the s o u t h and the T e m n e o f the n o r t h and west. T h e c o n s t i t u t i o n i n o p e r a t i o n i n 1 9 5 1 g a v e five l e g i s l a t i v e c o u n c i l seats t o t h e C o l o n y a n d t h r e e t o t h e m u c h b i g g e r P r o ­ t e c t o r a t e , n o w k n o w n as ' t h e P r o v i n c e s ' . B u t t h e r e w a s C r e o l e 350

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o p p o s i t i o n to any increase in Protectorate representation, o n the g r o u n d that British ' p r o t e c t e d p e r s o n s ' , particularly illiterate chiefs, c o u l d not legislate for British subjects. T h i s delayed until 1951 the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a c o n s t i t u t i o n p r o v i d i n g for an elected Legislative Council most o f w h o s e members w o u l d come from the P r o t e c t o r a t e ; and, in the E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l , for a m a j o r i t y o f unofficial m e m b e r s w h o w o u l d b e c o m e ministers. C r e o l e intran­ sigence had s o m e justification in v i e w o f the political d o m i n a t i o n o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e b y c h i e f s . It w a s s u p p o r t e d b y S i e r r a L e o n e ' s m o s t f a m o u s r a d i c a l , I. T . A . W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n , a C r e o l e w h o frightened s o m e o f his o w n p e o p l e b e c a u s e o f his M o s c o w l i n k s . H i s W e s t A f r i c a n Y o u t h L e a g u e , established in 1938, w a s Sierra L e o n e ' s first n a t i o n a l i s t g r o u p a n d w a s s u p p r e s s e d d u r i n g t h e w a r . B y 1951 W a l l a c e - J o h n s o n w a s in harness w i t h the m o s t

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intransigent C r e o l e politician, D r B a n k o l e - B r i g h t , in the N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l o f the C o l o n y o f Sierra L e o n e . Protectorate leaders, t o o , had prepared for the 1951 election, and from then o n Sierra L e o n e politics w e r e the politics o f the Protectorate. A l t h o u g h a vestigial Creole protest continued, some C r e o l e politicians f o u n d an i m p o r t a n t place in P r o t e c t o r a t e - b a s e d p a r t i e s , w h i l e C r e o l e s c o n t i n u e d t o h o l d a s i g n i f i c a n t p l a c e in t h e public services and the professions. U n t i l i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1 9 6 1 , a n d until his d e a t h in 1964, the d o m i n a n t figure i n S i e r r a L e o n e p o l i t i c s w a s D r M i l t o n M a r g a i . H i s career illustrates the e v o l u t i o n o f the c o u n t r y ' s politics. S o n o f a M e n d e trader, h e w a s b o r n in 1896 just b e f o r e the B r i t i s h P r o t e c t o r a t e w a s e s t a b l i s h e d a n d w a s t h e first P r o t e c t o r a t e p e r s o n t o t a k e a d e g r e e at F o u r a h B a y C o l l e g e , a n d t h e first t o b e c o m e a physician. H e w a s a founder o f the Protectorate E d u c a t i o n a l P r o g r e s s i v e U n i o n , w h i c h g a v e birth to the Sierra L e o n e P e o p l e ' s Party ( S L P P ) . T h e party s t o o d o n the platform ' O n e C o u n t r y , O n e P e o p l e ' , a n d it i n c l u d e d C r e o l e s a m o n g its o f f i c e r s . Its s t r e n g t h l a y i n its a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h ' b i g m e n ' , p a r t i c u l a r l y a m o n g t h e M e n d e . D r M a r g a i , after a n e a s y e l e c t i o n v i c t o r y , b e c a m e L e a d e r o f G o v e r n m e n t B u s i n e s s in the n e w E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l , w h i c h included a cross-section o f the c o m m u n i t y : a M u s l i m C r e o l e , D r M a r g a i ' s h a l f - b r o t h e r A l b e r t M a r g a i , t h e first P r o ­ tectorate l a w y e r and destined to b e c o m e prime minister, and M r Siaka Stevens, the leading trade unionist and destined to b e c o m e president. W i t h o u t r e p r e s s i o n , S i r M i l t o n , as h e b e c a m e , a c h i e v e d a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y p e r s o n a l a s c e n d a n c y . H e u s e d t h e c h i e f s as a g e n t s . H e c o n c i l i a t e d t h e C r e o l e s a n d a p p e a l e d t o all t r i b a l g r o u p s . H i s a g e stifled c r i t i c i s m b y y o u n g e r p o l i t i c i a n s o f h i s c o n s e r v a t i s m . Indifferent to c e r e m o n y and t o theory, he w a s a l w a y s ready to deal w i t h t r o u b l e s personally. T o illiterate p e o p l e , ' P a ' s e e m e d t o be infinitely w i s e , and t o e d u c a t e d y o u n g s t e r s t o be infinitely w i l y . W h e n s u c h a c o n s e r v a t i v e m a n a s k e d f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e , as h e d i d in i960, the C o l o n i a l Office c o u l d o n l y a g r e e . H i s t e r m o f office, h o w e v e r , i n s p i t e o f t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f stability, w a s troubled. A colonial mineral e c o n o m y w i t h a stagnant agriculture, Sierra L e o n e had the special p r o b l e m o f the illicit d i g g i n g a n d s m u g g l i n g o f d i a m o n d s . T h i s l e d t o l a w l e s s n e s s and corruption, and g a v e s o m e Lebanese traders, a l w a y s relatively

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m o r e i m p o r t a n t in Sierra L e o n e than in a n y o t h e r A f r i c a n c o u n t r y , an unhealthy p o w e r . V i o l e n t strikes for h i g h e r w a g e s in F r e e t o w n in 1955 w e r e d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t t h e m i n i s t e r s , as t h e n e w a u t h o r i t y , as m u c h as a g a i n s t e m p l o y e r s ; a n d t h e r e w a s a s e r i o u s u p r i s i n g in t h e n o r t h t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r a g a i n s t w i d e s p r e a d m a l p r a c t i c e s b y chiefs. A f t e r the independence agreement, Stevens w e n t into o p p o s i t i o n a n d at t h e t i m e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e i n 1 9 6 1 h e a n d s o m e o f his f o l l o w e r s w e r e u n d e r d e t e n t i o n . It w a s . already clear that n o t e v e n P r o t e c t o r a t e u n i t y c o u l d last. L a t e r , h o w e v e r , p e o p l e c a m e t o l o o k b a c k o n t h e a g e o f ' P a ' M a r g a i as a g o l d e n o n e .

The Gambia

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F o r the G a m b i a , e v e n the nationalist politicians s o u g h t s o m e f u t u r e o t h e r t h a n i n d e p e n d e n c e u n t i l a r o u n d i 9 6 0 . It w a s felt t h a t t h e c o u n t r y , w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n o f o n l y 300000, w a s t o o s m a l l , p o o r a n d v u l n e r a b l e t o s t a n d o n its o w n . T h e M u s l i m C o n g r e s s o f Alhaji I b r a i m a h G a r b a - J a h u m p a , for instance, in 1 9 5 7 - 8 w a s asking for a permanent association w i t h Britain. T h i s , o n T r e a s u r y p r o m p t i n g , Britain rejected. B y i960 the G a m b i a had b e c o m e an e m b a r r a s s m e n t t o W h i t e h a l l , f o r it w a s c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e c o u n t r y m i g h t n o t fit t h e ' s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t w i t h i n t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h ' r u b r i c . It w a s h o p e d t h a t its l e a d e r s c o u l d s e c u r e s o m e a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h i n d e p e n d e n t S e n e g a l w h i c h w o u l d a v o i d it h a v i n g t o t a k e c o m p l e t e i n d e p e n d e n c e o n its o w n . S u c h a l i n k , h o w e v e r , w a s rejected for several reasons. It w a s feared that the partnership w o u l d b e v e r y u n e q u a l ; t h e t w o h a d different l e g a l a n d a d m i n ­ i s t r a t i v e s y s t e m s , different official l a n g u a g e s . M a n y G a m b i a n s w o r k i n g in S e n e g a l p r o f i t e d f r o m t h e a r t i f i c i a l l y h i g h v a l u e o f t h e A f r i c a n f r a n c . A l l f e a r e d t h a t c l o s e r a s s o c i a t i o n w o u l d raise G a m b i a n prices. S o m e , t o o , feared the end o f their p r o s p e r o u s s m u g g l i n g trade. A n o t h e r influence w a s that o f the chiefs, w h o c o u l d see t h a t t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s i n S e n e g a l w e r e l a r g e l y powerless. 1

A l t h o u g h there had been G a m b i a n m e m b e r s o f the Legislative C o u n c i l s i n c e 1 8 8 8 , t h e first p o l i t i c a l p a r t y , t h e D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y , 1

I n fact t h e ' C o n f e d e r a t i o n ' e s t a b l i s h e d b y t h e G a m b i a a n d S e n e g a l in 1981, f o l ­ l o w i n g t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f S e n e g a l e s e t r o o p s t o s u p p r e s s a n a t t e m p t e d c o u p in t h e G a m b i a , v i r t u a l l y a c h i e v e d t h i s . A m o n e t a r y u n i o n w a s t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d a n d w h i l e it w a s a g r e e d t h a t e a c h c o u n t r y c o u l d m a i n t a i n its s o v e r e i g n t y , t h e G a m b i a w a s c l e a r l y t h e j u n i o r p a r t n e r in t h e C o n f e d e r a t i o n .

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w a s not formed until 1 9 5 1 , and w a s virtually confined to the capital. T h e same year saw the establishment o f the M u s l i m C o n g r e s s . In 1954 Pierre Sarr N ' J i e , a Bathurst l a w y e r o f W o l o f d e s c e n t , f o r m e d t h e U n i t e d P a r t y w i t h a W o l o f b a s e . It w o n c o n t r o l o f the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l u n d e r a n e w constitution w h i c h p r o v i d e d for an elected majority w i t h a f o r m o f ministerial government. T h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e c a m e in 1 9 5 9 , w h e n t h e P r o t e c t ­ orate People's Society, a charitable organisation, w a s transformed i n t o t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e (later P e o p l e ' s ) P r o g r e s s i v e P a r t y t o fight t h e i960 election, in w h i c h there w a s direct v o t i n g t h r o u g h o u t the country. T h e P P P w o n a clear Protectorate majority but o n l y a m i n o r i t y o f all e l e c t e d s e a t s . T h e c h i e f s w e l c o m e d t h e P P P c a u t i o u s l y b u t its s u p p o r t at first c a m e f r o m M a n d i n k a m e n i n t h e capital w h e r e senior j o b s w e r e in the h a n d s either o f the British, or o f the local Creoles o r urban W o l o f . T h e M a n d i n k a n u m b e r e d a b o u t half the p o p u l a t i o n and w e r e e v e n l y distributed t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y . M a n y M a n d i n k a felt n e g l e c t e d a n d c o n c l u d e d t h a t B a t h u r s t a n d t h e C o l o n y w e r e f a v o u r e d at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e , p a r t i c u l a r l y in e d u c a t i o n . T o lead the n e w party there appeared a m a n w h o w a s to dominate G a m b i a n politics for m a n y years. D a u d a Jawara w a s b o r n i n 1 9 2 4 , s o n o f a p r o s p e r o u s f a r m e r . H e w a s e d u c a t e d at A c h i m o t a C o l l e g e i n t h e G o l d C o a s t , s u b s e q u e n t l y q u a l i f y i n g as a v e t e r i n a r y s u r g e o n in G l a s g o w . H e w a s principal v e t e r i n a r y officer, b u t a b a n d o n e d this c a r e e r f o r a n u n c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l f u t u r e . In the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l , a majority s u p p o r t e d the a p p o i n t m e n t o f P i e r r e N ' J i e as c h i e f m i n i s t e r — G a m b i a n s n o w f o r t h e first t i m e h a d real e x e c u t i v e a u t h o r i t y . B u t i n e l e c t i o n s i n 1 9 6 2 J a w a r a w o n by a substantial margin, and b e c a m e prime minister. H e reverted t o t h e I s l a m i c faith in 1965 a n d w a s k n i g h t e d i n 1 9 6 6 , t h u s c o m b i n i n g t h e h e r i t a g e o f t w o w o r l d s . T h e r e a f t e r t h e U P a n d its leader w e n t into decline. A f t e r an amicably negotiated indepen­ d e n c e in 1 9 6 5 , p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t m o v e d t o d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n t h e ruling P P P . Liberia 1944—64 W h i l e British W e s t Africa was m o v i n g towards independence, Liberia started a process o f internal d e c o l o n i s a t i o n . W h e n W i l l i a m T u b m a n b e c a m e president, in 1944, representation in the legis354

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lature w a s confined to the coastal c o u n t i e s w h e r e the descendants o f Americo-Liberians and other immigrants tended to dominate affairs, w h i l e t h e h i n t e r l a n d m a j o r i t y w a s still r u l e d i n c o l o n i a l fashion w i t h district c o m m i s s i o n e r s s u p e r v i s i n g chiefs. S o m e hinterland peoples had been assimilated into A m e r i c o - L i b e r i a n s o c i e t y a n d i n t o g o v e r n m e n t s e r v i c e . B u t it w a s t h e * u n i f i c a t i o n p o l i c y ' o f President T u b m a n , w h o had an i m p e c c a b l e A m e r i c o Liberian b a c k g r o u n d , w h i c h b e g a n to erode the division o f Liberia into t w o separate c o m m u n i t i e s . In 1944 representation in the H o u s e o f Representatives w a s e x t e n d e d to the hinterland, w h i l e in 1 9 6 4 t h e S e n a t e w a s o p e n e d t o n e w h i n t e r l a n d c o u n t i e s and the ' c o l o n i a l ' administration w a s e n d e d . President T u b m a n a l s o s t r o v e t o a p p o i n t p e o p l e o f ' t r i b a l ' (as t h e y w e r e k n o w n i n l o c a l p a r l a n c e ) b a c k g r o u n d t o s e n i o r p o s i t i o n s a n d h e w a s t h e first president to travel regularly in the interior. S i n c e a n y real p o l i t i c a l c o n t e s t still t o o k p l a c e w i t h i n t h e long-established T r u e W h i g ( ' W i t h H o p e in G o d ' ) Party - the o n l y o n e t h e n t o l e r a t e d , a n d u n d e r t h e firm c o n t r o l o f c o a s t a l l e a d e r s h i p - t h i s p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e at first w a s u n r e m a r k a b l e . T h e old political and social distinction b e t w e e n A m e r i c o - L i b e r i a n s a n d i n d i g e n e s , h o w e v e r , p r o v e d i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult t o m a i n t a i n , e v e n i f t h e d e v e l o p i n g e c o n o m i c c l a s s d i v i s i o n t e n d e d still t o c o r r e s p o n d to the old o n e . T h e citadels o f the presidency and the v i c e - p r e s i d e n c y , as w e l l as l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e p o w e r f u l M a s o n i c o r d e r , p e r h a p s a l o n e r e m a i n e d firmly i n A m e r i c o - L i b e r i a n h a n d s . President T u b m a n also b r o u g h t L i b e r i a fully into continental African politics, in w h i c h he p l a y e d the role o f elder statesman, p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e N i g e r i a n c i v i l w a r w h e n h e firmly s u p ­ p o r t e d the federal cause. H i s ' o p e n - d o o r ' e c o n o m i c p o l i c y , w h i l e c r i t i c i s e d b y s o m e as t o o g e n e r o u s t o f o r e i g n c o n c e s s i o n a i r e s , ensured that Liberia n o l o n g e r relied e c o n o m i c a l l y o n the U n i t e d States. T h e e c o n o m y , h o w e v e r , remained heavily d e p e n d e n t o n an e x p o r t t r a d e b a s e d o n m i n i n g a n d p r i m a r y p r o d u c t i o n .

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F e w W e s t Africans expected independence itself to s o l v e political, e c o n o m i c and social p r o b l e m s - e x c e p t p e r h a p s , in the early d a y s , t h o s e C P P s u p p o r t e r s w h o e c h o e d D r N k r u m a h : ' S e e k y e first t h e p o l i t i c a l k i n g d o m a n d all t h i n g s w i l l b e a d d e d u n t o i t . '

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Independence, instead, emphasised existing p r o b l e m s and b r o u g h t f o r w a r d n e w o n e s , in particular the fragile sense o f national c o n s c i o u s n e s s and the c o n s e q u e n t m a n i p u l a t i o n o f ethnic senti­ m e n t b y p o l i t i c i a n s a n d o t h e r s ; c o r r u p t i o n at all l e v e l s ; w e a k n e s s o f the p u b l i c s e r v i c e s and lack o f r e s o u r c e s in face o f the aspirations o f the n e w g o v e r n m e n t s ; the n e r v o u s n e s s o f ruling g r o u p s w h o lacked the confidence o f an established social order. T h e r e w e r e t h e difficulties o f a d j u s t i n g i m p o r t e d , t h o u g h n o t i m p o s e d , institutions t o l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s resulting in the estab­ lishment o f one-party o r military rule; the excessive rewards o f political p o w e r , the fragility o f independence w h e n the e c o n o m i e s d e p e n d e d s o h e a v i l y b o t h o n t h e o p e r a t i o n s o f f o r e i g n firms internally and o n w o r l d market forces; and the incipient conflict b e t w e e n rich and p o o r , t o w n and country, educated and unedu­ cated. T h e s e d i v i s i o n s n o w displaced the o l d differences b e t w e e n c h i e f s a n d c o m m o n e r s , o r b e t w e e n c o a s t a l a n d i n l a n d p e o p l e s , as w e l l as b e t w e e n c o l o n i a l i s t s a n d c o l o n i a l s . T h e w e a k n e s s o f n a t i o n a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s in A f r i c a is e a s i l y e x a g g e r a t e d . Y e t i n all W e s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s p o l i t i c i a n s w e r e a l w a y s in d a n g e r o f y i e l d i n g t o the t e m p t a t i o n t o m a k e tribal o r p a r t i c u l a r i s t a p p e a l s . Y e t t h e N i g e r i a n c i v i l w a r a n d its a f t e r m a t h s t r e n g t h e n e d n a t i o n a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s . L a r g e - s c a l e c o r r u p t i o n i n all a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n states e x c e p t t h e G a m b i a h a s b e e n w e l l d o c u m e n t e d (it s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t t h i s d o c u m e n t a t i o n is t h e w o r k o f the g o v e r n m e n t s themselves). W i t h the exception o f the G a m b i a all a n g l o p h o n e states i n W e s t A f r i c a d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d e x p e r i e n c e d military o r o n e - p a r t y r e g i m e s , s h o w i n g the difficulty o f transplanting the W e s t m i n s t e r and the W h i t e h a l l systems. B u t n o w o r k a b l e i n d i g e n o u s alternative w a s d e v i s e d , e v e n if the A m e r i c a n rather than the British system w a s ultimately preferred. P r o t a g o n i s t s o f t h e o n e - p a r t y s y s t e m c l a i m e d it as a t r u l y African concept relying not o n the continuous interplay o f o p p o s i n g g r o u p s b u t o n an alleged search for c o m p r o m i s e . T h e y d i d n o t e x p l a i n h o w a m e t h o d f o r c o n d u c t i n g affairs i n a s m a l l c h i e f d o m w a s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r a l a r g e m o d e r n state. C l e a r l y , h o w e v e r , the Westminster * winner-take-all' principle m i g h t o n l y p r o d u c e bitter, and possibly violent, o p p o s i t i o n since the rewards o f political p o w e r w e r e so great. W e s t Africa witnessed victorious p a r t i e s i n n o m i n a l l y m u l t i - p a r t y s y s t e m s - i n S i e r r a L e o n e as w e l l as in N i g e r i a ' s r e g i o n s - b e h a v i n g as d o m i n a n t o n e - p a r t y r e g i m e s 356

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a n d i n t r u d i n g p a r t y a n t i p a t h i e s i n t o d a i l y life, i n t o t h e a w a r d o f scholarships, into appointments and e v e n into the l o w e r courts. B e h i n d all m i l i t a r y c o u p s i n W e s t A f r i c a t h e r e l a y a r m y g r i e v a n c e s as w e l l as h o s t i l i t y t o c i v i l i a n g o v e r n m e n t s a r i s i n g f r o m other causes. F o r e x a m p l e , in G h a n a C o l o n e l A c h e a m p o n g w a s said t o h a v e o v e r t h r o w n D r B u s i a i n 1 9 7 2 b e c a u s e h e a n d o t h e r officers w e r e i n c e n s e d b y t h a t g o v e r n m e n t ' s w i t h d r a w a l o f a r m y p r i v i l e g e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s a r m y rule in a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a in general w a s not oppressive and the courts, civil services and n e w s p a p e r s p r o v e d to h a v e b e e n in n o m o r e d a n g e r f r o m soldiers t h a n f r o m c i v i l i a n s . M i l i t a r y r u l e , h o w e v e r , as s h o w n b y t h e s e r i e s o f c o u p s and a t t e m p t e d c o u p s in G h a n a and N i g e r i a and the forcible o v e r t h r o w o f the one-year-old F r e e t o w n military r e g i m e b y p r i v a t e soldiers in 1968, w a s n o m o r e stable t h a n o n e - p a r t y rule. In spite o f ritual d e n u n c i a t i o n o f f o r e i g n c o m m e r c i a l enterprises b y p o l i t i c i a n s , a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s all s o u g h t to e n c o u r a g e f o r e i g n i n v e s t m e n t , t h o u g h often in practice dis­ c o u r a g i n g it. E v e n D r N k r u m a h h a d n o a n t i p a t h y t o f o r e i g n private enterprise. It w a s G h a n a i a n p r i v a t e enterprise that he stifled, s e e i n g its d e v e l o p m e n t as a t h r e a t t o h i s t h e o r i e s as m u c h as t o h i s r e g i m e . A l l t h e s e c o u n t r i e s , h o w e v e r , felt t h e m s e l v e s t o b e at t h e m e r c y o f t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l m a r k e t s i n c e , i n s p i t e o f O P E C and other p r o d u c e r s ' organisations, d e m a n d and prices for their e x p o r t s d e p e n d e d o n e c o n o m i c decisions in the industrialised countries. In W e s t Africa, e v e n a m o n g the N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a n aristocracy, b i r t h c o n f e r r e d f e w p r i v i l e g e s after i n d e p e n d e n c e . B u t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e m a j o r i t y - p a r t i c u l a r l y f a r m e r s - all officials, p r o f e s s i o n a l p e o p l e and e v e n industrial w o r k e r s seemed p r i v i l e g e d . State b o d i e s in b e w i l d e r i n g n u m b e r s h a d l i t t l e t o d o w i t h s o c i a l i s m b u t instead p r o d u c e d a kind o f state-supported, if insecure, b o u r g e ­ o i s i e . E d u c a t i o n , at l e a s t o f t h e h i g h e r k i n d s , still m a r k e d p e o p l e o u t , and in N i g e r i a d e m a n d s for the c r e a t i o n o f n e w states t e n d e d t o c o m e f r o m g r o u p s f e e l i n g at a d i s a d v a n t a g e c o m p a r e d w i t h m o r e h i g h l y e d u c a t e d p e o p l e in t h e e x i s t i n g s t a t e s . M i l i t a r y r u l e in N i g e r i a and G h a n a c o n c e a l e d social tensions. W h e n they e m e r g e d , h o w e v e r , t h e y w e r e still m o r e l i k e l y t o b e b a s e d o n a g e o r ethnic g r o u p than o n social class.

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Independent Ghana G h a n a entered independence w i t h immense international g o o d ­ w i l l , w i t h D r N k r u m a h as p r i m e m i n i s t e r . H e h a d w o n a d e c i s i v e e l e c t i o n v i c t o r y , b u t w i t h t h e v o t e s p r o b a b l y o f o n l y 30 p e r c e n t o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . O p p o s i t i o n M P s n u m b e r e d 43 a g a i n s t t h e C P P ' s 5 7; s o , in s p i t e o f t h e v i o l e n c e o f t h e p e r i o d w h e n t h e N L M w a s c a m p a i g n i n g a g a i n s t t h e C P P , it s e e m e d p o s s i b l e t h a t a multi-party parliamentary system could survive. T h e r e w e r e , h o w e v e r , o m i n o u s signs. D u r i n g the independence c e l e b r a t i o n s , a v i o l e n t u p r i s i n g t o o k p l a c e in T r a n s v o l t a T o g o l a n d , the former T r u s t T e r r i t o r y o f S o u t h e r n T o g o l a n d , integrated w i t h G h a n a after a U N - c o n d u c t e d p l e b i s c i t e w h o s e r e s u l t s w e r e c h a l l e n g e d b y s o m e s o u t h e r n T o g o l e a d e r s . T h e last e x e c u t i v e a c t o f S i r C h a r l e s A r d e n - C l a r k e as g o v e r n o r w a s t o s e n d t h e G h a n a a r m y in t o q u e l l t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s . T h e s u b s e q u e n t a c q u i t t a l o n a technicality o f t w o o p p o s i t i o n leaders a c c u s e d o f c o m p l i c i t y in the v i o l e n c e l e d C P P l e a d e r s t o q u e s t i o n t h e efficacy o f c o n v e n t i o n a l legal machinery. A c c r a itself also experienced disturbances caused by a n e w m o v e m e n t a m o n g the area's G a p e o p l e . T h e g o v e r n m e n t t o o k a s e r i e s o f m e a s u r e s w h i c h it d e c l a r e d n e c e s s a r y b e c a u s e o f its o p p o n e n t s ' v i o l e n c e . T h e s e i n c l u d e d r e m o v a l o f chiefs w h o had supported the o p p o s i t i o n , and they c u l m i n a t e d in t h e P r e v e n t i v e D e t e n t i o n A c t , p a s s e d i n J u l y 1 9 5 8 , after t h e a l l e g e d d i s c o v e r y o f a p l o t l e d b y a n o p p o s i t i o n M P . P e o p l e c o u l d n o w b e d e t a i n e d f o r p e r i o d s o f five y e a r s w i t h o u t a p p e a l . T h e a c t w a s u s e d first a g a i n s t 38 l e a d i n g m e m b e r s o f t h e opposition and then against opposition within the ruling party itself. T h e f u s i o n o f state a n d p a r t y p o w e r n o w b e g a n , w i t h t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f C P P m e m b e r s as r e g i o n a l a n d d i s t r i c t c o m m i s ­ s i o n e r s in p l a c e o f c i v i l s e r v a n t s . A C P P o r g a n i s a t i o n w a s g i v e n m o n o p o l y representation o f farmers, w h i l e the T U C c a m e u n d e r party control and independent cooperatives w e r e crushed. M P s started to leave the o p p o s i t i o n , w h i c h w a s n o w o r g a n i s e d into the United Party under D r Busia, and w a s beginning to lose local elections. B y i960 the n u m b e r o f o p p o s i t i o n M P s had been h a l v e d . In that year D r N k r u m a h w a s elected e x e c u t i v e president w i t h o v e r w h e l m i n g p o w e r s , b u t still b y o n l y a m i n o r i t y o f t h e

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r e g i s t e r e d e l e c t o r s . H e h a d e a r l i e r r e f e r r e d t o t h e C P P as c o n t a i n i n g 'the vast majority o f o u r c o u n t r y ' . 1

T h e C P P , once a genuinely popular movement, declined, increasingly reflecting the ideas o f o n e m a n and the functionaries flourishing in his s h a d o w . I n 1 9 6 1 a s e r i o u s s t r i k e o f r a i l w a y m e n protesting against prices w a s summarily ended. B u t the strikers a n d o t h e r s c o u l d see h o w f u n c t i o n a r i e s w e r e e n r i c h i n g t h e m s e l v e s ; a n d in h i s f a m o u s ' D a w n B r o a d c a s t ' o f 1 9 6 1 N k r u m a h h i m s e l f a c c u s e d t h e p a r t y ' s o l d g u a r d o f a b u s i n g t h e i r offices. T h e i r p l a c e s were then taken by p e o p l e w h o o w e d their positions entirely to the president, and w h o e c h o e d his theories. A n u m b e r o f the o l d g u a r d returned w h e n s o m e o f the n e w m e n w e r e accused o f c o m p l i c i t y in a t t e m p t s t o a s s a s s i n a t e N k r u m a h . In a plebiscite held in 1964 t o c o n f i r m m e a s u r e s to g i v e the president greater control o v e r the judiciary and to turn G h a n a officially i n t o a o n e - p a r t y s t a t e , 9 3 p e r c e n t o f t h e e l e c t o r a t e w e r e said t o h a v e v o t e d f o r t h e p r e s i d e n t ' s m e a s u r e s . O n l y f o r c e c o u l d n o w r e m o v e h i m , a n d after m a n y r u m o u r s t h e a r m y , l e d b y C o l o n e l K o t o k a , finally m o v e d , o n 24 F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 6 , w h i l e t h e president w a s a b r o a d in C h i n a . W h y did K o t o k a u n d e r t a k e this risky v e n t u r e ? M a n y had said t h a t i f t h e p r e s i d e n t left G h a n a h e w o u l d n e v e r r e t u r n ; f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s s t a n d i n g h a d s u n k s o l o w t h a t it c o u l d n o t s u r v i v e his a b s e n c e . K o t o k a h a d p e r s o n a l g r i e v a n c e s a b o u t

promotion

a n d p o s t i n g a n d s h a r e d t h e a r m y ' s r e s e n t m e n t t h a t it w a s b e i n g reduced to an ill-equipped g e n d a r m e r i e , w h i l e the

Presidential

G u a r d w a s p a m p e r e d . B u t h e a l s o felt a s h a m e d o f h i s g o v e r n m e n t , and

that public o p i n i o n

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D i s g u s t w i t h N k r u m a h ' s r e g i m e w a s n o t the result so m u c h o f its a u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m o r c o r r u p t i o n , o r o f h i s e x t r a v a g a n t p o l i t i c a l a i m s , as o f its i n c o m p e t e n c e a n d p r o f l i g a c y . F o r D r N k r u m a h a n d his c o l l e a g u e s t h e a n s w e r t o a n e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m w a s y e t a n o t h e r c o s t l y b o a r d o r c o r p o r a t i o n , w i t h a n e w office b l o c k , o v e r s t a f f e d b y p a r t y s u p p o r t e r s , a n d w i t h its o w n fleet o f c a r s . At

independence

million, adequate machine.

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Ghana

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a n efficient

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D e n n i s A u s t i n , Politics in Ghana 1946-60 ( O x f o r d , 1964), 180.

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b y foreign c o m p a n i e s - o f s o m e £ 2 5 0 m i l l i o n . L o c a l f o o d w a s prohibitively expensive and there w a s a chronic shortage o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s t u r n i n g the m a r k e t w o m e n , for l o n g p o w e r f u l s u p p o r t e r s , a g a i n s t t h e p r e s i d e n t . F r o n t i e r s w i t h all G h a n a ' s n e i g h b o u r s w e r e c l o s e d , w h i l e t h e p r i s o n s w e r e full. T h e w o r l d c o c o a p r i c e h a d d r o p p e d t o its l o w e s t p o s t - w a r p o i n t , a n d t h e effects w e r e c o m p o u n d e d b y G h a n a ' s m a r k e t i n g o p e r a t i o n s . C o c o a b a r t e r d e a l s w i t h C o m m u n i s t c o u n t r i e s i n fact p r o b a b l y strengthened the w o r l d market price; but G h a n a received from the C o m m u n i s t countries o n l y sub-standard or inappropriate goods. N k r u m a h w a n t e d a planned, socialist, independent and n o n a l i g n e d e c o n o m y ; b u t i n p r a c t i c e t h e r e w a s little real p l a n n i n g . I m p o r t controls, necessary to p r o v i d e foreign e x c h a n g e for n e w industrial equipment, made operation o f existing factories im­ possible. T h e r e w a s little s o c i a l i s m either, and n o equality b e t w e e n p a r t y f u n c t i o n a r i e s a n d t h e m a s s o f p e o p l e . T h e r e w e r e state enterprises in p l e n t y , b u t these s e r v e d bureaucrats, o r a f a v o u r e d constituency, and the majority o f t h e m lost m o n e y heavily. In spite o f s t u p e n d o u s waste, h o w e v e r , the N k r u m a h r e g i m e had m u c h t o s h o w . O n e o f D r N k r u m a h ' s last p u b l i c a c t s w a s t o i n a u g u r a t e the £ i 2 o - m i l l i o n V o l t a hydroelectricity scheme, w i t h w h i c h w a s associated the £50 million V a l c o aluminium smelter, the b i g g e s t non-oil private project in W e s t Africa. T h e n e w military regime w a s w e l c o m e d w i t h enthusiasm and f o u n d a c i v i l s e r v i c e e a g e r t o h e l p it. F o r t h e p r e s s i n g e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s it f a c e d t h e r e m e d i e s w e r e m o s t l y c l e a r ; t h e d i f f i c u l t y w a s to apply them. Creditor countries, for example, concerned w i t h setting precedents, w e r e u n r e a d y t o g o the w h o l e w a y in rescheduling the N k r u m a h debts, but speedy shipment o f U S surplus f o o d and r a w materials helped to p e g the cost o f living. T h e r e g i m e c u t d o w n s p e n d i n g , b u t it h a d t o b e c a r e f u l n o t t o inflate u n e m p l o y m e n t . T h e r e g i m e a l s o t u r n e d t o t h e W o r l d B a n k a n d t h e I M F , w h o s e a d v i c e N k r u m a h h a d i g n o r e d , as w e l l as t o the U N . T h e frontiers w e r e o p e n e d to f o o d i m p o r t s , and w e s t e r n g o v e r n m e n t s p r o v i d e d credit. O n e controversial m o v e w a s the offer t o p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n s o m e s t a t e e n t e r p r i s e s . T h e object w a s to encourage Ghana's businessmen, w h o had been suppressed by D r N k r u m a h . T h e military g o v e r n m e n t dismissed party functionaries 360

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abolished various ideological bodies. B u t without creating unem­ p l o y m e n t it c o u l d n o t a b o l i s h t h e W o r k e r s ' B r i g a d e , w h i c h h a d o r i g i n a l l y b e e n f o u n d e d i n 1 9 5 7 as t h e B u i l d e r s ' B r i g a d e t o ' p r o v i d e a useful o c c u p a t i o n for the u n e m p l o y e d w h o are unable to secure either a formal apprenticeship o r steady e m p l o y m e n t ; t o afford t h e y o u t h o f t h e c o u n t r y a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o g i v e p a t r i o t i c s e r v i c e i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y , a n d t o assist i n t h e e x e c u t i o n o f d e v e l o p m e n t projects, especially in rural areas'. F r e q u e n t l y , h o w e v e r , it h a d a c t e d as a b o d y o f s t o r m - t r o o p e r s . T h e r e g i m e w a s l u c k y t h a t its a d v e n t c o i n c i d e d w i t h a w o r l d c o c o a m a r k e t r e c o v e r y . B u t D r N k r u m a h ' s p o l i c i e s i n h i s last y e a r s s e e m almost consciously to h a v e been designed to reduce the e c o n o m y t o b a n k r u p t c y . A n o t h e r r e g i m e c o u l d n o t fail t o i m p r o v e t h i n g s e v e n i f - o r p e r h a p s p a r t i c u l a r l y i f - it d i d n o t h i n g . A p a r t from arresting, b u t n o t really reversing, e c o n o m i c decline, the military r e g i m e ' s greatest a c h i e v e m e n t w a s t o restore d e m o c r a t i c civilian rule to G h a n a in an election in 1969, w h i c h w a s a m o d e l o f fairness. U n h a p p i l y the t w o m a i n parties, the Progress Party (PP) and the N a t i o n a l A l l i a n c e o f Liberals ( N A L ) a l t h o u g h issuing sober election manifestos - b a c k e d their national d e m a n d s w i t h particularist tribal appeals in the s o u t h e r n r e g i o n s . In the northern regions the national parties strongly c h a m p i o n e d d i f f e r i n g s i d e s i n l o c a l d i s p u t e s , s u c h as s u c c e s s i o n t o t h e Y e n d i chieftancy. 1

U n d e r D r B u s i a , an a d m i n i s t r a t o r and intellectual t u r n e d politician, the P P f o r m e d a g o v e r n m e n t w h o s e record, in v i e w o f t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l c a l i b r e o f its m e m b e r s , w a s d i s a p p o i n t i n g . I t s attempt, for e x a m p l e , t o reduce u n e m p l o y m e n t in G h a n a b y e x p e l l i n g n o n - G h a n a i a n s w a s n o t o n l y h a r s h , as t h o u s a n d s o f t h o s e affected h a d l i v e d i n G h a n a f o r m a n y y e a r s , b u t s e r i o u s l y d i s r u p t e d c o m m e r c e . I n t h e e n d , h o w e v e r , it w a s t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f controlling s m u g g l i n g - together w i t h the G h a n a i a n predilec­ tion for i m p o r t e d g o o d s - and the w e a k , if politically dispassi­ onate, w o r l d cocoa market w h i c h caused D r Busia, under I M F p r o m p t i n g , to d e v a l u e G h a n a ' s c u r r e n c y b y 44 per cent in 1 9 7 2 . O n c e m o r e the a r m y m o v e d . B u t this time C o l o n e l A c h e a m p o n g c o u l d n o t use the justification used b y C o l o n e l K o t o k a , since there 1

T h i s w a s o n e o f t h e m a j o r c h i e f t a n c i e s in n o r t h e r n G h a n a . T h e d e a t h o f t h e c h i e f left a v a c a n c y w h i c h c o u l d b e filled b y a n y o f a n u m b e r o f c a n d i d a t e s f r o m r u l i n g h o u s e s . P P backed one candidate and N A L another.

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w a s n o d o u b t t h a t D r B u s i a w o u l d h a v e f a c e d i n d u e c o u r s e a free a n d fair e l e c t i o n . A c h e a m p o n g ' s o n l y j u s t i f i c a t i o n m i g h t h a v e b e e n that the e c o n o m i c p e r f o r m a n c e o f his r e g i m e w a s greatly s u p e r i o r t o D r B u s i a ' s . Y e t o v e r s i x y e a r s later, after A c h e a m p o n g ' s o v e r t h r o w , h i s s u c c e s s o r s h a d t o d e v a l u e b y o v e r 100 p e r c e n t . S o , in spite o f s o m e earlier successes in c a m p a i g n s t o g r o w m o r e f o o d and industrial r a w materials, the failure and the c o r r u p t i o n o f the A c h e a m p o n g r e g i m e s h o w e d that military g o v e r n m e n t had offered little t o G h a n a .

Independent Nigeria J u s t as G h a n a ' s i n d e p e n d e n c e c e l e b r a t i o n s t h r e e y e a r s e a r l i e r h a d b e e n m a r r e d b y a p o p u l a r u p r i s i n g in T r a n s v o l t a - T o g o , s o , b u t t o far less p u b l i c i t y , N i g e r i a ' s c e l e b r a t i o n s i n O c t o b e r i 9 6 0 w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d b y widespread disburbances a m o n g the T i v o f the then N o r t h e r n R e g i o n . T h e T i v had local g r i e v a n c e s w h i c h their l e a d e r s felt c o u l d b e m e t o n l y b y t h e c r e a t i o n o f a * M i d d l e B e l t ' state o u t o f t h e n o n - M u s l i m a r e a s o f t h e N o r t h e r n R e g i o n . T h e d e m a n d f o r n e w states t o s e p a r a t e m i n o r i t i e s f r o m t h e e t h n i c majorities o f the three main r e g i o n s w a s an i m p o r t a n t feature o f p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e p o l i t i c s . I n d e p e n d e n c e s h a r p e n e d it, a n d it s o o n b e c a m e c l e a r t h a t t h e findings o f a C o l o n i a l O f f i c e c o m m i s s i o n , w h i c h had reported just before i n d e p e n d e n c e , that the creation o f n e w states w a s u n d e s i r a b l e a n d w o u l d n o t c a l m t h e m i n o r i t i e s ' fears, w e r e m i s t a k e n . I n a n y c a s e , b e c a u s e in e a c h r e g i o n t h e largest ethnic g r o u p tended to d o m i n a t e the ruling party, the d e m a n d f o r n e w states b e c a m e a m a j o r c a u s e o f p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y , a n d e a c h o f t h e t h r e e m a i n p a r t i e s e x p l o i t e d it t o t h e d i s a d v a n t a g e o f the others. O n l y in t h e M i d - W e s t a r e a o f t h e W e s t e r n R e g i o n , h o w e v e r , w a s it f o u n d p o l i t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e , i n 1 9 6 3 , t o s e p a r a t e a m i n o r i t y area f r o m a r e g i o n a n d c r e a t e a n e w r e g i o n . It w a s n o t u n t i l 1 9 6 7 , o n the e v e o f the civil w a r , that G e n e r a l G o w o n d i v i d e d N i g e r i a i n t o 12 s t a t e s , i n c l u d i n g t h r e e i n t h e E a s t e r n R e g i o n , t w o o f w h i c h w e r e d e s i g n e d to detach the minorities there f r o m the d o m i n a n t I b o s w h o w e r e t h e m a i n s t a y o f t h e r e b e l l i o n (fig. 20). T h e r e a f t e r in 1 9 7 6 c a m e t h e d i v i s i o n o f t h e rest o f N i g e r i a i n t o 1 9 s t a t e s , b u t e v e n t h a t left s o m e s i g n i f i c a n t e t h n i c g r o u p s d i s s a t i s f i e d .

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20 Nigeria: the 12 states. S o l o n g as t h e N o r t h e r n R e g i o n c o m m a n d e d h a l f t h e seats i n the federal H o u s e o f Representatives and c o n t a i n e d w e l l o v e r half t h e c o u n t r y ' s a r e a , t h e N i g e r i a n f e d e r a t i o n w a s at b e s t u n s t a b l e , at w o r s t u n w o r k a b l e . S o u t h e r n fears o f p e r p e t u a l n o r t h e r n d o m i n a t i o n w e r e m a t c h e d b y the determination o f n o r t h e r n leaders n o t to a l l o w the d i v i s i o n o f their r e g i o n u n d e r any c i r c u m s t a n c e s . A n d a l t h o u g h t h e N C N C f o u n d it c o n v e n i e n t f o r m o s t o f the p r e - 1 9 6 6 p e r i o d to join the N P C in the federal g o v e r n m e n t o f Sir A b u b a k a r T a f a w a B a l e w a — D r A z i k i w e b e c a m e ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l ' g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l in i960, then presi­ dent — the prospect o f permanent ' northern d o m i n a t i o n ' d r o v e s o m e s o u t h e r n l e a d e r s t o d e s p e r a t e a c t s , s u c h as a d v o c a c y o f secession f r o m the federation. In this sense, failure t o m e e t the d e m a n d f o r t h e s u b - d i v i s i o n o f t h e r e g i o n s , a l t h o u g h it w a s a self-interested d e m a n d , threatened the s u r v i v a l o f the federation as a w h o l e .

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It w a s t h e u s e o f t h e a r m y t o d e a l w i t h t h e v i o l e n t o p p o s i t i o n o f A c t i o n G r o u p supporters against the r i g g e d elections w h i c h the N P C - s u p p o r t e d g o v e r n m e n t o f the W e s t e r n R e g i o n w o n in 1965, and the virtual b r e a k d o w n o f l a w and o r d e r in the r e g i o n , w h i c h l e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e m i l i t a r y t a k e - o v e r i n J a n u a r y 1 9 6 6 . It w a s b e l i e v e d in parts o f the N o r t h e r n R e g i o n that the military g o v e r n m e n t h a d n o t o n l y b e e n i n s t a l l e d as p a r t o f a n ' I b o p l o t ' , b u t w o u l d p l a c e I b o officials i n c h a r g e o f t h e r e g i o n . T h i s l e d t o t h e later m u r d e r o f I b o s a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y , i n 1 9 6 7 , t o t h e c i v i l war. T h e w a r w a s n e v e r , as it w a s o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d , a c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n I b o and Hausa. T h e majority o f the federal infantry c a m e f r o m t h e n o n - M u s l i m areas o f t h e f o r m e r N o r t h e r n R e g i o n , and the Y o r u b a s played a leading political role in the military g o v e r n m e n t o f General G o w o n , himself a Christian from a n o n - H a u s a ethnic g r o u p in the n o r t h . N o r w a s the civil w a r ' s e n s e l e s s ' . It w a s s e e n o n o n e s i d e as a c r u s a d e t o p r e s e r v e n a t i o n a l u n i t y , a n d o n t h e o t h e r as t h e o n l y h o p e f o r p h y s i c a l s e c u r i t y . It w a s , h o w e v e r , v e r y m u c h t h e r e s u l t o f m i s c a l c u l a t i o n o n the part o f C o l o n e l O j u k w u , military g o v e r n o r o f the Eastern R e g i o n , w h o w a s c o n v i n c e d that he c o u l d w i n his s t r u g g l e w i t h L a g o s to secure virtual a u t o n o m y for his Eastern R e g i o n o n l y if the dispute w e r e ' internationalised'. T h a t m e a n t secession, despite G o w o n ' s declaration that he w o u l d maintain N i g e r i a ' s unity b y a r m e d f o r c e . I n E n u g u , it w a s c a l c u l a t e d t h a t ' p r o g r e s s i v e ' g o v e r n m e n t s , w h i c h c o u l d n e v e r declare support for the eastern cause w h i l e the r e g i o n w a s part o f N i g e r i a , w o u l d r e c o g n i s e an eastern secessionist g o v e r n m e n t in preference to the L a g o s g o v e r n m e n t , d o m i n a t e d b y the ' f e u d a l i s t s ' o f the N o r t h e r n R e g i o n . T h i s calculation p r o v e d quite w r o n g since s o m e radical A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s - s u c h as t h o s e o f G u i n e a a n d A l g e r i a w e r e a m o n g the strongest supporters o f the federal cause, w h i l e t h e A f r i c a n states s u p p o r t i n g t h e r e b e l l i o n i n c l u d e d , as w e l l as Tanzania and Z a m b i a , the I v o r y C o a s t and G a b o n . A n d while O j u k w u and his advisers had n o s y m p a t h y w i t h C o m m u n i s m , they c o u l d not h a v e expected that S o v i e t arms - paid for b y the federal g o v e r n m e n t - w o u l d p l a y a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e in t h e i r d e f e a t . I f t h e rebel leaders miscalculated the international repercussions o f the s e c e s s i o n t h e y w e r e s i m i l a r l y at f a u l t i n t h e i r d o m e s t i c c a l c u l a t i o n s , seeing G e n e r a l G o w o n and the federal military c o m m a n d e r s , 364

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q u i t e w r o n g l y , as i n c o m p e t e n t n o r t h e r n e r s w h o c o u l d n o t b e effective in t h e a b s e n c e o f E a s t e r n R e g i o n officers. Success in the civil w a r i m m e n s e l y increased the self-confidence o f federal civil servants a n d military c o m m a n d e r s . T h e sacrifices necessary for victory w e r e v e r y u n e v e n l y shared b u t the v i c t o r y itself i m m e n s e l y strengthened national c o n s c i o u s n e s s , particularly as it w a s w i d e l y b e l i e v e d t h a t o u t s i d e s u p p o r t f o r t h e r e b e l l i o n w a s based o n a desire t o see s u c h a p o w e r f u l c o u n t r y as N i g e r i a disappear. T h e defeated, f o r their part, c o n s c i o u s that they h a d c o n d u c t e d a b r a v e fight a g a i n s t o d d s a n d h a d d i s p l a y e d g r e a t talent, w e r e ready o n c e m o r e t o take their place in the federation a l t h o u g h a m o n g t h e m , t o o , t h e sacrifices h a d b e e n m o s t u n e v e n l y shared. A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e g e n u i n e s o u t h e r n fears o f * n o r t h e r n d o m i ­ n a t i o n ' c o u l d n o t b e s u b s t a n t i a t e d ; n o r t h e r n fears o f s o u t h e r n intentions were equally v a g u e . But there w a s o n e subject o n w h i c h northerners and southerners n o t directly charged w i t h the c o n d u c t o f g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d a g r e e . A t i n d e p e n d e n c e in i 9 6 0 all federal civil service heads o f ministries and e v e n the Secretary t o the Prime Minister were British. ' Africanisation' for a time was n o w as c o n t r o v e r s i a l a n i s s u e as h a d b e e n i n d e p e n d e n c e itself. T h e a l l e g e d l y d e t a i l e d p r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e t r a n s f e r o f p o w e r w a s as d e f i c i e n t i n t h i s as i n t h e m a t t e r o f n e w s t a t e s , b u t w a s e v e n m o r e unimaginative. Y e t , as i n o t h e r C o m m o n w e a l t h c o u n t r i e s , A f r i c a n c i v i l s e r v a n t s soon took o v e r the senior administrative posts and they did a m a g n i f i c e n t j o b u n d e r m o u n t i n g difficulties. I. F . N i c o l s o n , h o w ­ e v e r , m a i n t a i n e d t h a t , after t h e p o l i t i c i a n s h a d w e a k e n e d t h e i r morale, 'confidence, leadership, decision a n d initiative w e r e steadily drained' o u t o f these administrators. T h e training g i v e n to y o u n g a r m y officers, h o w e v e r , w a s e x p r e s s l y d e s i g n e d t o b r i n g out ' t h o s e qualities o f leadership, confidence, initiative, and p r o m p t d e c i s i o n w h i c h w e r e b e i n g lost in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e r v i c e ' . T h i s j u d g e m e n t p r o v e d t r u e o f t h e first m i l i t a r y g o v e r n o r s in N i g e r i a a n d w a s p r o v e d t o b e true o f those a p ­ p o i n t e d after G e n e r a l G o w o n w a s p e a c e f u l l y r e m o v e d i n 1 9 7 5 b y s e n i o r officers i m p a t i e n t w i t h h i s p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n a n d ineffec­ t i v e n e s s . T h e n e w m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t ( h e a d e d first b y G e n e r a l M u r t a l a M o h a m m e d a n d , after h i s m u r d e r i n a n a b o r t i v e c o u p i n 1

1

I. F . N i c o l s o n , The administration of Nigeria, 1900 to i960 ( L o n d o n , 1970), 300.

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1976, b y General Obasanjo) embarked o n a p r o g r a m m e for a return to civilian rule in 1979 w h i c h was remarkable for its thoroughness and for the meticulousness o f its execution in a country where public utilities and g o v e r n m e n t services were notorious for their unreliability. T h i s was facilitated by revenues from Nigeria's extensive oil-fields. O i l started to make a substantial contribution to federal revenue in 1970, and in 1979 accounted for some 80 per cent o f it. T h i s g a v e immense n e w financial p o w e r to the federal g o v e r n m e n t . T h e breakup o f the regions into m u c h smaller states greatly increased this federal strength, and, together with the advent o f military rule, w i t h o u t w h i c h the breakup might never have happened, it was the most significant political development in post-independence Nigeria.

Independent Sierra Leone After the death o f Sir M i l t o n Margai in 1964 t w o men dominated Sierra L e o n e politics - his brother, Sir Albert Margai, and M r Siaka Stevens, earlier b o t h senior lieutenants o f Sir Milton. Both had left the S L P P before independence but Sir A l b e r t returned to the party to succeed Sir M i l t o n as prime minister. Stevens formed his A l l People's C o n g r e s s in i960, a radical, democratic party, tied neither to the chiefs nor to the rich and influential. In foreign affairs it adopted a more radical stance than the S L P P . F e w o f its leaders w o u l d have been eligible at that time to b e c o m e paramount chiefs; none then had a university degree. E x c e p t for Stevens, the A P C leaders w e r e also y o u n g e r than the S L P P leaders; and the party was later to adopt a s o m e w h a t v a g u e socialist ideology. T o many in Sierra L e o n e , h o w e v e r , the outstanding feature o f the new party was that its leaders were from the Northern P r o v i n c e , while those o f the S L P P came from the south. In the 1962 election, in w h i c h his A P C w o n 16 out o f the 62 seats, Stevens found some southern support. He was n o w leader o f an effective opposition, and Sir M i l t o n included him in Sierra L e o n e ' s U N delegation. Stevens also became M a y o r o f F r e e t o w n w h e n his party w o n the city council elections in 1964. By 1967 his party had made such progress that, despite flagrant abuses in the general election o f that year b y the S L P P , the results were so 366 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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close that the governor-general felt able to appoint Stevens, not Sir Albert Margai, as prime minister, as b e i n g the man most likely to command a majority. T h e force c o m m a n d e r , Brigadier Lansana, intervened on the g r o u n d s that in these circumstances party conflict could produce disorder, and declared martial law to prevent Stevens taking o v e r . Stevens and his lieutenants w e r e confined by the army in State H o u s e w h e r e they had g o n e to be s w o r n in by the governor-general. T h e brigadier was then o v e r ­ thrown by his military colleagues, w h o established a military g o v e r n m e n t , and Stevens was briefly detained. T h e r e f o l l o w e d for him exile in L o n d o n and in G u i n e a . In A p r i l 1968, after a counter-coup organised by private soldiers had o v e r t h r o w n the military regime - the first time in history that privates achieved such a feat - he was invited to return to take his rightful place as prime minister. In this counter-coup all s e r v i n g army and police officers were arrested and imprisoned b y their m e n ; but a surprising degree o f army and police discipline s u r v i v e d . It was almost a year before all army and police officers, except some w h o were to face court charges, had been released. A s prime minister, Stevens handled this crisis w i t h diplomacy and courage. But scarcely less melodramatic w e r e the events in 1971, w h i c h led to the rapid changes w h i c h made h i m first constitutional president and then executive president, f o l l o w i n g the attempt o n his life in an abortive c o u p led b y the then force commander, Brigadier Bangura. T r o o p s from G u i n e a w e r e brought in to act as his b o d y g u a r d . T h e i r presence w a s widely resented, but he stoutly insisted o n h a v i n g them until 1973. His A P C subsequently w o n t w o general elections, b y means little different from those unsuccessfully e m p l o y e d b y the S L P P and widely criticised; and after t o y i n g w i t h the idea o f a ' n o - p a r t y ' state, President Stevens, o v e r r i d i n g all o p p o s i t i o n , finally estab­ lished by law a one-party state in the country w h e r e democratic notions first gained currency in W e s t Africa.

Independent Gambia After taking the G a m b i a harmoniously t o independence in 1965, Sir D a u d a Jawara's People's Progressive Party ( P P P ) n e v e r seemed in danger o f losing p o w e r , although always h o l d i n g free and fair elections at the prescribed intervals. In 1965 voters 367 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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rejected the proposal to turn the G a m b i a into a Republic. Sir D a u d a waited five years to resubmit the p r o p o s a l ; it was accepted, and in 1970 he became executive president. His g o v e r n m e n t slowly i m p r o v e d the e c o n o m i c and financial situation despite the fact that the G a m b i a was one o f the victims o f the Sahel d r o u g h t and remained principally dependent o n groundnuts, an increase in w h o s e production the g o v e r n m e n t has successfully fostered. W h i l e the P P P reached p o w e r as a Mandinka-based party, and was accused o f advancing Mandinka (as opposed to Protectorate) interests, Sir D a u d a b r o u g h t non-Mandinka into his cabinets and at times they w e r e in a majority. Sometimes against the protests o f his y o u n g e r lieutenants, he placed confidence in non-Mandinka, o r e v e n British, senior civil servants; and there were still so few Mandinka at the t o p in the public services ten years after independence that some M a n d i n k a w e r e demanding a quota system o f civil-service appointments. H e also resisted party demands that the appointments o f the five civil service c o m 368 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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m i s s i o n e r s ' u p r i v e r ' , w h o f o r m a n y p e o p l e still 'the g o v e r n m e n t ' , should b e c o m e political.

represented

T h e trade-union m o v e m e n t remained w e a k and divided. But if the small scale o f c o r r u p t i o n and the v i r t u a l a b s e n c e o f g o v e r n m e n t e x t r a v a g a n c e limited the political targets available to the u n e m p l o y e d y o u n g , in the capital area they b e g a n t o f o r m a potential o p p o s i t i o n to the g o v e r n m e n t that w a s m o r e m e n a c i n g than the existing parties. T h e G a m b i a w a s the clearest e x a m p l e o f the d i v i s i o n w h i c h has continued b e t w e e n the a n g l o p h o n e and francophone countries o f W e s t A f r i c a after i n d e p e n d e n c e . A l l its p e o p l e s , e x c e p t t h e s m a l l C r e o l e c o m m u n i t y o f the Banjul area, w e r e k i n s m e n o f ethnic g r o u p s in s u r r o u n d i n g S e n e g a l , and there w a s c o m p l e t e f r e e d o m o f m o v e m e n t b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s . B u t , as w e h a v e s e e n , there w a s n e v e r any e n t h u s i a s m in the G a m b i a for any k i n d o f merger with Senegal, although a 'special relationship' was e s t a b l i s h e d t h r o u g h j o i n t i n s t i t u t i o n s after i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n a n y c a s e , as a m e m b e r o f E C O W A S a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l g r o u p i n g s , as a s i g n a t o r y o f t h e L o m é C o n v e n t i o n c o v e r i n g all A f r i c a n s t a t e s , a n d as r e c i p i e n t o f a i d f r o m a r a n g e o f A r a b , C o m m u n i s t a n d western countries, the G a m b i a seemed neither isolated n o r v u l ­ n e r a b l e , e v e n t h o u g h it h a d n o a r m y , b u t h a d m a d e a s e c u r i t y a g r e e m e n t w i t h S e n e g a l in 1965. 1

T h e r e w e r e e v e n smaller a n d less p r o s p e r o u s m e m b e r s o f the O A U t h a n t h e G a m b i a , a n d its p r e s i d e n t h a d t h e s t a t u s o f a s e n i o r statesman in A f r i c a . H e w a s , h o w e v e r , criticised inside his o w n p a r t y f o r l e a n i n g t o w a r d s ' t h e W e s t ' a n d w a s o n e o f t h e last African leaders to a b a n d o n r e c o g n i t i o n o f T a i w a n . T h e president's s u c c e s s f u l efforts t o n e u t r a l i s e t h e U n i t e d P a r t y a n d o t h e r p a r t i e s a n d t o a p p e a l t o all s e c t i o n s o f t h e c o u n t r y as a n a t i o n a l figure w e a k e n e d his appeal t o s o m e o f his o w n M a n d i n k a . B u t he s u r v i v e d o p p o s i t i o n to h i m s e l f and to his policies inside the P P P . R e l a x e d and paternal, he s e e m e d likely t o c o n t i n u e t o s u r v i v e in a state w h i c h , a l t h o u g h d e m o c r a t i c , o f f e r e d little b a s i s f o r a successful o p p o s i t i o n party. 1

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I n t h e y e a r s after its n e i g h b o u r , S i e r r a L e o n e , b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t , t h e L i b e r i a n h i n t e r l a n d w a s f i n a l l y , i f still t o s o m e d e g r e e o n l y formally, integrated into the national political system. In 1 9 7 1 , w h e n P r e s i d e n t T u b m a n d i e d in office, W i l l i a m T o l b e r t , l o n g his v i c e - p r e s i d e n t , s u c c e e d e d s m o o t h l y t o the p r e s i d e n c y . H e dismantled swollen, and sometimes rival, security forces, ruled w i t h o u t r e p r e s s i o n , a n d i n s t i t u t e d a less f o r m a l t y p e o f r u l e . A f t e r b e i n g e l e c t e d p r e s i d e n t u n a n i m o u s l y i n 1 9 7 5 h e set a t e r m t o h i s p e r i o d o f office, i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e r e g u l a r e x t e n s i o n s a r r a n g e d f o r h i s p r e d e c e s s o r , w h o h a d r u l e d f o r n e a r l y 30 y e a r s . T o l b e r t entered continental politics w i t h even more enthusiasm than did T u b m a n and m a d e sure that Liberia played a m o r e p r o m i n e n t r o l e in O A U i n i t i a t i v e s . L i b e r i a h a d a l s o at last e x c h a n g e d a m b a s s a d o r s w i t h the S o v i e t U n i o n - an e x c h a n g e T u b m a n r e s i s t e d , a l t h o u g h h e h a d a g r e e d t o it i n p r i n c i p l e as e a r l y as 1 9 5 6 w h e n t h e S o v i e t U n i o n s o u g h t a d i p l o m a t i c p o s t in W e s t A f r i c a a n d L i b e r i a , as t h e s o l e i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e , w a s t h e o n l y o n e t h e n a v a i l a b l e . P r e s i d e n t T o l b e r t v i s i t e d P e k i n g after s e v e r i n g relations w i t h T a i w a n . In 1 9 7 3 , w i t h President S t e v e n s o f Sierra L e o n e , he f o r m e d the M a n o R i v e r U n i o n u n d e r w h i c h a c u s t o m s ' union and other forms o f e c o n o m i c cooperation w e r e to be e s t a b l i s h e d . S o at last S i e r r a L e o n e , w h e r e P r o t e c t o r a t e l e a d e r s h a d o n c e s e e n L i b e r i a as r e p r e s e n t i n g p o l i t i c a l l y s i m i l a r f o r c e s t o t h o s e w i t h w h o m they themselves w e r e c o m p e t i n g for p o w e r , forged c l o s e official l i n k s w i t h its n e i g h b o u r . T h e r e remained a potential conflict o v e r the issue o f the h o l d i n g o f ' t r i b a l ' land b y Liberian planters f r o m the coast and b y foreigners. B u t politically the 'settler-tribesman' issue, already w a n i n g , appeared to be g i v i n g w a y t o a w i d e r o n e that c o u l d excite real f e e l i n g . A l t h o u g h t h e y w e r e l o s i n g t h e i r p r i v i l e g e d p o s i t i o n , particularly w i t h regard to taxation, the international m i n i n g and p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e s , w h i c h l o o m e d s o l a r g e in t h e e c o n o m y , together w i t h the Liberians w h o , w h a t e v e r their o r i g i n , w e r e their p a r t n e r s a n d a g e n t s , w e r e e x p o s e d as p o t e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l t a r g e t s . B u t a l t h o u g h the benefits o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h w e r e so u n e v e n l y d i s t r i b u t e d , L i b e r i a still a p p e a r e d t o e n j o y o n e o f t h e m o s t s t a b l e r e g i m e s in t h e r e g i o n . U n d e r n e a t h , h o w e v e r , o t h e r f o r c e s w e r e stirring. M o r e p e o p l e from the hinterland w e r e g a i n i n g access to

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education, and thus w e r e able to c o m p e t e for p o w e r , and

the

g e n e r a l w o r l d r e c e s s i o n b e g a n t o affect t h e e c o n o m y s o t h a t serious f o o d shortages and h i g h prices w e r e to lead to discontent and rioting.

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E D U C A T I O N A L

D E V E L O P M E N T S

F o r all a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n s t a t e s , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e y e a r s s i n c e 1945 w a s t h e r a p i d s p r e a d o f e d u c a t i o n . I t w a s i m p o r t a n t f o r t h r e e r e a s o n s . S o l o n g as m o s t o f their citizens r e m a i n e d illiterate these c o u n t r i e s c o u l d n o t b e truly independent, since they w o u l d continue to require foreigners f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d t e c h n i c a l p o s t s as w e l l as f o r t e a c h i n g . S o l o n g as e d u c a t i o n , at a n y l e v e l , r e m a i n e d t h e p r i v i l e g e o f t h e f e w , t h e ' t y r a n n y o f t h e c l e r k s w o u l d flourish a n d d e v o t i o n t o p a p e r qualifications w o u l d distort j u d g e m e n t s a b o u t individual merit. A b o v e all, p e r h a p s , t h e d i v i s i o n i n t o ' t w o n a t i o n s ' i n all t h e s e states - b e t w e e n t h e r e l a t i v e l y w e l l e d u c a t e d c o a s t a l t o w n s a n d t h e hinterland - w o u l d continue to i m p e d e national integration and p r o d u c e bitter political divisions. T h e further a r g u m e n t that a h i g h l e v e l o f l i t e r a c y is e s s e n t i a l f o r d e m o c r a c y d i d n o t w i n u n i v e r s a l a c c e p t a n c e . B u t , i n t h i s b e l i e f , all W e s t A f r i c a n l e a d e r s attached great importance to the spread o f education. 9

T h e e d u c a t i o n a l d i v i s i o n c o u l d be seen m o s t sharply in Sierra L e o n e and L i b e r i a , w h e r e in e a c h case small c o m m u n i t i e s - the Creoles and the A m e r i c o - L i b e r i a n s - w e r e h i g h l y educated while t h e m a s s o f i n t e r i o r p e o p l e h a d little o r n o e d u c a t i o n . B u t t h e political c o n s e q u e n c e s in these cases, and in the a l m o s t similar o n e in the G a m b i a , w e r e softened b e c a u s e the h i g h l y e d u c a t e d c o m m u n i t i e s w e r e so few in n u m b e r that they clearly c o u l d n o t indefinitely d o m i n a t e their countries politically. I n G h a n a , e n r o l m e n t i n p r i m a r y s c h o o l s r o s e f r o m 80000 i n 1946 to 255000 in 1 9 5 1 , t o 465000 in 1 9 5 7 , a n d t o 1 365000 in 1 9 7 2 . B u t t h e s e i m p r e s s i v e figures c o n c e a l e d a fall i n s t a n d a r d s , t h e i m b a l a n c e - w h i c h all t h e c o u n t r i e s e x p e r i e n c e d - b e t w e e n t h e n u m b e r o f b o y s and o f girls in s c h o o l s , and an imbalance also b e t w e e n the southern and the t w o n o r t h e r n r e g i o n s w h i c h had significant political i m p o r t a n c e . T h e really serious d i v i s i o n , h o w ­ e v e r , w a s in N i g e r i a , w h e r e i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s o n l y a b o u t five p e r cent o f c h i l d r e n o f s c h o o l a g e attended classes in substantial areas

37i

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W E S T

A F R I C A

o f t h e f o r m e r N o r t h e r n R e g i o n as a g a i n s t a l m o s t 100 p e r c e n t i n certain districts o f the three southern r e g i o n s . T h e d i v i s i o n o f N i g e r i a i n t o states e m p h a s i s e d these differences, s i n c e t h e m o r e s o u t h e r l y o f t h e states c a r v e d o u t o f t h e f o r m e r N o r t h e r n R e g i o n c o u l d t h e m s e l v e s be seen to h a v e a h i g h e r literacy and s c h o o l attendance rate than the m o r e n o r t h e r l y states. I n s i d e t h e n e w s t a t e s - s o m e i n t h e s o u t h as w e l l as i n t h e north - educational imbalance, w h i c h previously had not seemed i m p o r t a n t , a l s o b e c a m e s i g n i f i c a n t . F o r it l e d t o r e s e n t m e n t f r o m t h e less w e l l e d u c a t e d o n t h e g r o u n d t h a t t h e b e t t e r e d u c a t e d w o u l d m o n o p o l i s e g o v e r n m e n t j o b s . I t w a s a l s o felt t h a t b e t t e r e d u c a t e d areas w o u l d attract m o r e s u p p o r t f r o m the federal government. T h e great e x p a n s i o n o f p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n raised serious social p r o b l e m s . I n t h e first p l a c e a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f c h i l d r e n left s c h o o l p r e m a t u r e l y ( s o m e t i m e s at t h e i r p a r e n t s ' i n s i s t e n c e ) , h a v i n g g a i n e d limited literacy b u t a c o n v i c t i o n that this w a s e n o u g h to w i n a j o b outside agriculture. O f the children w h o finished t h e e l e m e n t a r y c o u r s e o n l y a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n c o u l d g o o n t o f u r t h e r t r a i n i n g , t h e rest b e c o m i n g t h e s c h o o l - l e a v e r s w h o s e i n a b i l i t y t o find j o b s a n d w h o s e d i s i n c l i n a t i o n t o f a r m p a r t l y accounted b o t h for increasing urban u n e m p l o y m e n t and crime and for the stagnation o r decline o f agriculture. U n e m p l o y m e n t of secondary-school leavers and o f graduates had not yet b e c o m e an o v e r w h e l m i n g p r o b l e m b u t t h e y c o u l d n o l o n g e r , e x c e p t in the m o s t b a c k w a r d areas, suit t h e m s e l v e s entirely in the m a t t e r o f e m p l o y m e n t . In spite o f considerable a d v a n c e s , s e c o n d a r y and technical education l a g g e d behind the expansion o f primary education, partly because o f lack o f funds and partly because o f shortage o f teachers. M a n y secondary schools, h o w e v e r , establ­ ished and maintained h i g h standards. I f the elementary s c h o o l s p r o v i d e d t h e t r o o p s f o r t h e n a t i o n a l i s t m o v e m e n t , it w a s t h e secondary s c h o o l s , e v e n m o r e than the universities, w h i c h p r o ­ v i d e d the officers. In 1942 there w a s n o a n g l o p h o n e university in W e s t Africa, although students o f F o u r a h B a y College could be awarded D u r h a m d e g r e e s in a limited r a n g e o f subjects a n d the C o l l e g e a t t r a c t e d s t u d e n t s f r o m e l s e w h e r e i n W e s t A f r i c a , s u c h as D r R o b e r t G a r d i n e r from the G o l d Coast and Professor K e n n e t h D i k e f r o m N i g e r i a . A c h i m o t a C o l l e g e in the G o l d C o a s t also 372

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SOCIAL,

C U L T U R A L

A N D E D U C A T I O N A L

D E V E L O P M E N T S

offered a d e g r e e c o u r s e i n e n g i n e e r i n g f o r t h e L o n d o n B . S c , w h i l e in N i g e r i a , Y a b a H i g h e r C o l l e g e o f f e r e d p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n i n g b u t n o t d e g r e e s , an inferior status w h i c h in t h e 1930s a n d 1940s d i d m o r e than any other single factor t o arouse nationalist feeling a m o n g the Nigerian intelligentsia. B y 1972 N i g e r i a h a d six universities w i t h seven m o r e in the offing; G h a n a , three; Liberia one w i t h , in addition, the degree-granting C u t t i n g t o n C o l l e g e ; and Sierra L e o n e w i t h o n e c a m p u s in the capital, the l o n g e s t a b l i s h e d F o u r a h B a y C o l l e g e , a n d o n e c a m p u s u p - c o u n t r y at N j a l a . A n d t h e r e w e r e still t h o u s a n d s o f a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n students overseas. B e c a u s e at first t h e y felt t h e m s e l v e s t o b e - a n d w e r e c o n s t a n t l y told that they w e r e - p r i v i l e g e d , university students, a l t h o u g h intensely political, s e l d o m indulged, e v e n against the colonial authorities, in the activities w h i c h h a v e c o m e t o b e associated w i t h student politics elsewhere. U n d e r the military regimes, h o w e v e r , students t o o k o v e r the opposition role vacated b y politicians and frequently clashed w i t h the authorities, often violently. T h e g r e a t e x p a n s i o n o f e d u c a t i o n w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y efforts to maintain h i g h standards; and while the universities w e r e a c c u s e d o f b e i n g elitist o r , b e c a u s e o f t h e i r c o n t i n u e d r e c r u i t m e n t o f e x p a t r i a t e staff a n d c l o s e c o n n e x i o n s w i t h E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g universities overseas, ' n e o - c o l o n i a l ' , they helped in the g r o w t h o f an impressive b o d y o f W e s t African scholars and in the i n c l i n a t i o n o f c u r r i c u l a , a t all l e v e l s , t o w a r d s a n A f r i c a n c o n t e n t , particularly in history. T h e scholarly interest w h i c h for s o m e years h a d b e e n taken in their o w n history b y W e s t Africans w a s m a t c h e d b y a n e w interest in A f r i c a n art. B u t w h i l e there w e r e i m p o r t a n t A f r i c a n historians o f t h e i r r a c e a n d c o u n t r i e s e v e n i n t h e last c e n t u r y , f o r a l o n g t i m e , influenced m o r e b y missionaries than b y those E u r o p e a n s w h o had l o n g seen the w o r t h o f A f r i c a n w o r k , Africans w i t h w e s t e r n e d u c a t i o n rejected A f r i c a n art a n d e v e n crafts. P e o p l e like t h e archaeologist, D r E k p o E y o o f Nigeria, o r Professors Asihene and N k e t i a o f G h a n a , h o w e v e r , w r o t e expertly o f their countries' traditional art. Artists like B e n E n w o n w u a n d V i n c e n t K o f i d r e w o n t h i s art f o r i n s p i r a t i o n f o r t h e i r o w n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y e s t e e m e d 1

1

E k p o E y o , Two thousand years of Nigeria art ( L a g o s , 1977); J. W . K w a b e n a N k e t i a , Folk songs of Ghana ( O x f o r d , 1963); E . V . A s i h e n e , Introduction to the traditional art of western Africa ( L o n d o n , 1972).

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E N G L I S H - S P E A K I N G

work.

Archaeological

finds,

W E S T

too, notably

A F R I C A

those

at N o k a n d

I g b o - U k w u in N i g e r i a , s h o w e d that sophisticated w o r k o f h i g h quality w a s p r o d u c e d in a r e m o t e past in areas w h i c h until recently had been assumed to ' h a v e n o history*. T h e r e also arose a lively interest a m o n g educated a n g l o p h o n e W e s t Africans in traditional medicine. E n g l i s h c o n t i n u e d t o b e u s e d as t h e l a n g u a g e o f i n s t r u c t i o n i n p o s t - p r i m a r y a n d o f t e n i n p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n , as i t c o n t i n u e d t o be

the

language

o f politics,

administration

and

large-scale

c o m m e r c e , o n l y s h a r i n g this role w i t h H a u s a in parts o f N i g e r i a ' s n o r t h e r n s t a t e s . W i d e s p r e a d m o r t i f i c a t i o n at s u c h u s e o f a n a l i e n language did n o t p r o d u c e , and seemed unlikely t o p r o d u c e , an a l t e r n a t i v e , as n o s i n g l e l o c a l l a n g u a g e w a s g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t a b l e in a n y c o u n t r y . S o m a n y W e s t A f r i c a n s , particularly n o v e l i s t s in N i g e r i a , s h o w e d a m a s t e r y o f E n g l i s h t h a t i n a s e n s e it w a s n o l o n g e r a n a l i e n l a n g u a g e . S u c h w r i t e r s as L e n r i e P e t e r s o f t h e G a m b i a , E l d r e d Jones o f Sierra L e o n e , A y i K w e i A r m a h o f G h a n a o r C h i n u a A c h e b e o f Nigeria, p r o d u c e d a distinct and significant branch o f E n g l i s h literature; w h i l e N i g e r i a n writers s u c h as T u t u o l a a n d O k a r a a d a p t e d E n g l i s h t o f o r m a l i t e r a t u r e w h i c h can be called ' W e s t A f r i c a n ' . With

the return, b y n o means

1

complete, o f cultural

self-

confidence, traditional dress also returned to favour. W e s t African w o m e n c o m b i n e d traditional cloth and patterns to m a k e attractive fashions

in a m o d e r n

style. W e s t

African cuisine

w a s also

b e c o m i n g fashionable. W o m e n , i n c l u d i n g those in M u s l i m areas, w e r e n e v e r as m a l t r e a t e d i n W e s t A f r i c a as t h e y still w e r e i n s o m e parts o f the w o r l d ; they gradually acquired the franchise to match their equality before the l a w . F e w b e c a m e political leaders, b u t there w e r e n o w w o m e n

judges and senior doctors,

writers,

scholars, civil-service heads o f ministries, and ambassadors; and, as t h e r e h a d l o n g b e e n , e n o r m o u s l y s u c c e s s f u l b u s i n e s s w o m e n and market traders. T h e position o f chiefs belongs to a discussion o f politics. A s t h e y l o s t p o l i t i c a l p o w e r a n d i n f l u e n c e , s o t h e y c a m e i n r u r a l as w e l l as m o s t u r b a n a r e a s t o b e r e g a r d e d b y t h e i r p e o p l e as t h e e m b o d i m e n t o f their c o m m u n i t y , irrespective o f their

personal

q u a l i t i e s . F e w p e o p l e i n a n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a felt n o a l l e g i a n c e 1

S e e A m o s T u t u o l a , Feather woman of the jungle ( L o n d o n , 1962) a n d G a b r i e l O k a r a , The fisherman*s invocation ( L o n d o n , 1978).

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S O C I A L ,

C U L T U R A L

A N D

E D U C A T I O N A L

D E V E L O P M E N T S

to a chief o f some kind, and social discipline w a s best maintained w h e r e traditional influences w e r e strongest. L i b e r a t i o n f r o m tradition, h o w e v e r , w a s n o t directly related to crime - m u c h o f it i n u r b a n a r e a s t h e w o r k o f o r g a n i s e d , r u t h l e s s g a n g s ; b u t e v e n radical y o u n g p e o p l e b e g a n t o w o n d e r w h e t h e r the retreat f r o m chiefly a u t h o r i t y h a d n o t g o n e t o o far. A m o n g the g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f M u s l i m s in W e s t A f r i c a , the world-wide trend towards greater o r t h o d o x y became evident, t h o u g h often accompanied b y s e e m i n g political radicalism. A m o n g Christians, d i v i s i o n s w e r e sharper than in E u r o p e , w h i l e there w a s an intensified search for A f r i c a n f o r m s o f the religion. B u t a d h e r e n t s o f all r e l i g i o n s d e p l o r e d t h e fall i n m o r a l s t a n d a r d s and h o p e d , n o d o u b t unrealistically, that religion c o u l d reverse it. A n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a r e m a i n e d socially a n d c u l t u r a l l y in t r a n s i t i o n f r o m c o l o n i a l s t a t u s t o full i n d e p e n d e n c e . B u t t h e t r a n s i t i o n d i d n o t p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y i n j u r e its m a i n a g e n t s . T h e y a n d the p e o p l e they represented s h o w e d a remarkable capacity for remaining their o w n selves w h i l e a b s o r b i n g c h a n g e .

R E G I O N A L

R E L A T I O N S

It is difficult t o r e c a p t u r e t h e e x c i t e m e n t w i t h w h i c h G h a n a ' s independence w a s greeted t h r o u g h o u t Africa and the w o r l d . A l t h o u g h an irresistible m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s independence t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o n t i n e n t w a s n e a r , it d i d n o t l o o k l i k e t h a t t h e n . T h e d a t e o f N i g e r i a ' s i n d e p e n d e n c e s e e m e d far a w a y ; f o r t h e G a m b i a a n d f r a n c o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s still s c a r c e l y d i s c u s s e d ; w h i l e i n o t h e r A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s it w a s n o t y e t e v e n o n the agenda. S o o n e result o f G h a n a ' s pioneer status w a s the importance N k r u m a h and his colleagues attached t o the independ­ e n c e o f o t h e r A f r i c a n states, a n d a b e l i e f in the c a p a c i t y o f their s m a l l s t a t e t o e x e r c i s e a n i n f l u e n c e w h i c h w a s b e y o n d its c a p a c i t y . F r o m his g o v e r n m e n t ' s w h i t e paper o n the i960 R e p u b l i c a n C o n s t i t u t i o n it w a s c l e a r t h a t N k r u m a h t h o u g h t t h a t G h a n a ' s t a s k n o w l a y i n e x t e r n a l affairs. L a t e r it w a s s u g g e s t e d t h a t , b e c a u s e a w h o l e series o f A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t w i t h o u t G h a n a ' s direct assistance, he did n o t recognise their liberation; a n d r e s e r v e d t h e r i g h t , as h e h a d as e a r l y as t h e first A l l - A f r i c a n P e o p l e s ' C o n f e r e n c e i n 195 8 ( w h i c h w a s n o t a t t e n d e d b y t h e r u l i n g

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W E S T

A F R I C A

parties o f N i g e r i a , Sierra L e o n e o r m o s t francophone

countries)

to nominate the authentic liberation m o v e m e n t in a n y country. O f Nkrumah's

devotion to African unity and belief in the

necessity and feasibility o f an A f r i c a n continental

government

t h e r e is n o d o u b t . A n d b y t h e t i m e h e w a s o v e r t h r o w n a l l A f r i c a n leaders, h o w e v e r conservative o r self-centred, w e r e o b l i g e d to p a y at l e a s t l i p - s e r v i c e t o A f r i c a n u n i t y o f a k i n d . I t is o n e o f A f r i c a ' s tragedies, h o w e v e r , that the means he used t o a d v a n c e his ideal o f U n i o n G o v e r n m e n t a n d t o o p p o s e a n y t h i n g s h o r t o f it i n c l u d e d v i r u l e n t n e w s p a p e r c a m p a i g n s a g a i n s t A f r i c a n leaders w h o differed from his v i e w s , diplomatic bad manners, harbouring and e v e n training t h e m in G h a n a for s u b v e r t i n g

dissidents

independent

A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s o f w h i c h h e d i s a p p r o v e d . T h i s all seriously divided the continent, interfered w i t h the establishment o f the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f African U n i t y a n d in the e n d virtually isolated Ghana. G h a n a ' s relations w i t h N i g e r i a w e r e often seriously

strained.

B u t w h a t in his study o f the t w o countries' relations D r Olajide A l u k o called ' t h e traditional jealousy, suspicion, c o m p e t i t i o n and differences b e t w e e n G h a n a a n d N i g e r i a '

1

were not ended

by

N k r u m a h ' s o v e r t h r o w . D u r i n g t h e first G h a n a m i l i t a r y r e g i m e (1966-9),

it is t r u e ,

relations

became

cordial.

T h e Nigerian

military g o v e r n m e n t at o n c e r e c o g n i s e d G e n e r a l A n k r a h ' s n e w regime. G o w o n readily accepted A n k r a h ' s invitation

to meet

C o l o n e l O j u k w u at A b u r i , in G h a n a , in J a n u a r y 1967. D u r i n g the N i g e r i a n civil w a r , h o w e v e r , relations b e t w e e n A c c r a and the N i g e r i a n federal g o v e r n m e n t deteriorated. G h a n a i a n n e w s p a p e r s s y m p a t h i s e d w i t h t h e s e c e s s i o n i s t s , a n d A n k r a h at t i m e s s h o w e d impatience

w i t h the Nigerian leadership.

Ghana's

change

to

civilian rule in 1969 actually w o r s e n e d matters. T h e n e w G h a n a g o v e r n m e n t s e n t w h a t w a s c o n s i d e r e d i n L a g o s as a n i m p e r t i n e n t offer t o m e d i a t e i n t h e c i v i l w a r ; l a t e r , as p a r t o f i t s ' i n d i g e n i s a t i o n ' p o l i c y , it e x p e l l e d t h o u s a n d s o f N i g e r i a n s l o n g r e s i d e n t i n G h a n a . Nkrumah's

relations

with

Sierra

Leone

were

also

poor,

particularly, before independence, w i t h Sir M i l t o n M a r g a i , w h o s e suspicion o f N k r u m a h w a s m a t c h e d b y that o f President T u b m a n o f Liberia. Sierra L e o n e ' s relations w i t h N i g e r i a also b e c a m e frigid towards the end o f the civil w a r because o f the o p e n

sympathy

for the rebels expressed b y s p o k e s m e n o f Sierra L e o n e , w h i c h 1

O l a j i d e A l u k o , Ghana and Nigeria 1917-70

( L o n d o n , 1976), 261.

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s e e m e d i n d a n g e r o f r e c o g n i s i n g t h e s e c e s s i o n i s t r e g i m e j u s t as it c o l l a p s e d . P r e s i d e n t T u b m a n ' s s u p p o r t o f t h e f e d e r a l c a u s e , h o w e v e r , w a s m u c h appreciated in L a g o s . F o r N i g e r i a n d i p l o m a c y in A f r i c a , the civil w a r w a s an acid test, successfully passed. N i g e r i a w a s t o b e c o m e the Black African c o u n t r y w h i c h A m e r i c a n s , in particular, a l w a y s consulted a b o u t affairs i n t h e c o n t i n e n t . A n d its o i l w a s a l s o t o m a k e it a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l affairs. N o a n g l o p h o n e W e s t Africa c o u n t r y , except G h a n a briefly under N k r u m a h , w a s influenced b y the S o v i e t U n i o n o r C h i n a in its i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s . A l l t o v a r y i n g d e g r e e s s o u g h t t h a t ' n e u t r a l i s m ' o r ' n o n - a l i g n m e n t ' , w h i c h it is s o difficult t o d e f i n e . B u t if d u r i n g the N k r u m a h years G h a n a s o u g h t an influence b e y o n d her capacity, N i g e r i a in the early years o f independence sometimes a v o i d e d exercising the influence w h i c h w a s hers. A f t e r 1970 Nigeria, militarily the m o s t p o w e r f u l c o u n t r y in Black Africa, w h i c h had been o b l i g e d to defer to G h a n a o n p r o b l e m s raised b y the f o r m e r B e l g i a n C o n g o , the m o s t i m p o r t a n t inter­ national issue for B l a c k A f r i c a until 1967, d i d n o t brashly assert t h e i n f l u e n c e w h i c h h e r i m p o r t a n c e j u s t i f i e d . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , as in the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f E C O W A S , she a l l o w e d a n d e n c o u r a g e d s m a l l e r c o u n t r i e s t o t a k e full p a r t i n , a n d t a k e c r e d i t f o r , its organisation. E C O N O M I C S

D u r i n g t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , as w e h a v e n o t e d , t h e e c o n o m i e s o f British W e s t Africa were m o r e closely integrated w i t h the British e c o n o m y than ever before. A recent b d o k has claimed that t h e w a r y e a r s r e p r e s e n t e d ' t h e h e y d a y o f t h e e m p i r e . . . at last t h e imperialism against w h i c h the critics o f e m p i r e h a d railed s o l o n g actually existed'. Before the w a r and particularly during the years o f the great depression, colonial g o v e r n m e n t s had primarily been concerned with administration and the maintenance o f the c o n d i t i o n s f o r t r a d e a n d m i n i n g w h i c h t h e i r officials s a w c h i e f l y as t h e m e a n s f o r r a i s i n g t h e t a x e s n e c e s s a r y t o s u p p o r t t h e i r colonial g o v e r n m e n t . Y e t the degree to w h i c h the colonial e c o n o m i e s s t a g n a t e d i n t h e y e a r s b e f o r e 1 9 3 9 is e a s i l y e x a g g e r a t e d , as is t h e i n d i f f e r e n c e o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t s t o e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t and the lack o f enterprise s h o w n b y Africans. 1

1

Pearce, Turning point

in Africa,

220.

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By 1939 the economies were largely monetised and currency notes w e r e w i d e l y used. R a i l w a y s , roads a n d ports facilitated m o v e m e n t o f g o o d s and people, a n d the initiative o f hundreds o f t h o u s a n d s o f small farmers a n d traders (these latter b o t h b u y i n g crops and p r o v i d i n g farmers w i t h 'incentive g o o d s ' ) had made the c o l o n i e s major exporters o f agricultural p r o d u c e . T h e i m p o r t and e x p o r t trade, m i n i n g a n d timber extraction, w e r e d o m i n a t e d b y e x p a t r i a t e firms. B u t w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e L e v a n t i n e t r a d e r s i n S i e r r a L e o n e a n d L i b e r i a , i n t e r i o r retail t r a d e w a s l a r g e l y i n A f r i c a n h a n d s , as w a s l o n g - d i s t a n c e t r a d e i n , f o r e x a m p l e , k o l a n u t s , c a t t l e a n d d r i e d fish. A g r i c u l t u r e w a s a l m o s t e n t i r e l y t h e affair o f s m a l l f a r m e r s . T h e real c h a n g e i n t r o d u c e d b y t h e w a r w a s t h e e n l a r g e m e n t o f state c o n t r o l o v e r t h e c o l o n i a l e c o n o m i e s , a c o n t r o l w h i c h h a s since been extended. It included e x c h a n g e and price controls, import licensing a n d restrictions o n entry in various c o m m e r c i a l activities. T h e major change, h o w e v e r , and o n e w h i c h m a n y e c o n o m i s t s n o w s e e as h a v i n g h a r m e d t h e i n t e r e s t s o f A f r i c a n p r o d u c e r s , w a s t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t , i n all f o u r B r i t i s h c o l o n i e s , o f statutory marketing boards w h i c h w e r e g i v e n a m o n o p o l y o f the p u r c h a s e , e x p o r t a n d sales a b r o a d o f t h e m a j o r e x p o r t c r o p s , including cocoa, groundnuts, cotton and palm produce. T h e m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s u s e d l o c a l firms a s ' l i c e n s e d b u y i n g a g e n t s ' , a n a r r a n g e m e n t w h i c h t e n d e d t o f a v o u r e x p a t r i a t e firms. A f t e r t h e war the marketing boards were made permanent, o n the ground that o n l y thus c o u l d prices paid t o farmers b e ' stabilised' - a c o n c e p t n e v e r properly defined. In practice, b y w i t h h o l d i n g part o f the crops' export earnings in g o o d years t o create stabilisation funds f o r b a d y e a r s , t h e marketing boards accumulated funds w h i c h w e r e s e l d o m dis­ bursed t o farmers b u t w e r e ultimately plundered b y independent g o v e r n m e n t s . In addition, for years before independence, the investment o f these funds in L o n d o n bolstered sterling; a n d s o l o n g a s B r i t a i n ' s M i n i s t r y o f F o o d b o u g h t t h e i r c r o p s it p a i d l e s s than the w o r l d price to the marketing boards. A t a time w h e n there w a s talk o f a ' r e v o l u t i o n ' in Britain's relations w i t h h e r colonies under a L a b o u r g o v e r n m e n t , there w a s ' a n enforced transfer o f resources f r o m the c o l o n i e s t o the m e t r o p o l i t a n c o u n t r y s u c h as h a d n e v e r o c c u r r e d i n British A f r i c a b e f o r e t h e n ' . 1

1

P . T . B a u e r , Equality, the Third World and economic delusion ( L o n d o n , 1981), 183.

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In addition to r e c e i v i n g l o w prices from the m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s , f a r m e r s w e r e o f t e n p a i d in ' c h i t s ' o r o t h e r w i s e d e f r a u d e d . T h e s t a g n a t i o n o r fall i n p r o d u c t i o n o f m a n y m a r k e t i n g - b o a r d c r o p s , or the large-scale s m u g g l i n g o f t h e m into f r a n c o p h o n e countries a n d L i b e r i a , it is n o w h e l d , w a s t h e r e s u l t o f t h e m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s ' p r a c t i c e s . N i g e r i a , after t h e c i v i l w a r , i n t r o d u c e d g e n u i n e s u b s i d i e s for m a r k e t i n g - b o a r d c r o p s and considerable f r e e d o m for their m a r k e t i n g - b u t it w a s t o o l a t e . W h a t e v e r the c o n s e q u e n c e s for e x p o r t c r o p s o f the establish­ m e n t o f the m a r k e t i n g b o a r d s , local f o o d p r o d u c t i o n - in w h i c h u n t i l r e c e n t l y g o v e r n m e n t s t o o k little i n t e r e s t — a l s o s t a g n a t e d . T h i s meant b o t h h i g h e r prices - a major factor in the inflation w h i c h p a r t i c u l a r l y affected G h a n a a n d N i g e r i a - a n d a h e a v y d r a i n o n foreign e x c h a n g e , particularly for the purchase o f rice. Disillusionment w i t h public enterprises resulted from the d e p l o r a b l e r e c o r d o f their inefficiency a n d c o r r u p t i o n in a n g l o ­ p h o n e W e s t Africa. B u t g o v e r n m e n t s , except in Liberia, remained the chief agents o f industrial d e v e l o p m e n t , and e x p a n d e d their participation into petroleum production and refining, tourism, i m p o r t o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s , n e w s p a p e r s and p u b l i s h i n g , steel production, mining, plantations, contracting, banking, insurance a n d o t h e r fields. S h o r t a g e o f m a n a g e r i a l e x p e r i e n c e w a s p a r t l y m e t by e n g a g i n g foreigners or accepting foreign technical partners; but many g o v e r n m e n t or s e m i - g o v e r n m e n t enterprises seemed destined to be loss-makers. E x c e p t i n N k r u m a h ' s c a s e it w a s n o t d e v o t i o n t o s o c i a l i s t doctrines w h i c h m o v e d g o v e r n m e n t s into these activities, but a desire to ensure that c o n t r o l o f t h e m d i d n o t r e m a i n in the h a n d s o f n o n - c i t i z e n s . T h u s t o different d e g r e e s a n d i n different w a y s all g o v e r n m e n t s , i n c l u d i n g L i b e r i a , r e q u i r e d t h a t t h e r e b e i n ­ d i g e n o u s participation - w h e t h e r p r i v a t e o r p u b l i c - in existing f o r e i g n e n t e r p r i s e s . I n t h e c a s e o f N i g e r i a , it w a s r e q u i r e d t h a t a majority o f the s h a r e h o l d i n g s h o u l d b e i n d i g e n o u s . In nearly all c a s e s t h e s e f o r e i g n e n t e r p r i s e s w e r e c o m p e n s a t e d f o r t h e e n f o r c e d c h a n g e s in the structure o f their o w n e r s h i p . T h e r e remained, h o w e v e r , a v i g o r o u s local private sector in trade and distribution, w o r k s h o p s , contracting and b u i l d i n g , and road transport. Criticism o f direct large-scale farming b y g o v e r n m e n t agencies g r e w o n the g r o u n d s that g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d b e better e m p l o y e d in assisting, b y p r o v i s i o n o f r o a d s a n d 379

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s t o r a g e , t h e m i l l i o n s o f s m a l l f a r m e r s w h o still c o n s t i t u t e d t h e majority o f the w o r k - f o r c e , and w h o s e o u t p u t had to be greatly raised if a g r o w i n g p o p u l a t i o n w a s to b e p r o p e r l y n o u r i s h e d . W i t h the exception o f N i g e r i a ( w h i c h did not a l w a y s escape, a n d e a r n e d a r e p u t a t i o n as a v e r y s l o w p a y e r o v e r s e a s ) , i n d e p e n d e n t African countries faced balance-of-payment p r o b l e m s and s o u g h t I M F help. Liberia c o n t i n u e d to use the U S dollar, w h e r e a s the four former British colonies, w h i c h once used a c o m m o n currency c l o s e l y l i n k e d t o s t e r l i n g , e a c h e s t a b l i s h e d its o w n c u r r e n c y . N o t h i n g better illustrates G h a n a ' s e c o n o m i c t r a g e d y , t o w h i c h reference has been m a d e , than the worthlessness o f her cedi o v e r m u c h o f the period. T h i s led to vast s m u g g l i n g o f c o c o a into n e i g h b o u r i n g countries, and the s m u g g l i n g into G h a n a o f g o o d s b o u g h t w i t h the francs the c o c o a earned. S m u g g l i n g b e c a m e o n e o f the m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o m m e r c i a l activities in a n g l o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s . W h e t h e r E C O W A S , b y har­ m o n i s i n g p r o d u c e p r i c e s a n d tariff l e v e l s i n t h e a r e a a n d b y e n s u r i n g m o r e realistic e x c h a n g e r a t e s , c o u l d d i m i n i s h it s e e m e d u n c e r t a i n . B u t the drain o f d i a m o n d s from Sierra L e o n e into Liberia, for example, and the ruin o f s o m e o f N i g e r i a ' s industries b y s m u g g l e d imports, w e r e n o t marginal b u t w e r e central features o f the t w o e c o n o m i e s . E C O W A S , it w a s h o p e d , w o u l d a l s o f a c i l i t a t e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f industries, for m a n y o f w h i c h N i g e r i a alone offered a n a d e q u a t e d o m e s t i c m a r k e t , i n a n i n c r e a s i n g v a r i e t y , ranging from car assembly to glass manufacturing and tyre production. Y e t e v e n in N i g e r i a the structure o f the e c o n o m y did n o t f u n d a m e n t a l l y c h a n g e after 1939. T h e oil industry w a s a n ' e n c l a v e ' industry, e m p l o y i n g relatively few N i g e r i a n s ; and although N i g e r i a n entrepreneurs m a d e m u c h m o n e y in s e r v i c i n g the i n d u s t r y , o r t h r o u g h f o r e i g n c o m p a n i e s s e r v i c i n g it, v e r y f e w participated in p r o d u c t i o n , in w h i c h the state c o r p o r a t i o n w a s the p r e d o m i n a n t partner o f the foreign oil c o m p a n i e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s the oil b o o m p r o d u c e d in N i g e r i a a c o n s i d e r a b l e class o f v e r y rich N i g e r i a n s , w h o b e c a m e i m p o r t a n t in the L o n d o n p r o p e r t y market. Social m o b i l i t y remained the great protection against social r e v o l u t i o n . ' S e e k y e first t h e p o l i t i c a l k i n g d o m , a n d all t h i n g s w i l l b e a d d e d u n t o it,' K w a m e N k r u m a h had assured his f o l l o w e r s . T h a t p r o p h e c y w a s still t o b e j u s t i f i e d . 380

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Because o f N i g e r i a ' s i m m e n s e p o p u l a t i o n , the p e o p l e o f a n g l o ­ p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n states o u t n u m b e r t h o s e o f all t h e rest o f B l a c k Africa. A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e , in spite o f the v i o l e n t disruptions w h i c h all e x p e r i e n c e d , t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d a r e l a t i v e l y h i g h d e g r e e o f stability and order, internally and a m o n g t h e m s e l v e s . C o r ­ ruption w a s widespread and privilege w a s rife; nevertheless, d e m o c r a c y , if variously defined, w a s a general g o a l . O n e - p a r t y f a s h i o n s d i d n o t b e c o m e r o o t e d , a n d after l o n g e x p e r i e n c e o f military rule Ghanaians and N i g e r i a n s returned to the uncertainties o f civilian g o v e r n m e n t and multi-party politics. S o m e W e s t A f r i c a n states, i n c l u d i n g these, m a y h a v e entered i n t o a r e g u l a r a l t e r n a t i o n b e t w e e n m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l i a n r u l e ; b u t i n all a n g l o ­ p h o n e states w h i c h e x p e r i e n c e d m i l i t a r y r u l e , t h e c i v i l i a n s c l e a r l y s h o w e d t h e i r d i s l i k e o f it. W h e r e a m a n c a m e f r o m , in m a n y matters, remained m o r e important than w h o he w a s or w h a t he could d o . T h e r e w a s n o l o n g e r , h o w e v e r , e v e n in the N i g e r i a n emirates o r in L i b e r i a , any insuperable barrier to talent rising to the t o p . A c o m b i n a t i o n o f social m o b i l i t y and access to land for almost e v e r y b o d y s e e m e d likely to a v o i d the social tensions o f m a n y other parts o f the w o r l d , p r o v i d e d that g o v e r n m e n t s s h o w e d elementary c o m p e t e n c e in their e c o n o m i c m a n a g e m e n t . Class divisions w e r e appearing, based o n acquired — rather than inherited - w e a l t h and o n p r i v i l e g e d access t o state funds a n d facilities. W i t h t h e p a s s i n g o f t h e a n t i - c o l o n i a l s t r u g g l e , t h e domestic social system w a s subjected to increasing scrutiny b y y o u n g p e o p l e . T h e y c o u l d n o l o n g e r believe that their c o u n t r i e s ' ills w e r e a ' l e g a c y o f c o l o n i a l i s m ' , a c o l o n i a l i s m w h i c h w a s b e g i n n i n g t o b e s e e n as a n e p i s o d e , h o w e v e r s i g n i f i c a n t , i n a h i s t o r y w h i c h in m a n y a r e a s it s c a r c e l y i n t e r r u p t e d . N o r , w h i l e bitterly d e n o u n c i n g r a c i s m in S o u t h A f r i c a , d i d they attach t o external political factors the sinister p o w e r a s c r i b e d t o t h e m in s o m e other parts o f the T h i r d W o r l d . T h e y joined, h o w e v e r , the T h i r d W o r l d c a m p a i g n against the rich countries. A n g l o p h o n e W e s t A f r i c a n l e a d e r s t h e m s e l v e s w e r e m o s t l y free o f the d o u b l e - t h i n k i n g w h i c h a l l o w e d leaders o f countries w h i c h had o n c e been u n d e r c o l o n i a l rule licence to i n d u l g e in c o r r u p t i o n , tyranny and profligacy o n the g r o u n d that they c o u l d n o t b e 3

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b l a m e d for deficiencies in b e h a v i o u r w h i c h s h o u l d be attributed to the colonial past - a sort o f i n n o c e n c e b y association. Real i n d e p e n d e n c e c o m e s w h e n citizens h o l d their leaders, n o t their history, responsible for their condition. A n g l o p h o n e W e s t Africans b e g a n to display that independence remarkably s o o n after t h e c o l o n i a l r u l e r s h a d d e p a r t e d .

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I n t h e 1940s it w a s t h e r a c i a l c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a n societies that presented the critical obstacle to A f r i c a n a d v a n c e . A l t h o u g h there w a s in 1940 a distinction in the British m i n d b e t w e e n the ' c o l o n i e s o f settlement', K e n y a , N o r t h e r n and Southern Rhodesia, o n the one hand, and the ' c o l o n i e s o f administration', U g a n d a , T a n g a n y i k a and Nyasaland, o n the other, the settler presence d o m i n a t e d the r e g i o n in s u c h a m a n n e r as t o p r e c l u d e t h e e a s y a d o p t i o n o f t h e ' W e s t A f r i c a n ' s o l u t i o n in the face o f the d e m a n d for A f r i c a n i n d e p e n d e n c e . P o w e r w a s nevertheless transferred to African n o t E u r o p e a n hands, and b y 1 9 6 4 all t h e s e t e r r i t o r i e s s a v e S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a w e r e i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states. A y e a r later, the settler r e b e l l i o n in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a dispelled any r e m a i n i n g illusions o f Britain's effective control o v e r that territory. Independence, therefore, represented a fundamental landmark i n this p e r i o d , o p e n i n g u p n e w a r e n a s f o r A f r i c a n p a r t i c i p a t i o n and r e m o v i n g significant political, a l t h o u g h n o t e c o n o m i c , c o n ­ s t r a i n t s . T h e c r u c i a l effect, f o r t h e first p o s t - c o l o n i a l d e c a d e at l e a s t , w a s u p o n the internal balance o f p o w e r o n c e the c o l o n i a l arbiter had w i t h d r a w n . T h e independence settlement conferred control o f the institutions o f state u p o n the d o m i n a n t nationalist leader­ s h i p , b u t it d i d n o t n e c e s s a r i l y e n s u r e its c o n t i n u e d a u t h o r i t y . Its l e g i t i m a c y d e p e n d e d u p o n a c o m p l e x i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c a l b a l ­ ance so that those w h o inherited the colonial mantle had b o t h t o n u r t u r e t h a t l e g i t i m a c y a n d t o b u i l d t h e n e w s t a t e . T h e first decade o f independence w a s therefore concerned primarily w i t h t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p o w e r in t h e p o s t - c o l o n i a l s t a t e , a l t h o u g h t h e nature o f the conflict w a s frequently o b s c u r e d b y the rhetoric o f development. W h i l e e c o n o m i c s m i g h t necessarily take s e c o n d place to the imperatives o f politics, a significant acceleration o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h o c c u r r e d i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s , as w e l l as a n e x t e n s i o n o f t h e s o c i a l

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infrastructure. Political independence did not, h o w e v e r , in the first i n s t a n c e c h a n g e t h e p a t t e r n o r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e r e w a s a remarkable continuity in inherited i n s t i t u t i o n s , in c o n t i n u e d e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e , a n d i n t h e inability to eliminate not o n l y p o v e r t y but also the inequality that had been part o f colonial society. T h e distribution o f resources r e m a i n e d at b e s t u n e v e n , a n d at t h e w o r s t g r o s s l y s o . T h e difficulties o f d e v e l o p m e n t w e r e , m o r e o v e r , c o m p o u n d e d b y t h e clear indications that the inherited m o d e l required serious alteration if self-sustaining g r o w t h w a s to b e c o m e the n o r m . A s t h e s e states e n t e r e d t h e i r s e c o n d d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e they d r e w increasingly apart in their d e v e l o p m e n t strategies. T h a t g r o w i n g d i v e r g e n c e r e f l e c t e d , at l e a s t i n p a r t , t h e i r d i f f e r e n t colonial legacies. W h i l e they shared the experience o f political d o m i n a t i o n , the i m p a c t o f c o l o n i a l rule had varied f r o m o n e state to the next. T h e process o f c h a n g e and o f capitalist d e v e l o p m e n t had bitten deeper into s o m e societies than others; they had a d a p t e d i n different w a y s . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e i r c o m m o n c o l o n i a l origin, the e c o n o m i c foundations o n w h i c h the leaders w o u l d b u i l d the p o s t - c o l o n i a l state w e r e t h e r e f o r e in e a c h case different. T w o c r i t i c a l v a r i a b l e s m u s t b e k e p t i n m i n d as w e s e e k t o i d e n t i f y the major d e v e l o p m e n t s in this r e g i o n o v e r these years. O n the one hand the particular s o c i o - e c o n o m i c forces b o r n o u t o f colonial c h a n g e and especially the extent to w h i c h capitalism had b e c o m e r o o t e d in i n d i g e n o u s s o c i e t y ; o n the o t h e r the n a t u r e o f t h e l e a d e r s h i p t h a t e m e r g e d t o a s s u m e p o w e r at i n d e p e n d e n c e . W i t h these v a r i a b l e s in m i n d , w e t u r n t o the p o l i t i c a l a n d constitutional changes that occurred.

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A n y consideration o f political and constitutional development must c o m m e n c e w i t h the change from colonial to sovereign status, and the process o f d e c o l o n i s a t i o n f r o m 1940 to 1964. In 1940 the E u r o p e a n and A s i a n i m m i g r a n t c o m m u n i t i e s , especially the w h i t e minorities in K e n y a and R h o d e s i a , w e r e e c o n o m i c a l l y and politically d o m i n a n t , and until i960 they b e l i e v e d they w o u l d inherit p o w e r . W h i l e British post-war colonial policy generally r e c o g n i s e d t h e f o r c e s o f n a t i o n a l i s m i n t h e w o r l d at l a r g e , t h e p r e s e n c e o f w h i t e s e t t l e r s f o r w h o m A f r i c a w a s h o m e m a d e it t h e

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m o r e difficult f o r B r i t a i n t o a c c e p t A f r i c a n m a j o r i t y r u l e as t h e necessary corollary for that region. Britain w a s therefore reluctant to c o m m i t itself to any p o l i c y o n the t i m i n g and direction o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a n g e . U g a n d a ' s f u t u r e as a n A f r i c a n s t a t e w a s a c k n o w l e d g e d f r o m t h e o u t s e t a n d T a n g a n y i k a ' s s t a t u s as a T r u s t T e r r i t o r y e x p l i c i t l y r e c o g n i s e d A f r i c a n m a j o r i t y r u l e as t h e u l t i m a t e g o a l . E l s e w h e r e t h e f u t u r e w a s less c l e a r , a n d t h e o u t c o m e i n S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , w h e r e i n 1965 t h e w h i t e m i n o r i t y illegally seized p o w e r , emphasises the radical nature o f the changes that o c c u r r e d elsewhere b e t w e e n i960 and 1964. In those y e a r s , after a d e c a d e o f p r e v a r i c a t i o n , B r i t a i n t r a n s f e r r e d p o w e r to A f r i c a n majorities and established six i n d e p e n d e n t B l a c k A f r i c a n s t a t e s : T a n g a n y i k a i n 1 9 6 1 , U g a n d a in 1 9 6 2 , K e n y a i n 1 9 6 3 , M a l a w i ( N y a s a l a n d ) in 1 9 6 4 , Z a m b i a ( N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a ) i n 1 9 6 4 , a n d Z a n z i b a r , w h i c h later j o i n e d w i t h T a n g a n y i k a t o f o r m T a n z a n i a , in 1963. T h e distinctive features o f that d e c o l o n i s a t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , w e r e t h e s h a r p a c c e l e r a t i o n o f p a c e at t h e e n d o f t h e 1950s, and the transfer o f p o w e r f r o m w h i t e t o black. I n t h e final a n a l y s i s d e c o l o n i s a t i o n w a s a s y n t h e s i s o f i m p e r i a l d e s i g n a n d n a t i o n a l i s t p r e s s u r e . O n t h e o n e h a n d , t h e c h a n g e s in British policy w e r e undoubtedly influenced by international d e v e l o p m e n t s , a n d S u e z , C y p r u s a n d M a l a y a m u s t all h a v e p l a y e d t h e i r p a r t . F u r t h e r m o r e t h e s e w e r e still t h e y e a r s o f t h e C o l d W a r ; and w h i l e the British cautioned themselves not to confuse nationalism with C o m m u n i s m , Prime Minister Macmillan had p o i n t e d o u t , as h e p u s h e d B r i t a i n t o w a r d s E u r o p e , t h a t t h e g r e a t issue in the c h a n g i n g international scene w a s w h e t h e r A s i a and A f r i c a w o u l d s w i n g t o t h e east o r t o t h e w e s t . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , the radical c h a n g e s f o r e s h a d o w e d b y the acceptance o f majority r u l e f o r K e n y a at t h e L a n c a s t e r H o u s e C o n f e r e n c e i n i 9 6 0 w e r e m a d e in response to a g r o w i n g A f r i c a n political c o n s c i o u s n e s s . O f a w h o l e series o f e v e n t s w e can h i g h l i g h t o n l y the m o s t p o r t e n t o u s . I t w a s t h e o u t b r e a k o f u r b a n a n d r u r a l v i o l e n c e in K e n y a k n o w n as M a u M a u , w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f e m e r g e n c y i n 1 9 5 2 , t h a t l e d finally t o t h e B r i t i s h a c c e p t a n c e o f m a j o r i t y r u l e . I n U g a n d a it w a s t h e G a n d a r e s p o n s e to G o v e r n o r Cohen's ill-conceived deportation o f K a b a k a Mutesa in 1 9 5 3 t h a t c e m e n t e d t h e ties o f G a n d a n a t i o n a l i s m a n d i n 1 9 5 9 stimulated the national m o v e m e n t that forced the British to r e t r e a t f r o m t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t t o a u n i t a r y state. I t w a s t h e 386

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e m e r g e n c y in N y a s a l a n d i n 1 9 5 9 t h a t f o r c e d a c h a n g e o f t h o u g h t a b o u t the future o f the Central A f r i c a n Federation. B u t b e y o n d t h o s e c r i s e s it w a s t h e g r o u n d s w e l l o f r e s e n t m e n t o f o r d i n a r y h u m a n b e i n g s against the conditions o f colonialism that ultimately created a situation w h e r e the c o l o n i a l rulers c o u l d n o l o n g e r rule w i t h o u t the excessive use o f force. Here w e must enter a caveat. First, the political role o f the i m m i g r a n t c o m m u n i t i e s , especially the E u r o p e a n s , must not be d i s c o u n t e d . T h e m o s t bitter conflicts that o c c u r r e d in these years did so where a white-settler c o m m u n i t y had been dominant. S e c o n d , account must also be taken o f the implications for policy o f the e x p a n s i o n a b r o a d o f c o r p o r a t e capital in the p o s t - w a r years. M e t r o p o l i t a n e c o n o m i c interests and corporate p o w e r had a c r i t i c a l i n f l u e n c e u p o n t h e final s e t t l e m e n t r e a c h e d i n K e n y a i f n o t elsewhere. N e v e r t h e l e s s , w h i l e decolonisation in each territory o w e d m o r e o r less t o t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c o l o n i a l i s t s ' a d a p t a t i o n , a fact m a d e c l e a r b y R h o d e s i a ' s U n i l a t e r a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f I n d e ­ p e n d e n c e , it w a s t h e u p s u r g e o f A f r i c a n p o l i t i c s i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s t h a t made that adaptation necessary. I f the point w a s reached w h e r e t h e c o s t o f d i r e c t r u l e w a s t o o g r e a t , it w a s b e c a u s e o f t h i s n e w African c h a l l e n g e ; and if the British o b j e c t i v e w a s to retain the e c o n o m i c advantages o f colonial relationships w i t h o u t the direct c o s t , this r e q u i r e d c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h a n e w A f r i c a n élite. T h e essential i n g r e d i e n t in d e c o l o n i s a t i o n therefore, a n d that w h i c h g a v e e a c h n e w s t a t e its d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r , w a s t h e f o r c e o f nationalism, and the character and identity o f the A f r i c a n leader­ s h i p t h a t r o d e t o p o w e r o n its b a c k . A l t h o u g h A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s m is s a i d t o h a v e c o m e ' l a t e r ' t o E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a t h a n t o W e s t A f r i c a , its r o o t s lie d e e p i n the past. T h e r e w a s a l o n g r e c o r d o f protest and petition d a t i n g b a c k t o the 1920s in K e n y a a n d S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , a n d in Z a m b i a t h e o r i g i n s o f n a t i o n a l i s m a r e t o b e f o u n d i n t h e first m i n e r s ' s t r i k e s o n t h e C o p p e r b e l t i n 1935 a n d 1 9 4 0 . W h a t c h a n g e d w a s first t h e f o c u s , w h i c h i n t h e 1 9 4 0 s b e c a m e n a t i o n a l r a t h e r t h a n l o c a l . T h e n , i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s , a s e c o n d c h a n g e o c c u r r e d as A f r i c a n politics b e c a m e mass politics, and urban and rural dwellers united in a c o m m o n s u p p o r t f o r a n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f n a t i o n a l i s t p o l i t i c i a n s w h o s e o b j e c t i v e w a s p o w e r at t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l . T h e British had assumed they had almost indefinite time in w h i c h t o a c h i e v e s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t as t h e p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r

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p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e . T h e L a b o u r P a r t y ' s 1943 s t a t e m e n t o n p o s t - w a i a i m s f o r t h e c o l o n i e s c l e a r l y s a w t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s as l o n g t e r m . T h e m o r e significant assumption, h o w e v e r , for the E a s t and Central African scene c o n c e r n e d the pattern o f institutional c h a n g e . Official t h i n k i n g , u n d e r the influence o f p o s t - w a r c o l o n i a l experience in A s i a , accepted the need to a c c o m m o d a t e nationalism, and a major reassessment o f constitutional and political policies m a d e in the C o l o n i a l Office b e t w e e n 1946 and 1949 a c k n o w l e d g e d the n e e d t o p r o m o t e A f r i c a n a d v a n c e m e n t in the civil s e r v i c e and in political representation. T h a t strategy, h o w e v e r , w a s s t r o n g l y 388

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resisted b y the East A f r i c a n g o v e r n o r s , w h o s e n o t i o n s o f political development were n o t those o f the Secretary o f State. T h e colonial debate within East and Central Africa w a s about direct E u r o p e a n enterprise as t h e basis f o r d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h a s s u m e d a continuing E u r o p e a n political presence. T h e sabotage o f a p r o p o s a l i n 1945 f o r e q u a l u n o f f i c i a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e t h r e e races in a n e w East A f r i c a n L e g i s l a t i v e A s s e m b l y w a s a reflection o f settler influence. T h e clearest d e m o n s t r a t i o n , h o w e v e r , o f s e t t l e r p o w e r a n d o f t h e c h a r a c t e r o f official t h i n k i n g w a s t h e decision b y the n e w C o n s e r v a t i v e g o v e r n m e n t t o p r o c e e d in 1953 w i t h the Central African federation, notwithstanding the almost unanimous opposition from the region's African inhabitants. Justified in terms o f its e c o n o m i c potential, criticised as a n abdication b y Britain o f her responsibility for the African people, t h i s Mast a t t e m p t at I m p e r i a l c o n s o l i d a t i o n ' d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t B r i t a i n still s a w t h e E u r o p e a n s a s t h e m o s t s u i t a b l e a g e n t s f o r development. 1

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S e e i n g t h e E u r o p e a n settlers as t h e ' m o s t reliable c o l l a b o r a t o r s but unable t o ignore either A s i a n minority o r African mass, Britain attempted t o identify political a d v a n c e w i t h multiracialism. T h u s although Africans were appointed to theLegislative Council in K e n y a i n 1 9 4 4 , T a n g a n y i k a a n d U g a n d a i n 1 9 4 5 , N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a i n 1948 a n d N y a s a l a n d i n 1 9 4 9 , e a c h n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n ' i n v o l v e d a b a l a n c i n g o f t h e racial c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e unofficial side o f t h e legislature', t o p r o v i d e representation f o r E u r o p e a n , A s i a n a n d African. T h i s w a s critical f o r the d e v e l o p m e n t o f A f r i c a n political c o n s c i o u s n e s s , since multiracialism failed t o w i n African support. Africans rejected a partnership m a d e infamous b y Sir G o d f r e y H u g g i n s ' unfortunate reference t o t h e partnership o f rider a n d horse, a n d discredited m o r e b y the federation than by any other event. O v e r the length and breadth o f East and Central Africa, Africans feared the extension o f E u r o p e a n d o m i ­ nation. I n T a n g a n y i k a in 1947 the c o n t r o v e r s y sparked off b y Britain's proposals f o r interterritorial c o o p e r a t i o n stimulated political feeling, a n d A f r i c a n resentment against colonial rule began to channel into the T a n g a n y i k a African Association. In 1

C. Pratt, The critical phase in Tanzania, 1941-1968: Nyerere and the emergence of a socialist strategy (Cambridge, 1976), 14IT; Ronald Robinson, 'Andrew Cohen and the transfer of power in tropical Africa 1940-1957', in W. H. Morris-Jones and Georges Fischer (eds.), Decolonisation and after: the British and French experience (London, 1980). See Robinson, 'Andrew Cohen and the transfer of power*. 2

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U g a n d a in 1950 a y o u n g G a n d a leader pointed o u t that the p r o p o s e d p o l i c y o f f e d e r a t i o n f u r t h e r s o u t h w a s * m a k i n g it v e r y difficult f o r A f r i c a n s w h o w o u l d l i k e t o s u p p o r t B r i t i s h p o l i c y i n E a s t A f r i c a ' . It w a s this ' c o m m o n c o l o u r p l a t f o r m e m a n a t i n g from Southern Africa that w a s disturbing the minds o f Africans in E a s t A f r i c a t o d a y ' . a n d in 1 9 5 7 the T a n g a n y i k a A f r i c a n U n i o n ( T A N U ) c o n s o l i d a t e d its g r o w i n g m a s s b a s e s p e c i f i c a l l y as a r e s u l t o f o p p o s i t i o n t o m u l t i r a c i a l i s m w h i c h b e c a m e ' the i s s u e in T a n g a n y i k a in 1 9 5 7 - 5 8 ' . A t t h e s a m e t i m e in N o r t h e r n Rhodesia, politicians disagreed o n the m o s t appropriate strategy to a d o p t against b o t h that federation a n d c o n t i n u e d racial domination. T h e m o r e militant elements founded the United National Independence Party ( U N I P ) , w h i c h quickly became the dominant political force in the country. 1

2

Race and inequality were undoubtedly k e y stimuli to the g r o w t h o f A f r i c a n nationalism. I f the central issue w a s E u r o p e a n political influence, there w a s also the crucial issue o f A s i a n d o m i n a n c e i n c o m m e r c e a n d i n d u s t r y . T h e p r o b l e m o f r a c e , it is t r u e , p r e s e n t e d i t s e l f i n a different g u i s e i n Z a n z i b a r , w h e r e t h e key issue w a s the d o m i n a n c e o f the A r a b minority o n an island w h o s e inhabitants w e r e o v e r w h e l m i n g l y African. Nevertheless o n t h a t i s l a n d , as e l s e w h e r e , t h e 1 9 5 0 s s a w t h e u p s u r g e o f A f r i c a n grass-roots political activity, w h i c h c h a l l e n g e d racial d o m i n a t i o n and demanded p o w e r for the majority. T h e aspirations that nationalism reflected w e r e w i d e s p r e a d , uniting Africans across colonial boundaries. F o r example, the Nyasaland African C o n g r e s s , formed in 1944, and operating in Southern Rhodesia t h r o u g h the 117000 N y a s a migrant labourers in t h a t c o l o n y , g a v e a n e a r l y i m p e t u s t o S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a n nationalist action and organisation. In 1 9 5 6 , the N y a s a l a n d A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s w a s in turn p r o m p t e d t o d e m a n d an A f r i c a n majority in the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l b y recent d e v e l o p m e n t s n o t only in W e s t Africa b u t also in U g a n d a . T h e w a v e o f industrial u n r e s t i n E a s t A f r i c a ' s p o r t s at t h e e n d o f t h e w a r w a s i n f l u e n c e d b y n e w s o f the strike in D u r b a n , a n d in E a s t A f r i c a n e w s travelled easily a n d rapidly a l o n g the r a i l w a y m o r e than o n c e t o influence events in another territory. 1

E . M . K . M u l i r a , Troubled Uganda, q u o t e d i n D . A . L o w , The mind of Buganda ( L o n d o n , 1971), 154. P r a t t , The critical phase in Tanzania, 3 5; J o h n Iliffe, A modern history of Tanganyika ( C a m b r i d g e , 1979). 2

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T h e r e a l test o f n a t i o n a l i s m w a s , h o w e v e r , t h e c r e a t i o n o f state-wide political organisations w i t h mass support. W i t h hind­ sight w e n o w appreciate the limitations o f the political parties that e m e r g e d in the 1 9 5 0 s ; b u t this s h o u l d n o t lead us t o u n d e r e s t i m a t e their significance, in the c o n t e x t o f their time, o r the f u n d a m e n t a l nature o f the c h a n g e s that their a d v e n t presaged. T h r e e b r o a d p a t t e r n s o f c h a n g e e m e r g e d . T h e first w a s t h e r i s e o f u r b a n a n d proletarian discontent. T h e s e c o n d w a s the g r o w t h o f rural g r i e v a n c e . T h e third w a s the fusion o f rural and urban protest into a national m o v e m e n t by a n e w nationalist leadership that a r t i c u l a t e d its o w n d e m a n d s f o r p o l i t i c a l p o w e r i n t h e s e n t i m e n t s o f the a g g r i e v e d multitude. T h e desires and the discontents o f the locality w e r e translated into the i d i o m o f national i n d e p e n d e n c e . W e can d o n o better than q u o t e the explanation g i v e n b y Tanzania's President, Julius N y e r e r e , o f the g r o w t h o f nationalism t o i d e n t i f y t h e h e a r t o f t h e p r o c e s s . ' N a t i o n a l f r e e d o m — uhuru — w a s a n u n c o m p l i c a t e d p r i n c i p l e , a n d it n e e d e d n o j u s t i f i c a t i o n t o t h e a u d i e n c e s o f t h e first f e w T A N U s p e a k e r s . A l l t h a t w a s r e q u i r e d w a s a n e x p l a n a t i o n o f its r e l e v a n c e t o t h e i r l i v e s , a n d s o m e r e a s o n a b l e a s s u r a n c e t h a t it c o u l d b e o b t a i n e d t h r o u g h t h e methods proposed by T A N U . ' 1

T h e u n e v e n incidence o f industrial and urban protest reflected t h e u n e v e n i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a n d u r b a n g r o w t h o v e r t h e r e g i o n as a w h o l e ; b u t in e a c h c a s e it w a s a p r o t e s t a g a i n s t s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c inequality and the deplorable c o n d i t i o n s in w h i c h the bulk o f the w o r k - f o r c e lived and w o r k e d . T h u s the p o s t - w a r years o p e n e d w i t h a succession o f strikes in M o m b a s a , D a r es S a l a a m and Z a n z i b a r ; and a railway strike that i n v o l v e d b o t h R h o d e s i a s . T h e late 1 9 4 0 s s a w a w a v e o f s t r i k e s i n S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a t h a t made those years ' a period o f African unrest o f unprecedented intensity and scale'. G o d f r e y H u g g i n s , then prime minister o f R h o d e s i a , c o m m e n t e d : ' W e are w i t n e s s i n g t h e e m e r g e n c e o f a p r o l e t a r i a t a n d i n t h i s c o u n t r y it h a p p e n s t o b e b l a c k . ' W h e t h e r o r n o t it w a s a p r o l e t a r i a t , t h e w a g e - l a b o u r f o r c e i n S a l i s b u r y ( t h e m o d e r n H a r a r e ) , as i n t h e o t h e r u r b a n a n d i n d u s t r i a l c e n t r e s , challenged colonial rule (but not necessarily the capitalist system) t o d e m a n d t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f t h e i r w a y o f life, a n d t o w i n s t e a d y increases in urban w a g e s o v e r the 1950s. 2

1

2

J u l i u s N y e r e r e , Freedom and unity ( L o n d o n , 1968), 1. L . G a n n a n d M . G e l f a n d , Huggins of Rhodesia ( L o n d o n , 1964), 201.

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T h e p o w e r o f urban labour was most dramatically demonstrated o n the N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a n C o p p e r b e l t , w h e r e sustained militant action o n the part o f A f r i c a n miners t h r o u g h the 1950s ultimately w r e s t e d the d o m i n a n t position f r o m the w h i t e union. T h e i r v i c t o r y w a s finally s i g n i f i e d b y t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e E u r o p e a n M i n e w o r k e r s U n i o n in 1964. T h e r o l l i n g strikes o f 1 9 5 6 , w h i c h p r o ­ v o k e d the N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a n g o v e r n m e n t t o declare a state o f e m e r g e n c y , indicated the organisational ability o f the miners t h a t h a d first b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d i n 1 9 3 5 . T h e b a s i s f o r t r a d e u n i o n i s m lay in this early and s p o n t a n e o u s r e s p o n s e o f A f r i c a n l a b o u r t o relative d e p r i v a t i o n a n d racial a n d e c o n o m i c in­ equality. T h e Northern Rhodesian copper-miners and the M o m b a s a d o c k e r s s h o w e d that illiterate w o r k e r s c o u l d c o m b i n e w i t h s o m e d e g r e e o f success in defence o f their interests and, i n t h e N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a n c a s e at l e a s t , i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n a r i s i n g o u t o f e c o n o m i c conditions essentially preceded political agitation d i r e c t e d at i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e trade-union m o v e m e n t that d e v e l o p e d in the 1950s o w e d a g o o d deal to the influence o f British labour policy, to the support o f the British and international trade-union m o v e m e n t s , and also to c h a n g i n g e m p l o y e r attitudes t o w a r d s organised labour. B e y o n d this, h o w e v e r , there w a s the direct stimulus o f the nationalist struggle, and the g r o w i n g African assertiveness that characterised the p e r i o d f r o m 1 9 5 5 . U n i o n o r g a n i s a t i o n offered a v e h i c l e for the articulation o f labour discontent but w a s also part o f the drive t o w a r d s i n d e p e n d e n c e ; a n d t h e p o l i t i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t o f t h e late 1 9 5 0 s c a n n o t b e i g n o r e d as a n i m p o r t a n t s t i m u l u s t o t r a d e - u n i o n activity in these latter years. N o r s h o u l d w e i g n o r e the i m p a c t o f the c h a n g i n g e c o n o m i c situation and the resulting u n e m p l o y ­ ment. T h e a c h i e v e m e n t s o f l a b o u r are difficult t o m e a s u r e . A t i n d e p e n d e n c e there w a s a small l a b o u r m o v e m e n t in e a c h territory. M e m b e r s h i p c o v e r e d o n l y a small percentage o f the w a g e - l a b o u r force, a l t h o u g h this m i g h t reflect g o v e r n m e n t a l constraints rather than u n i o n inaction. T h u s S o u t h e r n Rhodesia, w i t h the largest w a g e - l a b o u r f o r c e i n c o l o n i a l A f r i c a i n t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , h a d t h e smallest trade-union m o v e m e n t . N o r t h e r n Rhodesia, w h e r e u n i o n m e m b e r s h i p w a s j u s t u n d e r 40 p e r c e n t o f t h e w a g e - l a b o u r f o r c e , p r o b a b l y had the largest union membership. W h a t distinguished N o r t h e r n Rhodesia's labour m o v e m e n t , h o w e v e r , w a s the African 392

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Mineworkers' Union, of which a Labour Department

official

c o m m e n t e d in the late 1950s that ' o v e r the past m a n y y e a r s t h e idea has g r o w n u p a m o n g s t the A f r i c a n s that o n c e they enter the C o p p e r b e l t area the p e o p l e t h e y m u s t o b e y in all t h i n g s are the A M W U l e a d e r s . . .'.* T h e c o i n c i d e n c e in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a o f a highly organised, centralised industry, w i t h a concentrated w o r k ­ force, a h i g h l y c h a r g e d racial situation a n d p o w e r f u l

leadership

in the p e r s o n s o f L a w r e n c e K a t i l u n g u a n d , later, J o h n C h i s a t a , contributed trade-union Kenya

a

to

the

emergence

of a powerful

union,

whose

tradition w e n t b e y o n d any other in the region. In similar

combination

of

a

growing

work-force

in

c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f racial inequality also stimulated the g r o w t h o f a v i g o r o u s labour m o v e m e n t , and t h r e w u p an outstanding y o u n g l a b o u r leader in T o m M b o y a . T h e M a u M a u e m e r g e n c y ,

and

s u b s e q u e n t l y u n i o n i n v o l v e m e n t in the c o u n t r y ' s factional politics nevertheless precluded the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a u t o n o m o u s The

politics o f nationalist

protest

required

unions.

also the

mass

s u p p o r t o f the rural majorities. N a t i o n a l i s m reflected the g r o w i n g r u r a l r e s e n t m e n t at t h e i n c r e a s i n g i n t r u s i o n o f c o l o n i a l g o v e r n ­ ment into people's daily lives, w h i c h w a s a consequence o f post-war policies for e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t and agricultural i m p r o v e m e n t . 'Purposive government

action, in e c o n o m i c , educational

and

agrarian spheres, b r o u g h t individual Africans, n o w m o r e peasants than tribesmen, into m u c h closer and m o r e irritating contact w i t h the colonial r e g i m e . '

2

T h e consequence, without exception, was

an increased political c o n s c i o u s n e s s r o o t e d in anti-colonial senti­ m e n t at t h e g r a s s - r o o t s l e v e l . T h u s , w h i l e G e o r g e N y a n d o r o , o n e o f the founders o f the Southern R h o d e s i a n National C o n g r e s s , said o f the N a t i v e L a n d H u s b a n d r y recruiter C o n g r e s s ever h a d ' ,

3

A c t t h a t it w a s ' t h e

best

Oginga Odinga, one of Kenya's

major politicians, c o n c l u d e d that in K e n y a 'resistance t o g o v e r n ­ m e n t soil conservation measures and land consolidation g a v e the mass b a c k i n g to the political m o v e m e n t . . . ' . nationalism in N o r t h e r n 1

4

The growth of

R h o d e s i a , d o m i n a t e d as it w a s b y t h e

R i c h a r d J a c o b s , The relationship between African trade unions and political

organisations

in Northern Rhodesia/Zambia, 1949-61 ( G e n e v a , 1971), 21, q u o t i n g t h e N o r t h e r n Rhodesian government. J o h n L o n s d a l e , ' S o m e o r i g i n s o f n a t i o n a l i s m i n E a s t A f r i c a * , Journal of African 2

History, 1968, 9, 1, 141. 3

Q u o t e d in L . W . B o w m a n , Politics in Rhodesia: white power in an African state

( C a m b r i d g e , M a s s . , 1973), 49. Not jet uhuru ( L o n d o n , 1967), 107. 4

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u r b a n , industrial C o p p e r b e l t , w a s just as d e e p l y r o o t e d in t h e anti-colonial grievances o f the villages, and the strength o f rural protest contributed a great deal t o the ultimate success o f the nationalist m o v e m e n t . T h e D e v l i n R e p o r t ' s terse analysis o f t h e roots o f unrest in Nyasaland s u m m e d u p the circumstances o f r u r a l p r o t e s t o v e r t h e r e g i o n as a w h o l e .

About ten years ago the Government enacted legislation under which rules were made to prevent soil erosion. [These rules] mean a good deal of labour, just before the rains come and when the ground is dry and hard... There are also veterinary rules... Breaches of these rules lead to fines and in extreme cases imprisonment. They are very unpopular... Their object is little understood... The enforcement of these rules led to disputes and to a great deal of bitter feeling during the period we had under review... 1

W h i l e the general g r o u n d s w e l l o f peasant discontent gathered m o m e n t u m from opposition to enforced agricultural improve­ ment, the m o s t intense rural nationalism w a s b o r n o u t o f attachment t o the land. Africans universally feared the loss o f their land to E u r o p e a n s . E v e n in U g a n d a , w h e r e there w a s minimal alienation o f land to non-Africans, the U g a n d a g o v e r n m e n t ' s attempt in 1956 to introduce land reforms w h i c h p r o v i d e d for individual tenure p r o v o k e d a sharp opposition o v e r almost the w h o l e c o u n t r y . It w a s h o w e v e r i n t h o s e t e r r i t o r i e s w h e r e l a n d h a d been alienated t o E u r o p e a n s that the m o s t bitter resentment w a s bred. In N y a s a l a n d the A b r a h a m s R e p o r t in 1946 identified the strength o f opposition t o E u r o p e a n planters, and the unrest o f the 1950s o w e d a great deal t o the bitterness created b y the h a r d s h i p s o f thangatay t h e A f r i c a n t e n a n t s y s t e m . I n S o u t h e r n Rhodesia, African action o v e r land w a s checked o n l y b y the m o r e repressive g o v e r n m e n t a l controls that existed in that territory. I n K e n y a , w h e r e land h a d been the central political issue since the 1 9 2 0 s , it w a s t h e i m p a c t o f l a n d a l i e n a t i o n u p o n t h e K i k u y u , t h e Africans most seriously disadvantaged b y E u r o p e a n settlement ( a l t h o u g h n o t those w h o lost the largest a m o u n t o f land), that set in t r a i n t h e p r o t e s t t h a t e r u p t e d finally i n 1 9 5 2 i n t o t h e v i o l e n c e o f M a u M a u resistance a n d the state o f e m e r g e n c y that lasted s e v e n years and d u r i n g w h i c h there w e r e in excess o f ten thousand African casualties. 1

Report of the Nyasaland Commission of Inquiry ( t h e D e v l i n R e p o r t ) , C m n d 814 ( L o n d o n , 1959), 19. C o m p a r e r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e c u t t i n g - o u t o f c o c o a t r e e s i n t h e G o l d C o a s t , C h a p t e r 7.

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T h e t h i r d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p a t t e r n t h a t w e c a n i d e n t i f y is t h e e m e r g e n c e o f a n e w s t y l e o f l e a d e r s h i p . T h e first s t a g e b e g a n s o o n after t h e w a r w h e n t h e e a r l i e r l e a d e r s h i p o f i l l i t e r a t e w o r k e r s w a s replaced b y that o f y o u n g e r , m o r e educated m e n , like y o u n g C h e g e K i b a c h i a in M o m b a s a , o r L a w r e n c e K a t i l u n g u o n t h e C o p p e r b e l t . T h o s e men, the clerks and the hospital orderlies, r e p l a c e d t h e c h i e f s as l e a d e r s in t h e u r b a n s i t u a t i o n . A s i m i l a r p r o c e s s o f c h a n g e o c c u r r e d in the rural areas, a l t h o u g h o v e r a l o n g e r period o f time, w h e r e b y the chiefs lost the role o f c o m m u n i c a t o r s to a newer, y o u n g e r generation o f leaders: the s c h o o l teachers, the clerks and the traders w h o w e r e outside the chiefly and the N a t i v e A u t h o r i t y structure. T h e s e c o n d s t a g e i n t h i s e v o l u t i o n o c c u r r e d i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s , a little later in s o m e c o l o n i e s t h a n in o t h e r s , w i t h the a p p e a r a n c e o f a n e w type o f politician, the nationalist, w i t h a s t r o n g , m o r e specific a n t i - c o l o n i a l c o m m i t m e n t . Y o u n g , m a n y still i n t h e i r t w e n t i e s , they w e r e generally m o r e e d u c a t e d than the earlier leaders. S o m e , b u t b y n o m e a n s all, had b e e n a b r o a d for part o f their e d u c a t i o n ( w h i c h m e a n t in m a n y cases an e x p e r i e n c e o f S o u t h A f r i c a ) . T h e r e w e r e exceptions, but the majority o f these n e w leaders w e r e the second generation o f the e m e r g e n t elite: teachers, c o o p e r a t i v e officials, t r a d e u n i o n i s t s , c l e r k s , a n d a f e w o f t h e m p r o f e s s i o n a l men. T h e s e w e r e the m e n w h o built the political parties; w h o started and edited the party n e w s p a p e r s ; and w h o m o u l d e d rural and urban discontent into a coherent national protest w h i c h p r o v i d e d t h e m w i t h an institutional base f r o m w h i c h , w i t h apparently complete self-confidence, they demanded p o w e r . T h e nationalists e n c o u n t e r e d a g o o d deal o f o p p o s i t i o n in the 1950s f r o m c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s w h i c h s o u g h t t o direct political activity into a pattern o f their o w n m a k i n g , w i t h a d e g r e e o f coercion that w a s for the m o s t part absent from the W e s t African s c e n e . I n K e n y a t h e e m e r g e n c y l e d t o t h e p r o h i b i t i o n o f all political organisations and the complete cessation o f normal p o l i t i c a l life f o r A f r i c a n s u n t i l 1 9 5 6 , w h e n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l a s s o c i a t i o n s w a s p e r m i t t e d at t h e d i s t r i c t l e v e l . C o u n t r y ­ w i d e political activity w a s n o t again permitted until i960, and that restriction, c o m b i n e d w i t h the e x c l u s i o n o f the great majority o f the K i k u y u f r o m politics for the s e v e n years o f the e m e r g e n c y , had long-lasting c o n s e q u e n c e s for the g r o w t h o f the parties. In Central Africa the nationalists universally encountered v i g o r o u s

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official h o s t i l i t y t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 9 5 0 s , c u l m i n a t i n g i n t h e 1 9 5 9 state o f e m e r g e n c y w h e n t h e A f r i c a n p a r t i e s w e r e b a n n e d a n d t h e l e a d e r s d e t a i n e d i n all t h r e e t e r r i t o r i e s . I n T a n g a n y i k a t h e fledgling party established in 1954, the T a n g a n y i k a African National U n i o n ( T A N U ) , suffered e a r l y d i f f i c u l t i e s i n a n u m b e r o f d i s t r i c t s ; a n d in Z a n z i b a r n e i t h e r A r a b n o r A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s t s w e n t u n s c a t h e d . W i t h the c h a n g e in British p o l i c y b y i960 c a m e a c h a n g e in attitudes t o w a r d s nationalist leaders, demonstrated dramatically b y the s u d d e n release o f N y a s a l a n d ' s nationalist leader, D r B a n d a , early in i 9 6 0 , a p p a r e n t l y at t h e behest o f the Secretary o f State. It w o u l d b e a n o t h e r year b e f o r e J o m o K e n y a t t a ' s release, b u t f r o m that date the colonial g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e forced t o f o l l o w w h e r e t h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e l e d , s i n c e as t h e W i l d R e p o r t h a d p o i n t e d o u t apropos o f Uganda:

If the aim, namely to establish a National Assembly on the House of Commons model, is accepted, then it follows that well-organised political parties commanding the confidence of the majority of the electorate are an essential part of the system... therefore our recommendations should be designed to encourage the development of political parties capable of operating the parliamentary system... 1

C o l o n i a l policy decreed a n d the nationalists accepted that electoral s u p p o r t w a s a necessary prerequisite for t h e transfer o f p o w e r . Hence the African people across the region w e n t to the p o l l s in a rapid s u c c e s s i o n o f 1 7 different e l e c t i o n s , s o m e o f t h e m c a r r i e d t h r o u g h w i t h a p p a r e n t h a s t e , t h e last i n e a c h c a s e o n t h e basis o f universal franchise, t o d e t e r m i n e the leaders w h o w o u l d a s s u m e office. T h e first d i r e c t e l e c t i o n s w e r e h e l d i n K e n y a i n 1 9 5 7 , t h e last i n N y a s a l a n d i n 1 9 6 4 . T h e i m p e r a t i v e s o f t h e e l e c t o r a l process produced the modern mass m o v e m e n t s w h i c h transformed political o r g a n i s a t i o n at t h e territorial level. W i t h t h e crucial e x c e p t i o n o f S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , w h e r e settler c o n t r o l d e s t r o y e d African politics in 1962, the African political parties held the centre o f the stage for those seven years o f electoral politics. T A N U led the w a y ; b u t in e a c h state b y 1964 the nationalists h a d established, w i t h v a r y i n g degrees o f success, a n e w institutional framework for populist politics. T h e p a r t i e s t h a t e m e r g e d c o u l d all t r a c e t h e i r o r i g i n s b a c k t o the earlier p e r i o d o f political activity. U N I P f o r m e d in N o r t h e r n 1

U g a n d a P r o t e c t o r a t e , Report of the Constitutional Committee 1919 ( E n t e b b e , 1959),

33-

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R h o d e s i a in i960, and the M a l a w i C o n g r e s s Party ( M C P ) estab­ lished a year earlier, b o t h s u c c e e d e d the earlier c o n g r e s s - s t y l e m o v e m e n t s established in the 1940s in r e s p o n s e t o the threat o f federation.

B o t h quickly built up massive support,

although

U N I P w a s unable to eliminate the old African N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s ( A N C ) , w h i c h c o n t i n u e d as a s m a l l b u t v i g o r o u s o p p o s i t i o n p a r t y until the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f the o n e - p a r t y state in 1 9 7 2 . I n K e n y a the dominant

K e n y a African National U n i o n ( K A N U ) , traced

its

o r i g i n s b a c k to the K i k u y u Central A s s o c i a t i o n f o r m e d in the 1920s, b u t

was more immediately a confederation

o f district

a s s o c i a t i o n s set u p s i n c e 1 9 5 6 . A t the same time these parties w e r e a n e w p h e n o m e n o n : terms o f their o b j e c t i v e s ; their electoral f u n c t i o n s ; and

in

their

characteristic association o f a n e w nationalist leadership w i t h the discontented rural and urban mass. T h e i r m e t h o d s w e r e also n e w . T h e y used the techniques and s y m b o l s o f the mass party and they e m p h a s i s e d r e c r u i t m e n t at t h e g r a s s r o o t s a n d i n t h e r u r a l a r e a s . M o s t o f t h e m p e r f o r m e d c o n s i d e r a b l e feats i n m o b i l i s i n g l a r g e r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n s first t o r e g i s t e r a n d t h e n t o v o t e . I n N y a s a l a n d , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e r e g i s t r a t i o n o f n o t far s h o r t o f t w o m i l l i o n v o t e r s , in less t h a n a w e e k , b e f o r e t h e 1 9 6 4 e l e c t i o n s , w a s a t r i u m p h f o r t h e M C P o r g a n i s a t i o n . A n d e v e r y w h e r e t h e y m a r s h a l l e d at t h e polls a m a s s i v e , l a r g e l y illiterate electorate, w h o m a d e their m a r k s f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e . N o r s h o u l d it b e a s s u m e d t h a t i l l i t e r a t e v o t e r s w e r e n e c e s s a r i l y u n a w a r e o f w h a t w a s at s t a k e . I n U g a n d a , a significant d r o p in the p o l l in B u n y o r o b e t w e e n the

first

and

s e c o n d g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s in 1 9 6 1 a n d 1 9 6 2 , u n d o u b t e d l y r e f l e c t e d g r a s s - r o o t s r e s e n t m e n t at t h e u n r e s o l v e d L o s t C o u n t i e s i s s u e . The

political parties

therefore

performed

mobilising popular anti-colonial protest machine. Y e t notwithstanding

a major

through

role

in

the electoral

their exhilarating electoral vic­

tories, the parties that t o o k p o w e r shared o n e critical w e a k n e s s that w o u l d h a v e significant i m p l i c a t i o n s for the p o s t - c o l o n i a l state. A l t h o u g h m a n y o f the y o u n g nationalists demonstrated

consid­

erable organisational skill, the parties they created w e r e o r g a n i ­ sationally w e a k . T h e i r m o s t serious w e a k n e s s w a s perhaps their inability to c o n t r o l local-level activists in a situation w h e r e a g o o d deal o f nationalist

a c t i v i t y o c c u r r e d at t h e l o c a l l e v e l . W h i l e

K e n y a ' s K A N U presented the m o s t extreme p r o b l e m s o f local a u t o n o m y , in fact all t h e p a r t i e s , w i t h t h e p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n o f 397

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the M C P , w e r e characteristically m o r e decentralised in practice than their constitutions a l l o w e d . T h e s e w e a k n e s s e s d e r i v e d in part f r o m the limitations o f resources available. T h e y also reflected the pluralistic character o f the parties, w h i c h s o u g h t to mobilise a w i d e range o f societal and e c o n o m i c interests w i t h i n the o n e m o v e m e n t . T w o particular internal p r o b l e m s need to be b o r n e in m i n d . W h e r e o r g a n i s e d l a b o u r w a s a s i g n i f i c a n t e l e m e n t i n s o c i e t y , d i f f e r i n g v i e w s as t o the p r o p e r relationship b e t w e e n party and trade u n i o n created a potential source o f conflict w i t h i n the nationalist leadership. A l t h o u g h g o v e r n m e n t s s o u g h t w i t h o u t exception to isolate the unions from politics, the political c o n s e q u e n c e s o f industrial action c o u l d not be a v o i d e d . Party politicians and radical y o u n g t r a d e - u n i o n l e a d e r s s a w i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n as a l e g i t i m a t e w e a p o n in the nationalist s t r u g g l e , a l t h o u g h there w e r e in fact f e w politically m o t i v a t e d strikes a c r o s s the r e g i o n in these years. L a b o u r ' s role in the nationalist s t r u g g l e , h o w e v e r , notwithstand­ i n g the close relationship b e t w e e n party and union leaders, p r o d u c e d a potential rival to and thus a potential division within the party. S e c o n d , t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f different e t h n i c a n d r e g i o n a l interests w i t h i n the same party w a s also a potential s o u r c e o f c o n f l i c t . It w a s t h i s a s s o c i a t i o n o f r e g i o n a l i n t e r e s t s , a n d t h e r e f o r e o f a n u m b e r o f p o w e r f u l national leaders exploiting regional grievances within the same party, that w a s o n e underlying cause o f the inability o f the centre to c o n t r o l the p e r i p h e r y in b o t h K A N U in K e n y a a n d U N I P in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a . S u c h differences c o u l d n o t a l w a y s be c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n the o n e p a r t y . W h e r e m o r e t h a n o n e p a r t y e m e r g e d , it r e f l e c t e d t h e d e p t h o f cleavages w i t h i n society that w o u l d not be subordinated to the n a t i o n a l i s t o b j e c t i v e , b u t w e r e i n fact e x a c e r b a t e d b y t h e d e c o l o n i s a t i o n process. T h u s the success o f the single party in T a n g a n y i k a a n d in N y a s a l a n d w a s n o t least a reflection o f the a b s e n c e o f d e e p - r o o t e d d i v i s i o n s in t h o s e societies. I n K e n y a , b y c o n t r a s t , t h e r e w e r e i n t e n s e fears a m o n g t h e s o - c a l l e d m i n o r i t y t r i b e s o f t h e i r p o s s i b l e s u b j e c t i o n , i n t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e , at t h e hands o f the e c o n o m i c a l l y and politically d o m i n a n t K i k u y u and L u o p e o p l e s . R e f l e c t e d a b o v e all i n t h e c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n K a l e n j i n and K i k u y u o v e r access to the settlers' land in the Rift V a l l e y , this l e d t o t h e f o r m a t i o n i n i 9 6 0 o f a s e c o n d p a r t y , t h e K e n y a 398

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African Democratic Union ( K A D U ) to challenge K A N U ' s drive f o r p o w e r , a n d t o b e c o m e , u n t i l s h o r t l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e parliamentary opposition. In K e n y a also intra-party tensions reflected the conflict b e t w e e n landed a n d landless in K i k u y u society. I n U g a n d a , the central political issue o f B u g a n d a ' s d o m i n a n c e , allied t o the d e e p - r o o t e d religious rivalry, resulted in the g r o w t h o f a h i g h l y c o m p e t i t i v e t w o - p a r t y system. It is i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r i n m i n d t h e r o l e o f v i o l e n c e i n t h e decolonisation process. Radicalism in those years related t o means rather than ends, a n d militancy a n d m o d e r a t i o n referred t o the use o f force. Militant politics g r e w o u t o f the juxtaposition o f A f r i c a n d e p r i v a t i o n a n d E u r o p e a n p r i v i l e g e . H e n c e it w a s i n t h e K e n y a n Highlands and o n the Northern Rhodesian Copperbelt, t h e t w o a r e a s w h e r e c o l o n i a l i s m b i t d e e p e s t i n t o A f r i c a n life, t h a t African resentment against the indignities o f colonialism p r o d u c e d the earliest a n d t h e m o s t v i o l e n t protest. T h e s e w e r e n o t , h o w e v e r , t h e o n l y areas o f v i o l e n t protest. Industrial unrest w a s a w i d e s p r e a d theme d u r i n g these years a n d rural p o p u l i s m carried w i t h it u n d e r t o n e s o f v i o l e n c e . W e m a y r e c a l l t h e s u c c e s s i v e c r i s e s o f 1945, 1949 a n d 1959 in B u g a n d a , all o f w h i c h w e r e m a r k e d b y demonstrations against the B u g a n d a g o v e r n m e n t and colonial rule. U N I P militancy p r o v o k e d serious rural v i o l e n c e in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a in e a c h s u c c e s s i v e year b e t w e e n 1958 a n d 1 9 6 4 . O n c e t h e British c h a n g e d their p o l i c y a n d b e c a m e a n x i o u s , as they d i d from i960, t o ' g u i d e the energies o f the nationalists into constructive channels and t o secure their c o o p e r a t i o n in a p r o g r a m m e o f steady b u t n o t h e a d l o n g political a d v a n c e ' , force w a s n o l o n g e r necessary. T h e nationalist leaders w h o c a m e t o p o w e r a t i n d e p e n d e n c e d i d s o as a r e s u l t o f a b a r g a i n i n g p r o c e s s that p r o c e e d e d t h r o u g h constitutional channels. A l l o f t h e m used the constitutional process t o a d v a n c e w h a t they s a w t o b e their c o u n t r y ' s a n d their o w n interests. B u t w h e r e there w e r e rival elements within the nationalist m o v e m e n t , the bargaining process w a s n o t simply b e t w e e n colonial rulers a n d nationalists, b u t b e t w e e n t h o s e r i v a l i n t e r e s t s as w e l l . T h e i n d e p e n d e n c e a r r a n g e ­ m e n t s reflected t h o s e c l e a v a g e s in society, as f o r e x a m p l e in K e n y a ' s majimbo ( r e g i o n a l i s m ) a n d U g a n d a ' s f e d e r a l i s m , b u t t h e y did n o t necessarily o v e r c o m e them. Nationalist leaders in their d e m a n d for immediate independence m a d e their bargains w i t h the 1

1

S i r A n d r e w C o h e n , British policy in changing Africa ( L o n d o n , 1959), 61.

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c o l o n i a l p o w e r i n t h e full k n o w l e d g e t h a t s o m e o f t h e p r o v i s i o n s m i g h t p r o v e temporary, b u t o n the assumption that they them­ selves w o u l d determine a n y future alteration in the internal distribution o f p o w e r . Before w e consider that n e w phase, h o w e v e r , w e m u s t b r i e f l y c o n s i d e r S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , w h e r e it w a s w h i t e , n o t black, nationalism that triumphed. T h e m o s t o b v i o u s difference b e t w e e n the settler c o m m u n i t i e s in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a a n d t h e o t h e r t e r r i t o r i e s , e s p e c i a l l y K e n y a , lay in t h e greater political a u t o n o m y t h e w h i t e R h o d e s i a n s h a d enjoyed since they w e r e granted 'responsible g o v e r n m e n t ' (in­ t e r n a l s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t ) i n 19 2 3. T h e e x p l a n a t i o n f o r U D I t h e r e f o r e lay t o s o m e extent in t h e e v e n t s b e f o r e 1940, w h e n t h e S o u t h e r n Rhodesians had quietly d e v e l o p e d * a b o d y o f laws that n o t o n l y protected w h i t e interests b u t generally inhibited A f r i c a n s f r o m d e v e l o p i n g their skills a n d d e m o n s t r a t i n g their c a p a b i l i t i e s ' a n d in the p r o c e s s established a firm institutional basis f o r racial segregation and white e c o n o m i c and political control. W e need, h o w e v e r , t o l o o k further, for w h i l e the K e n y a n settlers d i d n o t h a v e c o n t r o l o f the c o l o n y ' s g o v e r n m e n t in 1940 they w e r e then j u s t a s f i r m l y e n t r e n c h e d as t h e i r R h o d e s i a n c o u n t e r p a r t s . O f greater importance w a s the character o f the white Rhodesian c o m m u n i t y itself. I n t h e first p l a c e it w a s m u c h l a r g e r t h a n t h a t o f K e n y a o r Northern Rhodesia: 5 per cent o f the population i n s t e a d o f 1 p e r c e n t . S e c o n d , it i n c l u d e d a n e c o n o m i c a l l y p r i v i l e g e d w h i t e urban artisan class w h i c h w a s m o r e p e r m a n e n t l y rooted in the country than w e r e N o r t h e r n Rhodesia's miners, and w h i c h enjoyed a greater political p o w e r derived from the country's greater political a u t o n o m y . T h a t urban w a g e - l a b o u r force d e p e n d e d m o r e o v e r f o r its p r i v i l e g e d s t a t u s o n t h e r a c i a l segregation a n d the subordination o f the African majority that w e r e t h e c o r n e r s t o n e s o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s w a y o f life. T h i r d , t h e w h i t e farming c o m m u n i t y and the agricultural sector w e r e economically m o r e significant than w a s the case in K e n y a . S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a ' s 7000 w h i t e f a r m e r s o w n e d 4 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s l a n d , e m p l o y e d 42 p e r cent o f the l a b o u r force, a n d w e r e politically much more firmly entrenched than the g r o w i n g business c o m m u n i t y - either the local o r the international corporate in­ terests. T h u s w h i l e the business c o m m u n i t y m i g h t h a v e f a v o u r e d a m o r e liberal c o n c l u s i o n t o d e c o l o n i s a t i o n , a n d the British m i g h t 1

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R o b e r t G o o d , UDI: the international politics of the Rhodesian rebellion ( L o n d o n , 1973).

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(as H u g g i n s b e l i e v e d ) h a v e w i s h e d t o g i v e w a y t o b l a c k n a t i o n a l i s m as q u i c k l y as p o s s i b l e i n o r d e r t o sustain their t r a d e links w i t h A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , it w a s t h e E u r o p e a n f a r m i n g c o m m u n i t y that dominated the internal p o w e r system. W h i t e farmers a n d artisans w e r e politically m o r e p o w e r f u l than w h i t e b u s i n e s s m e n , a n d it w a s t h e y w h o d e t e r m i n e d t h e r e s p o n s e t o A f r i c a n nationalism in 1 9 5 9 - 6 0 , w h e n a state o f e m e r g e n c y w a s followed b y n e w repressive laws. T h e m o s t important factor w a s u n d o u b t e d l y that the w h i t e Rhodesians controlled their o w n armed forces w h i c h the K e n y a n whites did not. African militancy m e t its m a t c h , a n d w e m a y therefore c o n c l u d e that t h e initial failure o f A f r i c a n nationalism in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a w a s t h e result not o f weaker Africans but o f stronger Europeans. T w o other factors must also, h o w e v e r , b e taken into account. I f the nationalist m o v e m e n t in Southern R h o d e s i a d e v e l o p e d a l o n g lines similar t o t h o s e in o t h e r states, it carried w i t h i n it t h e s a m e w e a k n e s s e s , n o t least t h e internal conflict w i t h i n t h e leadership o v e r tactics a n d strategy, a n d those internal d i v i s i o n s had serious consequences for the o u t c o m e o f the African struggle, b o t h b e f o r e a n d after U D I . I t m i g h t a l s o b e a r g u e d t h a t t h e nationalists failed t o identify t h e real n a t u r e o f t h e s t r u g g l e i n S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , m i s j u d g i n g b o t h t h e p o t e n t i a l for a l i b e r a l solution from within Rhodesia and the possibility o f British intervention f r o m outside. J u s t as Britain h a d n e v e r exercised h e r right o f surveillance o v e r Rhodesian legislation o n behalf o f the black population in the 42 years o f responsible g o v e r n m e n t , s o in 1965 s h e failed t o h o n o u r h e r c o l o n i a l o b l i g a t i o n s . W h e r e a s t r o o p s h a d b e e n flown i n t o K e n y a i n 1 9 5 2 t o q u e l l t h e M a u M a u u p r i s i n g a m o n g t h e K i k u y u , n o force w a s u s e d a g a i n s t R h o d e s i a ' s w h i t e s e t t l e r s i n 1 9 6 5 . W h i l e t h e u n d e r l y i n g r e a s o n s for t h e B r i t i s h a b d i c a t i o n o f responsibility at this p o i n t remain a m a t t e r o f debate, w e must agree that, w h i l e the arguments for and against the use o f force w e r e i m p r e s s i v e , the fact that force w a s n o t used suggests that the issues at stake - reversing U D I and assuring ultimate majority rule in Rhodesia with all it entailed for the evolution of affairs in Southern Africa and Britain's position in Black Africa, the Commonwealth and the U N - were not worth the economic cost and the political risk involved in applying force. There was here a question of values and l e a d e r s h i p . . . 1

" Good, UDI, 65. 401

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It w a s t h e o v e r r i d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f B r i t a i n ' s d o m e s t i c p o l i c y that led t o Britain's R h o d e s i a n failure.

Post-colonial change T h e politics o f independence quickly focussed u p o n the allocation o f scarce resources in a situation w h e r e the state w a s a c k n o w l e d g e d as a d i r e c t a g e n t o f d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d g o v e r n m e n t m a n a g e m e n t o f the e c o n o m y w a s a long-established tradition. T h e r e w a s a strong continuity between colonial and post-colonial political p o s t u r e s , and the m o s t p o w e r f u l forces w i t h i n the n e w state had been b o r n during the nationalist struggle w h e n colonial d e v e l o p m e n t policy had created n e w urban w o r k e r s , n e w p r o g r e s s i v e farmers and a n e w African administrative class. T h e r e w a s a significant inequality o f i n c o m e n o t o n l y b e t w e e n the races, but also b e t w e e n the small minority o f African society w h i c h had f o u n d e d u c a t i o n and e m p l o y m e n t in the m o d e r n sector and the majority w h i c h had not. Colonial policy had also contributed to acute regional imbalances in e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , w h e r e r e g i o n s c o i n c i d e d t o a greater o r lesser extent w i t h ethnic groupings. Hence although T a n g a n y i k a and Nyasaland were r e l a t i v e l y free o f e t h n i c c o n f l i c t , e l s e w h e r e e t h n i c a n d / o r r e g i o n a l inequality w a s a significant basis for political c l e a v a g e . In the i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e , t h e i s s u e s at t h e h e a r t o f t h e p o l i t i c a l d e b a t e therefore remained the same. In Z a m b i a the transition to inde­ p e n d e n c e o c c u r r e d against a b a c k g r o u n d o f industrial unrest that r e a c h e d its c l i m a x i n 1 9 6 6 w h e n t h e m i n e r s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e i r continuing p o w e r b y taking the C o p p e r b e l t o u t o n strike and w o n a 22 p e r c e n t w a g e i n c r e a s e w h i c h w o u l d e x a c e r b a t e t h e u r b a n rural g a p . In K e n y a the K i k u y u h u n g e r for land, w h i l e temporarily assuaged b y the land settlement w h i c h restored the w h i t e highlands to African o w n e r s h i p , nonetheless remained the dominant political issue. T h e r e were, h o w e v e r , t w o additional constraints, w h i c h w o u l d i n d u e c o u r s e h a v e s e r i o u s p o l i t i c a l c o n s e q u e n c e s : first t h e r e w a s the b u r d e n o f e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e that meant that expatriate capital w a s an a d d i t i o n a l influence u p o n the state. ( A l l these states w e r e dependent o n external capital for d e v e l o p m e n t . ) S e c o n d there w a s the conflict, already to s o m e extent apparent, b e t w e e n the needs o f the mass a n d the aspirations o f the élite. W h i l e there w a s 402

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at t h e g r a s s r o o t s a h e a l t h y r e a l i s m as t o t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s t h a t independence w o u l d bring, there w e r e also the aspirations for a b e t t e r life, a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r f o r e d u c a t i o n a n d e m p l o y m e n t , t h a t n o g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d satisfy i n t h e s h o r t t e r m . A t t h e s a m e t i m e there w e r e intense desires a m o n g the élite for the material standards o f the expatriate society that they n o w replaced, but w h i c h n o g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d s u s t a i n e x c e p t at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e mass. A r e m a r k a b l e n u m b e r o f i s s u e s w a s left u n r e s o l v e d b y t h e independence settlements. In U g a n d a the 60-year-old conflict b e t w e e n B u g a n d a a n d B u n y o r o o v e r t h e L o s t C o u n t i e s w a s left to b e d e c i d e d later b y r e f e r e n d u m , a n d the m o r e recent b u t e q u a l l y divisive R w e n z u r u r u secessionist m o v e m e n t w a s h o l d i n g d o w n a significant part o f U g a n d a ' s a r m e d forces in the w e s t e r n k i n g d o m o f T o r o . K e n y a faced the Somali-oriented secessionist m o v e m e n t in her N o r t h - E a s t e r n P r o v i n c e , a n d a potential dis­ ruption to security b y those o f the K i k u y u M a u M a u f r e e d o m fighters w h o r e m a i n e d i n t h e f o r e s t s . Z a m b i a ' s s e c u r i t y s i t u a t i o n as t h e f r o n t - l i n e state i n s o u t h e r n A f r i c a w a s c r i t i c a l l y affected b y R h o d e s i a ' s i l l e g a l d e c l a r a t i o n o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a y e a r after h e r o w n , at a t i m e w h e n t h e c o u n t r y h a d s c a r c e l y o v e r c o m e t h e bitterness generated b y the L u m p a c h u r c h u p r i s i n g in N o r t h e r n P r o v i n c e a n d w h e n L o z i s e p a r a t i s t f e e l i n g s still m a d e B a r o t s e l a n d a difficult a r e a . I n Z a n z i b a r t h e r e v o l u t i o n t h a t s w e p t t h e A r a b m i n o r i t y f r o m p o w e r i n J a n u a r y 1 9 6 4 n o m o r e t h a n a m o n t h after that state's i n d e p e n d e n c e d e m o n s t r a t e d the failure o f c o n s t i t u ­ tional a r r a n g e m e n t s t o o v e r c o m e racial fears. T h e i n d e p e n d e n c e constitution had p r o v i d e d for majority rule. N e v e r t h e l e s s , c o m m o n - r o l l elections based o n a universal adult franchise and s i n g l e - m e m b e r c o n s t i t u e n c i e s left t h e A r a b o l i g a r c h y i n p o w e r . T h a t g o v e r n m e n t ' s repressive measures t o w a r d s the A f r o - S h i r a z i Party ( A S P ) opposition, w h o s e support derived f r o m the African majority c o m m u n i t y , pushed Zanzibar towards a m o r e authori­ tarian state. A n t i - g o v e r n m e n t e l e m e n t s d r e w t o g e t h e r b e h i n d t h e U m m a ( ' t h e m a s s e s ' ) P a r t y , f o r m e d i n J u l y 1963 b y A b d u l R a h m a n M o h a m m e d (Babu). W h i l s t the catalyst for the r e v o l u t i o n w a s p r o v i d e d b y a n o u t s i d e r , it w a s U m m a , w i t h t h e r a d i c a l e l e m e n t s o f A S P , w h i c h a s s u m e d c o n t r o l a m o n t h later, a n d three m o n t h s later j o i n e d T a n g a n y i k a t o f o r m the n e w R e p u b l i c o f T a n z a n i a . M a l a w i suffered a m a j o r c a b i n e t c r i s i s s o o n after 403

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i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y a n a b o r t i v e i n v a s i o n w h i c h , i f it failed in the face o f m a s s i v e s u p p o r t for D r B a n d a , n o n e t h e l e s s demonstrated the absence o f consensus within the n e w g o v e r n ­ m e n t . B u t it w a s i n E a s t A f r i c a t h a t t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f p o w e r w e r e m o s t clearly d e m o n s t r a t e d in 1964 b y the a r m y m u t i n i e s that o c c u r r e d f o l l o w i n g the Z a n z i b a r c o u p in swift s u c c e s s i o n in e a c h state, a n d w h i c h w e r e c o n t a i n e d o n l y w i t h the assistance o f the former colonial power. T h e v e r y i n t e g r i t y o f t h e s t a t e w a s t h e r e f o r e at r i s k , a n d n o g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d claim effectively to c o m m a n d the use o f force. T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t characteristic o f the n e w states w a s their f r a g i l i t y . I t is n o t t h e r e f o r e s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e p r i m e c o n c e r n o f the n e w leaders w a s in each case t o strengthen their c o n t r o l and t o c e n t r a l i s e p o w e r . T h e y r e j e c t e d s e c e s s i o n as a l e g i t i m a t e solution to internal conflict, and reasserted the b o u n d a r i e s in­ herited w i t h the c o l o n i a l state. W h e r e there h a d b e e n a federal d e v o l u t i o n o f p o w e r it w a s r e v o k e d , a l t h o u g h K e n y a ' s r e g i o n a l s t r u c t u r e {majimbd) w a s m o r e e a s i l y a b o l i s h e d i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 6 4 t h a n U g a n d a ' s q u a s i - f e d e r a l i s m , w h i c h w a s d i s s o l v e d o n l y after a violent confrontation b e t w e e n O b o t e ' s central g o v e r n m e n t and B u g a n d a i n M a y 1 9 6 6 . W i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n , h o w e v e r , t h e y set o u t to adapt the inherited structures t h r o u g h w h i c h they n o w exerted their p o w e r . T h e transfer o f p o w e r had generally b e e n o n the basis o f the W e s t m i n s t e r m o d e l , and the independence constitutions characteristically h a d p r o v i d e d the n e w states w i t h the institutions o f representative parliamentary g o v e r n m e n t , the u n d e r l y i n g as­ sumptions o f w h i c h were those o f a multi-party democracy. W h i l e the political pattern w a s g e n e r a l l y that o f the d o m i n a n t p a r t y state, four o f the n e w states, U g a n d a , K e n y a , Z a m b i a a n d Z a n z i b a r , had an opposition party recognised under the c o n v e n t i o n s o f p a r l i a m e n t a r y g o v e r n m e n t . Y e t w i t h i n t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e e a c h state a d o p t e d a single-party s y s t e m , in w h i c h the dominant institution w a s a p o w e r f u l presidential executive. A s a result the 1960s m a r k e d i m p o r t a n t phases in institutional c h a n g e , and in state-building, in w h i c h the d o m i n a n t trend w a s a w a y f r o m the multi-party d e m o c r a c y e n v i s a g e d in the indepen­ dence settlements t o w a r d s an authoritarian rule and the c o n c e n ­ tration o f p o w e r at the c e n t r e . T h e clearest d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f this concentration o f p o w e r in the central executive w a s the p r o g r e s s i v e decline o f the represen404

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t a t i v e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f state. N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e n o t i o n o f parliamentary s o v e r e i g n t y , the right o f elected assemblies to c o n t r o l the e x e c u t i v e w a s n o t a c c e p t e d , and each legislature in t u r n w a s r e d u c e d t o a m i n o r role in the p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m . T h e K e n y a n legislature w a s in the 1960s s o m e t h i n g o f an e x c e p t i o n , a n d articulate and frequently c o u r a g e o u s M P s ensured a vital public f o r u m for political debate that contributed a g o o d deal to the openness o f the K e n y a n system. B y 1970, h o w e v e r , presidential mediation between parliamentarians and g o v e r n m e n t had g i v e n w a y t o a m o r e c o e r c i v e c o n t r o l , d e m o n s t r a t e d finally i n 1 9 7 5 b y the arrest o f t w o M P s w i t h i n the precincts o f parliament and their s u b s e q u e n t d e t e n t i o n . I n U g a n d a a v i a b l e t w o - p a r t y s y s t e m at t h e outset ensured a v i g o r o u s parliamentary debate, but the decision o f the parliamentary leader o f the o p p o s i t i o n D e m o c r a t i c Party t o join the r u l i n g U g a n d a P e o p l e s ' C o n g r e s s ( U P C ) in 1964 m a r k e d the decline n o t o n l y o f the t w o - p a r t y system b u t also o f t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e itself. T h e c o n s t i t u e n t a s s e m b l y that debated the n e w republican c o n s t i t u t i o n in 1967 m i g h t h a v e indicated a hankering for tolerance and discussion, but the N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y had s o m e time earlier lost any g e n u i n e p o w e r . In T a n z a n i a the h o p e s for a m o r e v i g o r o u s parliamentary assembly w i t h i n t h e o n e - p a r t y s t a t e f a i l e d t o m a t e r i a l i s e , a n d i n M a l a w i it w a s at n o t i m e c o n t e m p l a t e d . I n Z a m b i a , w h e n t h e M P s a t t e m p t e d to establish for themselves a m o r e p o s i t i v e role in the one-party assembly o f 1974, they encountered the same party and presidential s u s p i c i o n a n d o p p o s i t i o n as t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s . T h e concentration o f p o w e r resulted also in the p r o g r e s s i v e emasculation i f n o t abolition o f elected local g o v e r n m e n t insti­ tutions. T h e colonial attempt to build local g o v e r n m e n t s o n the British m o d e l had had limited success in E a s t and Central Africa. W h i l e the urban and E u r o p e a n - d o m i n a t e d local authorities in K e n y a and Z a m b i a had enjoyed significant p o w e r , o n l y in U g a n d a and K e n y a had African local authorities assumed an important governmental role, w h i c h they had performed w i t h s o m e degree o f c o m p e t e n c e a n d s u c c e s s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , at i n d e p e n d e n c e all states w e r e c o m m i t t e d t o a s y s t e m o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e l o c a l g o v e r n ­ m e n t responsible, in v a r y i n g degrees, for important functions o f g o v e r n m e n t at t h e d i s t r i c t l e v e l . A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e , w h i l e t h e u r b a n authorities g r e w in p o w e r , reflecting n o t least the u r b a n g r o w t h that each state e x p e r i e n c e d to a greater o r lesser d e g r e e , 405

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the rural authorities w e r e p r o g r e s s i v e l y shorn o f their responsi­ bilities and their functions transferred t o central g o v e r n m e n t - or, as in T a n z a n i a , t o d i s t r i c t d e v e l o p m e n t c o u n c i l s w h i c h , i f t h e y preserved the element o f local representation, ensured ultimate government/party control. W h e r e traditional rulers had retained any significant constitu­ t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y , as i n t h e c a s e o f B u g a n d a a n d B a r o t s e l a n d , t h i s w a s in d u e c o u r s e s u b o r d i n a t e d to the central a u t h o r i t y and ultimately abolished, a l t h o u g h the procedure f o l l o w e d p r o v e d different in e a c h case. E v e r y w h e r e there w a s a m o v e a w a y f r o m the formal use o f traditional authority. A l t h o u g h tradition w a s b y n o m e a n s dead the d a y o f the chief had generally passed b y 1 9 7 5 . It w a s t r u e t h a t i n M a l a w i t h e p o s i t i o n o f c h i e f w a s t o s o m e e x t e n t r e s t o r e d after i n d e p e n d e n c e , a n d t r a d i t i o n a l c o u r t s i n 1 9 6 7 w e r e g i v e n increased jurisdiction, including the right to pass death sentences. N e v e r t h e l e s s n o chief w a s permitted to build an independent p o w e r base f r o m w h i c h to criticise g o v e r n m e n t or party and President B a n d a w a s quite willing to depose chiefs u n p o p u l a r w i t h his administration. S o the p a r a m o u n t chief o f the N g o n i o f Central P r o v i n c e w a s d e p o s e d for his a n t i - g o v e r n m e n t a c t i v i t i e s i n 1 9 6 7 , as h e h a d b e e n s u s p e n d e d 1 4 y e a r s e a r l i e r b y the c o l o n i a l r e g i m e for his o p p o s i t i o n t o a g r i c u l t u r a l rules. T h e e x t e n s i o n o f e x e c u t i v e p o w e r also resulted in the s u b o r ­ dination o f the labour m o v e m e n t and o f interest g r o u p s - like c o o p e r a t i v e s - in g e n e r a l t o g o v e r n m e n t and t o the party. T a n ­ zania in 1964 led the w a y w i t h the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f the N a t i o n a l U n i o n o f T a n g a n y i k a W o r k e r s . T h e pattern o f a g o v e r n m e n t controlled central organisation o f unions, and industrial legis­ lation that virtually prohibited strike action, w a s subsequently i n t r o d u c e d in e a c h state, a l t h o u g h in Z a m b i a g o v e r n m e n t c o n ­ trol had u p to 1975 s t o p p e d short o f the s a m e radical restructur­ i n g o f t h e l a b o u r m o v e m e n t as o c c u r r e d i n E a s t A f r i c a . T h e centralisation o f p o w e r in the e x e c u t i v e resulted in the increased p o w e r and authority o f the central bureaucracy, w h i c h i n e a c h s t a t e w a s b y 1 9 7 5 v a s t l y i n c r e a s e d i n s i z e a n d staffed predominantly by African nationals rather than expatriates. T h e i r p o w e r w a s n o d o u b t m o s t apparent in K e n y a , w h e r e the president h a d d e l i b e r a t e l y c h o s e n t o u s e t h e p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n as h i s m a j o r a g e n t o f c o n t r o l as w e l l as d e v e l o p m e n t ; b u t a s i m i l a r

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e x t e n s i o n o f b u r e a u c r a t i c p o w e r o c c u r r e d e l s e w h e r e as e a c h s t a t e reinstated a paternalist and authoritarian bureaucratic m a c h i n e . T h i s characteristic centralisation o f c o n t r o l w a s in part a genuine attempt to grapple w i t h the p r o b l e m s o f d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e curtailment o f local g o v e r n m e n t and trade-union a u t o n o m y w a s justified in t e r m s o f the n e e d t o c u r b the c o n s u m p t i o n i s t t e n d e n c y o f t h e i r m e m b e r s . It a l s o , h o w e v e r , i n d i c a t e d t h e unwillingness o f g o v e r n m e n t s o r individual rulers to share p o w e r . T h u s n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g P r e s i d e n t K a u n d a ' s a t t e m p t i n Z a m b i a in 1968 t o i n t r o d u c e ' d e c e n t r a l i s a t i o n i n c e n t r a l i s m ' , it w a s o n l y i n T a n z a n i a in 1972 that a g e n u i n e decentralisation o f g o v e r n m e n t a l authority had been attempted. T h e authoritarian character o f the p o s t - c o l o n i a l state w a s p e r h a p s m o s t o b v i o u s l y d e m o n s t r a t e d b y the refusal t o tolerate o p p o s i t i o n e x c e p t o n t e r m s l a i d d o w n b y t h e r u l i n g p a r t y itself. Y e t a l t h o u g h e a c h state i n t r o d u c e d and u s e d a w i d e v a r i e t y o f constitutional and political measures, including Preventive D e ­ tention A c t s , to control political opposition, they built v e r y different k i n d s o f p a r t i e s a n d p a r t y s y s t e m s . T h u s , w h i l e t h e m a j o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n n o v a t i o n after i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e o n e - p a r t y s t a t e , it w a s h e r e t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t v a r i a t i o n s o c c u r r e d b o t h in the o r i g i n s o f the s i n g l e - p a r t y s y s t e m a n d in the c h a r a c t e r o f t h e p a r t y itself. I n e a c h c a s e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e o n e - p a r t y state w a s b a s e d o n t h e a r g u m e n t t h a t c o m p e t i t i v e p a r t y politics w e r e w a s t e f u l , d i v i s i v e a n d i n a p p r o p r i a t e in the circumstances o f the independent but u n d e r d e v e l o p e d and ( s u p p o s e d l y ) classless state. Y e t the r e s u l t i n g s i n g l e - p a r t y s y s t e m v a r i e d a g r e a t d e a l , a n d e a c h i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e a c q u i r e d its o w n distinctive character. I n T a n z a n i a t h e a b s e n c e at i n d e p e n d e n c e o f a n y o p p o s i t i o n t o T A N U p a v e d the w a y for the easy transition t o the o n e - p a r t y state. T h e c r i t i c a l e v e n t s l e a d i n g t o its c r e a t i o n w e r e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f the R e p u b l i c in 1962, the O n e - P a r t y C o m m i s s i o n in 1964, and the establishment o f the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o n e - p a r t y state in 1 9 6 5 . T h e A r u s h a Declaration o f 1967 articulated Tanzania's objective o f a socialist and self-reliant society and the strategy t o a c h i e v e it, c e n t r a l t o w h i c h w a s t h e p u b l i c o w n e r s h i p o f t h e m a j o r m e a n s o f p r o d u c t i o n . T h e Mwongo^p o r G u i d e l i n e s , i s s u e d i n 1 9 7 1 , stressed the i m p o r t a n c e o f w o r k e r participation and refined the

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notions o f leadership. T h e U n i o n b e t w e e n T a n g a n y i k a and Z a n z i b a r h a d e n l a r g e d the state in 1964, b u t the f o u n d a t i o n s o f the system lay in T A N U and in the A r u s h a Declaration. T h e T a n z a n i a n p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i n t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s w a s still basically authoritarian. Political activity outside the party w a s firmly r e j e c t e d a n d , a s o n e p e r c e p t i v e a n d s y m p a t h e t i c w r i t e r observed, ' W h a t e v e r the longer term democratic potential for the n e w structures w h i c h [had been created], their immediate consequences have been to consolidate p o w e r in the hands o f the present leaders, t o silence their critics a n d t o lessen the a u t o n o m y o f previously independent institutions.' Presidential p o w e r had b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d b y s u c h d e c i s i o n s as t h e u n i o n w i t h Z a n z i b a r , m a d e b y N y e r e r e w i t h o u t reference t o either cabinet o r National Assembly, and the bureaucracy w a s (notwithstanding party rhetoric to the contrary) the dominant agent o f development. A t the same time T a n z a n i a ' s socialist strategy a n d the institutional c h a n g e s after 1965 i n d i c a t e d t h e d e s i r e o n t h e p a r t o f s o m e a t l e a s t o f the leadership t o establish democratic controls o v e r b o t h national élite a n d m i d d l e - l e v e l p a r t y activists. 1

T h e procedures adopted for the introduction o f the one-party state in T a n z a n i a ensured a significant e l e m e n t o f p o p u l a r par­ ticipation in that process. T h r e e general elections s h o w e d that the electoral process a n d c a m p a i g n rules p r o v i d e d a basis for g e n u i n e g r a s s - r o o t s e l e c t o r a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n , a n d t h e first g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n in t h e o n e - p a r t y state in 1965 w a s a m i l e s t o n e in A f r i c a n political history. A l t h o u g h t h e A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n i m p o s e d s o m e restric­ tions o n recruitment, T A N U remained in 1975 a mass party. T h e Leadership C o d e introduced under the A r u s h a Declaration in 1967 w a s a genuine attempt t o prevent social and e c o n o m i c i n e q u a l i t y , a n d w h i l e t h e s m a l l é l i t e h a d n o t b e e n e l i m i n a t e d it h a d been controlled. B u t the m o s t significant c h a n g e s for the g r o w t h o f t h e d e m o c r a t i c s t a t e h a d b e e n w i t h i n T A N U itself, w h i c h h a d d e v e l o p e d an important element o f internal party d e m o c r a c y that w a s absent in other ruling parties. F o l l o w i n g the extension in 1968 and 1969 o f the parliamentary electoral system t o the party, a w i d e r a n g e o f p o s t s i n T A N U w e r e s u b s e q u e n t l y filled b y a n e l e c t i o n process that followed closely the process for national parliamen­ tary elections. T h u s , w h i l e the p r e v a i l i n g characteristic o f t h e T a n z a n i a n political system w a s in 1975 the p o w e r o f T A N U , there 1

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had been a significant d e v e l o p m e n t o f internal d e m o c r a c y w i t h i n the party. T a n z a n i a ' s p o s t - c o l o n i a l state o b v i o u s l y o w e d a g o o d deal t o President N y e r e r e ' s leadership and t o his m o r a l c o m m i t m e n t t o the principles o f the d e m o c r a t i c state. B u t the T a n z a n i a n s y s t e m in 1975 h a d a l s o g r o w n o u t o f T a n z a n i a n s o c i e t y , a n d r e f l e c t e d p o p u l a r a t t i t u d e s a b o u t p a r t y a n d s o c i e t y o f a still p r e d o m i n a n t l y egalitarian peasant society. If the A r u s h a Declaration w a s N y ­ erere's reaction to the early ' scramble o f party m e m b e r s for status, i n c o m e a n d p e r s o n a l p o w e r ' , it n e v e r t h e l e s s s t r u c k a d e e p l y r e s p o n s i v e c h o r d i n a n A f r i c a n s o c i e t y i n w h i c h t h e r e w a s as y e t n o s i g n i f i c a n t é l i t e a n d f e w v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s . I n t h i s r e s p e c t it is i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r in m i n d t h e m u c h l o w e r l e v e l o f p e n e t r a t i o n o f f o r e i g n capital in T a n z a n i a c o m p a r e d w i t h K e n y a a n d Z a m b i a a n d t h e m u c h m o r e diffuse i m p a c t o f w h i t e s e t t l e m e n t a n d o f c o l o n i a l i s m itself. T h u s s u c h s t a b i l i t y as t h e T a n z a n i a n s y s t e m h a d a c h i e v e d b y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s w a s the result n o t s i m p l y o f the centralisation o f p o w e r and authority, but o f a significant c o n ­ sensus about the c o u n t r y ' s f o r m o f g o v e r n a n c e a m o n g a p o p u l a t i o n in w h i c h t h e r e w e r e still f e w d e e p e c o n o m i c o r s o c i a l c l e a v a g e s . M a l a w i w o n independence w i t h a single party that e n j o y e d o v e r w h e l m i n g mass support under President Banda's leadership, so that the m o v e t o a legal o n e - p a r t y state in 1966 also f o l l o w e d naturally u p o n earlier political d e v e l o p m e n t s . T h e e m e r g e n t party s y s t e m differed a g r e a t d e a l h o w e v e r f r o m T a n z a n i a ' s , f o r i n M a l a w i political structures and associated values c o n t i n u e d to ensure that instructions s h o u l d be carried d o w n w a r d s . B a n d a ' s d o m i n a n c e w a s based b o t h o n his massive support, particularly a m o n g the m o r e traditional elements o f rural society, and also h i s i n t i m a t e i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h p a r t y n e t w o r k s . H e b e c a m e life p r e s i d e n t in J u l y 1 9 7 1 , f o l l o w i n g a c a l l f r o m t h e p a r t y t h a t t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n be a m e n d e d for this p u r p o s e , thus c o n s o l i d a t i n g his c o n t r o l o f all s i g n i f i c a n t p o w e r . W h i l e t h e M C P , l i k e T A N U , h a d its little office in e v e r y t o w n , a n d t h e p a r t y ' s t e n t a c l e s s t r e t c h e d far a n d w i d e , t h e p a r t y r e m a i n e d s u b s e r v i e n t t o its life p r e s i d e n t in the critical functions o f p o l i c y - m a k i n g and the c h o i c e b o t h o f parliamentary representative and o f m e m b e r s o f the party hierarchy. W h i l e the party o r g a n s , and especially the M a l a w i Y o u n g P i o n e e r s , p r o v i d e d a n i m p o r t a n t i n t e g r a t i n g f o r c e t o offset potentially disruptive parochial loyalties, the party d e p e n d e n c e o n 409

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the centre remained a d o m i n a n t characteristic o f the system w h i c h inhibited any g e n u i n e decentralisation. W h i l e the influence o f the l e a d e r s h i p w a s as i m p o r t a n t as i n T a n z a n i a , P r e s i d e n t B a n d a ' s i d e a s a n d a t t i t u d e s w e r e v e r y different f r o m t h o s e o f P r e s i d e n t N y e r e r e . E q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t , the cabinet crisis o f 1964, w h e n the y o u n g politicians w h o had earlier built D r B a n d a u p into a m o r e t h a n l i f e - s i z e figure, t h e n c h a l l e n g e d h i m u n s u c c e s s f u l l y f o r c o n t r o l , m a d e h i m w a r y o f any c o l l e a g u e s and assistants. T h u s M a l a w i ' s o n e - p a r t y state w a s a centralised a u t o c r a c y , in w h i c h D r B a n d a sustained the nation's unity w i t h his appeal t o the p o p u l a c e for personal support. T h e e v o l u t i o n o f the one-party system w a s a g o o d deal m o r e t u r b u l e n t i n K e n y a , Z a m b i a a n d U g a n d a , i n all o f w h i c h c o n ­ stitutional a m e n d m e n t w a s used to eliminate political o p p o s i t i o n in a n i n c r e a s i n g l y c o e r c i v e s t a t e . K e n y a ' s first e x p e r i m e n t as a de facto one-party state f o l l o w e d the v o l u n t a r y d i s s o l u t i o n o f K A D U in 1964, o n the occasion o f the establishment o f the R e p u b l i c and t h e a b a n d o n m e n t o f t h e q u a s i - f e d e r a l d e v o l u t i o n o f p o w e r . It lasted h o w e v e r o n l y until 1966 b y w h i c h time the e n l a r g e d K A N U c o u l d n o l o n g e r c o n t a i n its d i v e r g e n t e l e m e n t s a n d t h e f o r m e r Vice-President, O g i n g a O d i n g a , w i t h d r e w w i t h a significant radical m i n o r i t y to f o r m a n e w o p p o s i t i o n , the K e n y a P e o p l e ' s U n i o n ( K P U ) . T h e K P U w a s i t s e l f b a n n e d i n 1 9 6 9 , after a p e r i o d o f g r o w i n g p o l i t i c a l v i o l e n c e , at w h i c h p o i n t K e n y a b e c a m e o n c e m o r e a de facto o n e - p a r t y state. Until 1969 the m o d e o f K e n y a n politics w a s essentially that o f a factional system focussed u p o n the presidency, and based o n principles o f patronage and clientage w h i c h required national l e a d e r s t o s u s t a i n a l o c a l b a s e i f t h e y w i s h e d t o r e t a i n p o w e r at the centre. T h e party w a s , under those circumstances, essentially a machine to control and distribute patronage and, w h e n necessary, to m o b i l i s e electoral s u p p o r t , rather than an institution to organise development or to ensure popular democratic control o f t h e l e a d e r s h i p . P a r a d o x i c a l l y t h a t f a c t i o n a l i s m , w i t h its o r g a n i s e d n e t w o r k o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s b e t w e e n centre and locality, resulted in a h i g h l y participant political s y s t e m . L o c a l political pressures w e r e exercised t h r o u g h g o v e r n m e n t ' r i g h t u p to the President', a n d o f t e n t h r o u g h K A N U w h i c h , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g its m o r i b u n d s t a t e at t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l , at t h e l o c a l l e v e l w a s a c t i v e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h local interests. T h e grass roots c o n s e q u e n t l y remained highly politicised. T h e system, h o w e v e r , placed great pressure o n 410 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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resources, and resulted in a s y m b i o s i s b e t w e e n b u s i n e s s a n d politics that p r o v i d e d the f o u n d a t i o n s for the d e p e n d e n t state. A t independence, uneven d e v e l o p m e n t reinforced the inherited ethnic c l e a v a g e s in society to m a k e ethnic rivalry a central issue o f politics, in a situation w h e r e ' t r i b a l i s m ' m e a n t essentially K i k u y u dominance. Ethnic loyalty w a s also h o w e v e r exploited to d e f u s e e c o n o m i c d i s c o n t e n t , m o s t n o t a b l y i n a little g e n e r a l election in 1966, a strategy that p r o g r e s s i v e l y w e a k e n e d K e n y a t t a ' s p o s i t i o n as a s y m b o l o f K e n y a n i n t e g r a t i o n . T h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n i n 1969 o f T o m M b o y a , K e n y a ' s m o s t c o n t r o v e r s i a l and p r o b a b l y m o s t gifted political leader, led to a m o r e intense polarisation o f ethnic forces, and t o the d e s t r u c t i o n o f the K P U . It also resulted in the greater political d o m i n a n c e o f the K i k u y u . B y 1975 the L u o had been relegated to the periphery o f the K e n y a n political system w h i c h w a s n o w d e t e r m i n e d less b y e t h n i c t h a n b y e c o n o m i c inequality. M b o y a ' s assassination therefore also m a r k e d a distinc­ t i v e c h a n g e in the b a l a n c e o f p o w e r in K e n y a a n d a n e w p h a s e in politics. A t that p o i n t , the rules o f the political g a m e c h a n g e d . A l t h o u g h t w o r e m a r k a b l y o p e n elections w e r e held in 1969 and 1974, b o t h o f w h i c h resulted in significant c h a n g e s in p a r l i a m e n ­ tary m e m b e r s h i p , K e n y a n p o l i t i c s h a d m o v e d m u c h m o r e t o palace clique and a w a y from party, parliament o r faction. A s K e n y a t t a gathered p o w e r into the presidency, so the presidency b e c a m e the p r i m e r e s o u r c e in a political conflict that i n c r e a s i n g l y d e m o n s t r a t e d the n e w class c l e a v a g e s in s o c i e t y . T h e assassination in 1 9 7 5 o f J. M . K a r i u k i , a v i g o r o u s K i k u y u p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r w h o had openly challenged K e n y a ' s increasing e c o n o m i c inequality and the self-aggrandisement o f the small central K i k u y u elite, s u g g e s t e d the b e g i n n i n g o f a further polarisation o f forces o n e c o n o m i c rather than ethnic lines. W h e r e a s M b o y a ' s death had united the K i k u y u in c o m m o n defence against the L u o , K a r i u k i ' s death d i v i d e d t h e m , a n d this time t h e y c o u l d n o t b e h e l d t o g e t h e r by ethnic loyalty. T h u s 1975 m a r k e d a qualitative c h a n g e in the politics o f a post-colonial K e n y a . In Z a m b i a , U N I P ' s d o m i n a n t position w a s apparent f r o m the outset and President K a u n d a had o n many occasions expressed his c o n f i d e n c e that the p e o p l e o f Z a m b i a w o u l d v o t e the o n e - p a r t y state i n t o e x i s t e n c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s i n 1968 t h e first g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n disappointed h i m , particularly in B a r o t s e l a n d , w h e r e the L o z i , a g g r i e v e d at c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t n e g l e c t , d e m o n s t r a b l y w i t h d r e w their support from the ruling party. M o r e serious w a s the 411 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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intra-party conflict w h i c h b e t w e e n 1967 and 1971 pulled U N I P apart. In a manner reminiscent o f K e n y a , former V i c e - P r e s i d e n t K a p w e p w e i n 1 9 7 1 left t h e p a r t y t o f o r m a n e w o p p o s i t i o n , t h e United P r o g r e s s i v e Party ( U P P ) w h i c h represented the radical p o p u l i s t strain o f U N I P ' s early d a y s . A s in K e n y a the n e w o p p o s i t i o n w a s short-lived. F o l l o w i n g a p e r i o d o f v i o l e n t interparty conflict, President K a u n d a in F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 2 b a n n e d the p a r t y , d e t a i n e d its l e a d e r s , a n d a n n o u n c e d t h e d e c i s i o n t o i n t r o d u c e a o n e - p a r t y state. T h e o n e - p a r t y c o n s t i t u t i o n w a s p a s s e d in J u l y 1 9 7 3 , a n d t h e first g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n u n d e r t h e n e w s y s t e m f o l l o w e d i n D e c e m b e r o f t h a t y e a r . T h e l o w p o l l , a v e r a g i n g 39 p e r c e n t , and the m a r k e d absence o f p o p u l a r enthusiasm, s u g g e s t e d that t h e r e w a s i n fact o n l y a m o d e s t s u p p o r t f o r t h e p a r t y w i t h i n t h e o n e - p a r t y state. T h e similarities b e t w e e n the K e n y a n and the Z a m b i a n exper­ ience are t o o i m p o r t a n t t o b e i g n o r e d . B o t h K e n y a a n d Z a m b i a b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t as t w o - p a r t y s t a t e s , i n w h i c h a d o m i n a n t ruling party faced a small but v i g o r o u s o p p o s i t i o n that represented essentially regional but also m i n o r i t y interests. In b o t h , the dominant party p r o v e d unable to a c c o m m o d a t e the deeply e n t r e n c h e d v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s i n s o c i e t y , a n d b o t h u s e d e x e c u t i v e fiat t o c o n t r o l a n d finally e l i m i n a t e p o l i t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n . T h e o n e - p a r t y state w a s therefore in b o t h cases i m p o s e d u p o n societies charac­ terised b y d e e p c l e a v a g e s that had p r o d u c e d a s t r o n g l y factional system o f politics. U n d e r those circumstances the party w a s unable t o a c t as a n a g e n t o f i n t e g r a t i o n , r e m a i n i n g i n s t e a d a ' m a c h i n e - l i k e o r g a n i s a t i o n ' d e p e n d i n g o n material rewards rather than o n political principle to maintain or extend political support. T h e e x e c u t i v e a s s u m e d a s t r o n g e r a u t h o r i t a r i a n c o n t r o l , w h i l e it remained responsive to the pressures o f factional n e t w o r k s and personal alliances that h a d b e e n created in the c o l o n i a l years. 1

U g a n d a ' s post-colonial experience demonstrated the funda­ m e n t a l p r o b l e m o f the n e w state. W h i l e the centralisation o f p o w e r w a s an essential e l e m e n t in state f o r m a t i o n , the c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f p o w e r at t h e c e n t r e c a r r i e d w i t h it t h e d a n g e r o f i s o l a t i o n , a n d the loss o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n centre and locality. T h i s w a s d e m o n s t r a t e d first b y B u g a n d a , w h i c h r e m a i n e d t h e c e n t r a l political issue that faced the i n d e p e n d e n t g o v e r n m e n t . M i l t o n 1

H e n r y B i e n e n , ' P o l i t i c a l parties a n d p o l i t i c a l m a c h i n e s in A f r i c a ' , in M i c h a e l L o f c h i e ( e d . ) , The state of the nations ( B e r k e l e y , 1971).

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O b o t e , t h e n p r e s i d e n t o f t h e U P C a n d i n d e p e n d e n t U g a n d a ' s first p r i m e minister, had w o n i n d e p e n d e n c e o n the basis o f an electoral alliance w i t h B u g a n d a , and a quasi-federal constitution that c h a l l e n g e d his o w n p r e d i l e c t i o n for a p o w e r f u l unitary g o v e r n ­ ment. H e had not, h o w e v e r , resolved the u n d e r l y i n g conflict b e t w e e n B u g a n d a and the rest o f the c o u n t r y o v e r w h o s h o u l d rule. N o r w a s he able to establish any g e n u i n e links b e t w e e n the central g o v e r n m e n t and the G a n d a p o p u l a c e , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e e l e c t i o n o f t h e kabaka i n 1 9 6 3 as U g a n d a ' s first p r e s i d e n t . T h e L o s t C o u n t i e s r e f e r e n d u m in 1964 m i g h t h a v e d e m o n s t r a t e d c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t p o w e r , b u t it b r o k e s u c h f r a g i l e s u p p o r t as existed in B u g a n d a for h e r a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h the U P C . T h e crucial p r o b l e m for U g a n d a h o w e v e r w a s that o n c e B u g a n d a a c k n o w l ­ e d g e d her stake in the n e w state, and the n e e d t o influence e v e n t s from within, the l o g i c o f n u m b e r s g a v e her the crucial p i v o t a l p o s i t i o n i n t h e s t a t e , b o t h i n its p a r t y a n d its g o v e r n m e n t a l s y s t e m . B e t w e e n 1963 a n d 1 9 6 6 w h a t w a s at s t a k e w a s less B u g a n d a ' s f u t u r e t h a n t h a t o f t h e n o n - G a n d a r u l i n g p a r t y , a n d its l e a d e r , O b o t e . B u g a n d a r e m a i n e d t h e m o s t s a l i e n t f a c t o r in U g a n d a p o l i t i c s n o t s i m p l y b e c a u s e it r e f u s e d t o a c c e p t a d i s p e n s a t i o n o f p o w e r t h a t c h a l l e n g e d its p a s t d o m i n a n c e , b u t b e c a u s e w i t h i n a d e m o c r a t i c s y s t e m it e n j o y e d a v e r y r e a l c h a n c e o f w i n n i n g control. N o one had ever g o v e r n e d U g a n d a without Buganda's s u p p o r t , s o that w h e n in 1966 O b o t e defeated B u g a n d a he d i d s o only b y using armed force. T h e army thus b e c a m e the crucial e l e m e n t i n t h e p o l i t i c a l b a l a n c e , its n e w s i g n i f i c a n c e s y m b o l i s e d b y t h e m a m m o t h a r m y p a r a d e at t h e 1 9 6 6 i n d e p e n d e n c e celebrations. B u g a n d a w a s not the only p r o b l e m . T h e early g r o w t h o f A f r i c a n l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t at d i s t r i c t l e v e l , w h i c h h a d m a d e t h e district a significant political arena, c o m b i n e d w i t h the l o n g - h e l d desires o f those districts to catch u p w i t h B u g a n d a , had resulted i n a s t r o n g l o c a l p o l i t i c a l f o c u s at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e c e n t r e . T h e r e w a s m o r e o v e r a c o i n c i d e n c e b e t w e e n district and ethnic identity w h i c h further s t r e n g t h e n e d l o c a l ties. U g a n d a h a d h a d p e r h a p s the m o s t decentralised colonial administrative system in East and Central Africa; and her independence settlement had further enhanced district a u t o n o m y and g i v e n districts political resources not usually enjoyed b y local authorities. T h e a u t o n o m y o f the d i s t r i c t as a p o l i t i c a l b a s e h a d a l s o h a d a n i m p o r t a n t i n f l u e n c e b o t h

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o n the d e v e l o p m e n t o f the parties and o n the limited c o n t r o l o f t h e p a r t y c e n t r e o v e r its b r a n c h e s . T h u s t h e c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t had found itself unable to control district authorities e v e n w h e r e they w e r e o f the same party. I n t h e e a r l y y e a r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e , O b o t e a c h i e v e d a g o o d deal o f c o n t r o l b y m e d i a t i o n b e t w e e n district a n d centre. I n his search for a g r e a t e r centralisation o f p o w e r h o w e v e r , his n e w L o c a l A d m i n i s t r a t i o n A c t o f 1967 d e s t r o y e d n o t o n l y the former regional administration, but also the n e t w o r k o f links and c h e c k s and balances that had in the past knit locality and centre together. T h e c h a n g e contributed a great deal to the circumstances o f the c o u p in 1 9 7 1 w h e n the a r m y c o m m a n d e r , G e n e r a l A m i n , a s s u m e d p o w e r . W h i l e the immediate cause o f the c o u p w a s m o s t probably A m i n ' s fears f o r h i s o w n p e r s o n a l s u r v i v a l , t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a t m a d e it p o s s i b l e r e l a t e d t o t h e e r o s i o n o f O b o t e ' s e a r l i e r d i s t r i c t l e v e l s u p p o r t . A l t h o u g h A m i n ' s r e g i m e s u b s e q u e n t l y e m e r g e d as an aberrant e v e n o f military rule, his a t t e m p t in 1973 t o break d o w n the existing districts into smaller administrative units s u g g e s t e d that he w a s n o t u n a w a r e o f the p r o b l e m s o f local control. W h i l e the search for m o r e appropriate institutions had indeed l e d t o a g r e a t a s s e r t i o n o f c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t y , it h a d t h e r e f o r e at t h e s a m e t i m e led the n e w A f r i c a n states a l o n g v e r y different paths. E a c h o f t h e m h a d i n t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a s s u m e d a v e r y different character a n d b y 1975 the r e g i o n e n c o m p a s s e d a r a n g e o f v a s t l y different e x p e r i m e n t s a n d a c h i e v e m e n t s . T a n z a n i a ' s socialist e x p e r i m e n t contrasted w i t h U g a n d a ' s tragic decline under an anarchic military oligarchy. W h i l e K e n y a and M a l a w i w e r e the m o s t clearly capitalist, K e n y a ' s m e r i t o c r a c y had until 1975 s h o w n a c a p a c i t y t o i n c o r p o r a t e disparate e l e m e n t s o f s o c i e t y in a w a y that M a l a w i h a d n o t . It w a s m o r e difficult t o identify a clear pattern u n d e r l y i n g Z a m b i a ' s s o m e t i m e s b e w i l d e r i n g suc­ cession o f changes, and Zanzibar continued, notwithstanding u n i o n w i t h t h e m a i n l a n d , t o h o l d h e r s e l f a l o o f as s h e c o n t i n u e d h e r r e v o l u t i o n a r y e x p e r i m e n t . N e v e r t h e l e s s it w a s c l e a r b y 1 9 7 5 that, despite the c o m m o n p r o b l e m s o f u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t they s h a r e d , e a c h s t a t e w a s m o v i n g a l o n g a d i f f e r e n t p a t h i n its s e a r c h for d e v e l o p m e n t . A f t e r its u n i l a t e r a l d e c l a r a t i o n o f i n d e p e n d e n c e i n 1965 t h e w h i t e m i n o r i t y r e m a i n e d firmly i n c o n t r o l i n R h o d e s i a a l t h o u g h 414

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isolated and under increasing external pressure. T h e ruling R h o d e s i a n F r o n t , u n d e r its P r i m e M i n i s t e r I a n S m i t h , r e m a i n e d u n i t e d in t h e f a c e o f t r a d e s a n c t i o n s i m p o s e d f r o m w i t h o u t (see C h a p t e r 3), a n d t h e g o v e r n m e n t s h i e l d e d t h e w h i t e p o p u l a t i o n f r o m t h e i r h a r m f u l effects. T h e r e w a s at t h e s a m e t i m e a perceptible trend t o increased w h i t e c o n t r o l a n d fresh discrimi­ natory legislation. In M a r c h 1970 Rhodesia became a R e p u b l i c w i t h a c o n s t i t u t i o n t h a t c e n t r e d all p o l i t i c a l p o w e r i n a l o w e r H o u s e o f A s s e m b l y i n w h i c h A f r i c a n s h a d o n l y 1 6 o f 66 s e a t s . A f r i c a n representation w a s linked to contributions to total income-tax p a y m e n t s w h i c h ensured that parity w a s i m p o s s i b l e in the foreseeable future. A n e w L a n d T e n u r e A c t in 1969 p e r m a n e n t l y d i v i d e d t h e l a n d i n t o t w o e q u a l p o r t i o n s , 45 m i l l i o n a c r e s f o r five m i l l i o n A f r i c a n s a n d 45 m i l l i o n a c r e s f o r f e w e r t h a n 2 5 0 0 0 0 E u r o p e a n s , and introduced a rigid formula that precluded any future significant transfer o f E u r o p e a n lands to A f r i c a n use o r ownership. R e v e n u e allocations to social services for Africans were decreased. T h e majority o f African nationalist leaders w e r e in d e t e n t i o n , r e s t r i c t i o n o r e x i l e , a n d s e c u r i t y l e g i s l a t i o n e n s u r e d c o n t r o l o f a n y dissident political a c t i v i t y . A f r i c a n politicians in e x i l e , t h e m s e l v e s still d i v i d e d , w e r e u n a b l e t o t u r n e i t h e r o f t h e i r national organisations, the Z i m b a b w e A f r i c a n P e o p l e ' s U n i o n ( Z A P U ) o r the Z i m b a b w e A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l U n i o n ( Z A N U ) into an effective liberation m o v e m e n t o r t o establish a joint military c o m m a n d , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the p r o d d i n g s f r o m the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f A f r i c a n U n i t y ' s L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e in D a r es S a l a a m . A l t h o u g h t h e first r e p o r t e d g u e r r i l l a a t t a c k t o o k p l a c e i n A p r i l 1966, A f r i c a n guerrilla action had b e e n n o m o r e successful than British negotiations up to 1 9 7 1 . B e g i n n i n g in 1 9 7 2 , h o w e v e r , c e r t a i n c r i t i c a l c h a n g e s o c c u r r e d w h i c h d i r e c t l y affected t h e i n t e r n a l s i t u a t i o n i n R h o d e s i a a n d l e d , by 1975, to a fundamental w e a k e n i n g o f the R h o d e s i a n r e g i m e . First, A f r i c a n s in R h o d e s i a o v e r w h e l m i n g l y rejected p r o p o s a l s for a constitutional settlement agreed b e t w e e n the British and R h o d e s i a n g o v e r n m e n t s in 1 9 7 1 , w h e n t h e y w e r e g i v e n the o p p o r t u n i t y to v o i c e their o p i n i o n to the Pearce C o m m i s s i o n that v i s i t e d t h e c o u n t r y at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e y e a r . T h i s m a d e a constitutional settlement unlikely in the near future. S e c o n d , the A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s ( A N C ) f o r m e d in R h o d e s i a in D e c e m b e r 1971 under the leadership o f B i s h o p A b e l M u z o r e w a 415

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to o p p o s e the settlement, n o w p r o v i d e d an o r g a n w i t h i n the c o u n t r y t o articulate A f r i c a n o p i n i o n . It therefore s t o o d as the o n l y effective o p p o s i t i o n w i t h i n the c o u n t r y . A s the e c o n o m i c situation b e c a m e m o r e difficult d u r i n g 1 9 7 2 - 3 , s o a d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n the R h o d e s i a n F r o n t and A N C s l o w l y t o o k shape, in w h i c h the latter d e m a n d e d substantial c h a n g e s t o the 1 9 7 1 p r o p o s a l s as a b a s i s f o r a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t l e m e n t . T h i r d , a n e w p h a s e b e g a n in the a r m e d s t r u g g l e , as Z A N U , in particular, t o o k the lead o n the north-eastern frontier, and inside the c o u n t r y the rural p o p u l a t i o n n o w p r o v e d m u c h m o r e w i l l i n g t o g i v e support. T h e Rhodesian response w a s to extend military service obligations and to institute collective p u n i s h m e n t s o n villages b e l i e v e d to h a v e h a r b o u r e d guerrillas. Finally, the m o s t critical c h a n g e w a s the consequence o f the P o r t u g u e s e c o u p in 1974, and the subsequent decision to grant independence to the P o r t u g u e s e A f r i c a n territories. T h i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y c h a n g e d the situation in southern Africa, and led directly t o the attempts initiated w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n b y t h e e n d o f t h a t y e a r t o find a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t t l e m e n t . I t l e d at t h e e n d o f 1 9 7 4 t o t h e d r a m a t i c c h a n g e s c l i m a x e d in the m e e t i n g in L u s a k a , u n d e r the g u i d a n c e o f the l e a d e r s o f t h e F r o n t L i n e s t a t e s , o f all t h e R h o d e s i a n n a t i o n a l i s t leaders, released b y S m i t h f r o m detention t o seek the b e g i n n i n g s at l e a s t o f a s e t t l e m e n t , n e g o t i a t e d n o t b y B r i t a i n a n d S m i t h , b u t b y S o u t h A f r i c a a n d K a u n d a as t h e n e w b r o k e r s . I t w a s n o t , h o w e v e r , u n t i l 1 9 8 0 , five y e a r s a f t e r t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d , a n d after a bitter g u e r r i l l a w a r , that R h o d e s i a w a s c o n v e r t e d i n t o an A f r i c a n - r u l e d s t a t e as Z i m b a b w e .

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There was a remarkable continuity o f economic policy between c o l o n i a l a n d p o s t - c o l o n i a l states, s o that i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s less t h e w a t e r s h e d f o r e c o n o m i c t h a n it w a s f o r p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e . T h e 30 y e a r s a f t e r t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r a r e p e r h a p s b e t t e r v i e w e d in terms o f three short, successive phases in e c o n o m i c c h a n g e , each m e r g i n g into the other, each revealing m o r e clearly than before the fundamental constraints u p o n d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e first p h a s e e m b r a c e d t h e y e a r s f r o m t h e e n d o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r to the mid-1950s, during w h i c h time the colonial e c o n o m i c policies and practices that w o u l d h a v e such long-term 416

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influence u p o n the r e g i o n w e r e laid d o w n . T h e C o l o n i a l D e v e l ­ o p m e n t a n d W e l f a r e A c t o f 1940 h a d g i v e n n o t i c e o f B r i t a i n ' s commitment to a more positive programme o f economic devel­ o p m e n t , and from the end o f the w a r she e m b a r k e d u p o n v i g o r o u s state a c t i o n t o p r o m o t e c o l o n i a l w e l f a r e a n d e c o n o m i c i m p r o v e ­ ment. M u c h m o r e significant w a s the c o m m o d i t y b o o m and the i n c r e a s e d p r i c e s f o r m a n y c a s h c r o p s t h a t o c c u r r e d b e t w e e n 1949 a n d 1953, a n d w h i c h p r o d u c e d a s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e i n t h e t e r m s o f trade. E v e n if Britain's objective w a s metropolitan reconstruc­ t i o n as m u c h as c o l o n i a l p r o g r e s s , t h e y e a r s a f t e r 1945 w e r e u n d o u b t e d l y y e a r s o f l o c a l e x p a n s i o n . A w o r d o f c a u t i o n is necessary here: for m a n y Africans the benefits o f the w o r l d c o m m o d i t y b o o m w e r e not o b v i o u s . T h e legacies o f w a r inflation, u r b a n c r o w d i n g , shortages o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s , agricul­ t u r a l r e s t r i c t i o n s — p e r s i s t e d i n t o t h e e a r l y 1950s a n d p r o v i d e d t h e resentment that w a s channelled into the organisation o f trade unions, cooperative societies, and nationalist m o v e m e n t s . T h e s e c o n d p h a s e , w h i c h c o v e r e d t h e d e c a d e f r o m 1955, w a s also characterised b y g r o w t h , but o f a m o r e erratic kind, so that e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s w a s a g o o d deal less stable. C o m m o d i t y prices v a r i e d a g o o d d e a l , after a s h a r p fall f r o m t h e b o o m y e a r s , a n d that fluctuation, a l o n g w i t h the v a g a r i e s o f rainfall a n d the uncertainties o f political c h a n g e , p r o d u c e d a m o r e s o m b r e m o o d o f financial s t r i n g e n c y at i n d e p e n d e n c e . U n e m p l o y m e n t b e c a m e a s i g n i f i c a n t i s s u e . N e v e r t h e l e s s b y a n y g e n e r a l l y u s e d c r i t e r i a , all t h e s e states h a d a c h i e v e d s u b s t a n t i a l g r o w t h s i n c e 1945. N e w i n f r a s t r u c t u r e s h a d b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d a c r o s s t h e r e g i o n as a w h o l e . T h e O w e n Falls D a m in U g a n d a a n d the K a r i b a D a m o n the borders o f Rhodesia and Z a m b i a had o p e n e d u p n e w possibilities for d e v e l o p m e n t . E a c h n e w state inherited a b u d g e t a g o o d deal l a r g e r t h a n its c o l o n i a l p r e d e c e s s o r h a d e n j o y e d 15 y e a r s e a r l i e r , a n d t h e y e a r s i m m e d i a t e l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e y e a r s o f continuing g r o w t h and the expansion o f social services. A s t h e 1960s g a v e w a y t o t h e 1970s, h o w e v e r , u n e m p l o y m e n t and a s l a c k e n i n g rate o f g r o w t h e m p h a s i s e d the limitations o f earlier a c h i e v e m e n t s . H e n c e a n e w phase b e g a n , characterised b y a n i n c r e a s i n g c o n c e r n at t h e p r o b l e m s o f g r o w t h w i t h o u t c o r r e s p o n d i n g d e v e l o p m e n t . T w o e v e n t s i n 1967 h i g h l i g h t e d t h e c h a n g i n g situation. First, T o m M b o y a , then K e n y a ' s Minister for E c o n o m i c P l a n n i n g and D e v e l o p m e n t , u r g e d u p o n the E c o n o m i c

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C o m m i s s i o n for Africa the necessity o f a Marshall Plan for A f r i c a ; a n d i f t h e r e w a s a l r e a d y s t r o n g d i s a g r e e m e n t as t o t h e r o l e o f foreign capital in the d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e s s , there w a s n o dis­ a g r e e m e n t as t o h i s d i a g n o s i s o f A f r i c a ' s i l l s : u n e m p l o y m e n t , l o w productivity, inequality, export-oriented economies, dependence u p o n w o r l d m a r k e t s a n d fluctuating p r i c e s , i n s u f f i c i e n t c a p i t a l a n d inadequate resources o f skilled m a n p o w e r . S e c o n d , the A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n g a v e n o t i c e o f a radical c h a n g e o f strategy in T a n z a n i a to socialism and self-reliance and thus p r o v i d e d the starting p o i n t for a n e w d e b a t e a b o u t the n a t u r e o f d e v e l o p m e n t in A f r i c a .

The colonialyears: the search for increased productivity W i t h these c h a n g e s in m i n d , w e m a y turn to the c o l o n i a l years w h e n the d o m i n a n t t h e m e o f p o s t - w a r p o l i c y w a s increased productivity. T h i s required the transformation o f the African subsistence e c o n o m y and the extension o f cash-crop agriculture; and if the emphasis w a s u p o n cash crops for e x p o r t there w a s also a c o n c e r n for self-sufficiency in f o o d . Increased p r o d u c t i v i t y w a s also believed to require the application o f E u r o p e a n capital and e x p e r t i s e , a n d E u r o p e a n s w e r e a c c o r d e d a c r i t i c a l r o l e as a g e n t s o f d e v e l o p m e n t , w h e t h e r in the g u i s e o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , settlers, planters or investors. Certain assumptions underlying the general c o m m i t m e n t to e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t n e e d t o b e b o r n e in m i n d , for t h e y u n d e r l i n e t h e n a t u r e o f t h e s t r a t e g i e s a d o p t e d . T h e first c o n c e r n e d the obstacles to be o v e r c o m e . W h i l e nationalist leaders a s s u m e d that their countries' b a c k w a r d n e s s w a s the direct p r o d u c t o f c o l o n i a l e x p l o i t a t i o n , c o l o n i a l officials at h o m e a n d a b r o a d s a w it as r o o t e d i n t h e A f r i c a n c o n d i t i o n . D e v e l o p m e n t s t r a t e g i e s w e r e based o n the a s s u m p t i o n that w e s t e r n skills and technical k n o w l e d g e w o u l d gradually be transferred to the i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s . W h e r e a s this e n c o u r a g e d the C o l o n i a l Office t o s u p p o r t a p o s i t i v e e x p a n s i o n o f s o c i a l r e s e a r c h , it a l s o p r o d u c e d a m u c h m o r e d i r e c t i n t r u s i o n o f c o l o n i a l officials i n t o A f r i c a n life. I f t h e main contrast w i t h pre-war days w a s the availability o f funds for e c o n o m i c development, m u c h greater demands were also made u p o n t h e A f r i c a n p e o p l e b y g o v e r n m e n t s t h a t set o u t t o t u r n African cultivators into cash-crop farmers. T h e s e c o n d assumption c o n c e r n e d capital. T h e need for largescale capital i n v e s t m e n t w a s a c c e p t e d , and the s o m e w h a t ill-fated 418 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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Overseas F o o d C o r p o r a t i o n and the m o r e successful C o m m o n ­ wealth D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation were both evidence o f the L a b o u r g o v e r n m e n t ' s faith in t h e p u b l i c c o r p o r a t i o n as a n instrument o f development. A t the same time, successive British g o v e r n m e n t s a c k n o w l e d g e d that m u c h o f the necessary capital s h o u l d c o m e f r o m p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t , a n d that this m u s t p l a y a major role in the necessary diversification o f the colonial e c o n o ­ mies. W h i l e there m i g h t be s o m e debate about the m e a n i n g o f socialism in the colonies, colonial strategy w a s nonetheless seen to require a m a n a g e d e c o n o m y in w h i c h g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d c o n t r o l p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e w i t h o u t d i s c o u r a g i n g it. D e v e l o p m e n t thus assumed the extension o f the capitalist m o d e o f p r o d u c t i o n , and the encouragement o f the entrepreneur. 1

W e must also bear in m i n d the extent to w h i c h d e v e l o p m e n t w a s v i e w e d as a l o c a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . W h i l e t h e C o l o n i a l O f f i c e l a i d d o w n t h e b r o a d l i n e s o f p o l i c y , it a s s u m e d t h a t t h e i n i t i a t i v e a n d t h e financial r e s p o n s i b i l i t y r e m a i n e d w i t h t h e m a n o n t h e s p o t . Ultimately, therefore, and notwithstanding n e w c o m m i t m e n t s to c o l o n i a l a i d , a t e r r i t o r y c o u l d a d v a n c e o n l y a s far as its o w n r e s o u r c e s ( i n c l u d i n g its a b i l i t y t o a t t r a c t c a p i t a l f r o m a b r o a d ) allowed. T h e strategies a d o p t e d therefore varied a g o o d deal from o n e territory t o the n e x t , as d i d the level o f a c h i e v e m e n t . S i n c e the m o s t striking contrasts w e r e b e t w e e n those territories w i t h s e t t l e r s a n d t h o s e w i t h o u t , it is i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r i n m i n d t h e relative sizes o f the n o n - A f r i c a n c o m m u n i t i e s across the r e g i o n . T h e post-war commitment to African economic advancement i n v o l v e d n o alteration in either the existing pattern o f peasant, settler a n d plantation e c o n o m y , o r in t h e racial basis o f land o w n e r s h i p o n w h i c h they w e r e based. In U g a n d a the peasant r e m a i n e d i n t h e official m i n d t h e p r i m a r y a g e n t o f d e v e l o p m e n t . T a n z a n i a maintained the s a m e a m b i g u o u s m i x o f peasant, settler and planter that h a d e v o l v e d before the w a r , a l t h o u g h the trusteeship system ensured a close w a t c h o n any further alienation o f land. B u t the d o m i n a n t p o s i t i o n o f w h i t e settlers in K e n y a a n d the t w o R h o d e s i a s , a n d the British acquiescence in federation, i n d i c a t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e a t t a c h e d t o E u r o p e a n s as t h e a g e n t s o f g r o w t h . Soldier settlements w e r e an important item in p o s t - w a r 1

A n i m p o r t a n t s t u d y i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f c o r p o r a t e c a p i t a l i s m i n K e n y a a n d its r o l e i n t h e p r o c e s s o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t p u b l i s h e d after t h i s c h a p t e r h a d b e e n c o m p l e t e d is N i c o l a S w a i n s o n , The development of corporate capitalism in Kenya, ipif-ip?? ( L o n d o n , 1980).

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agricultural b u d g e t s , and the further d e v e l o p m e n t o f large farms and plantations remained a central feature o f agricultural p o l i c y i n all t h r e e t e r r i t o r i e s u p t o i 9 6 0 . E u r o p e a n a g r i c u l t u r e in fact m a d e a significant c o n t r i b u t i o n t o p r o d u c t i o n in those territories t h r o u g h o u t the 1950s, a l t h o u g h the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r p r o v e d less v u l n e r a b l e in K e n y a t h a n the settlers' farms t o b o t h e c o n o m i c and political crises. M o r e critical i n t e r m s o f its i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r l o n g - t e r m d e v e l o p m e n t w a s t h e privileged position o f the E u r o p e a n farming c o m m u n i t y that m a d e this success p o s s i b l e . T h e E u r o p e a n m o n o p o l i s t p o s i t i o n in regard to land, agricultural inputs and the p r o d u c t i o n o f k e y cash crops i m p o s e d severe limitations u p o n the g r o w t h o f African a g r i c u l t u r e , as w e l l as u p o n t h e p r o s p e c t s f o r b a l a n c e d r e g i o n a l g r o w t h . T h e m o s t e x t r e m e f o r m o f settler p r i v i l e g e applied o f c o u r s e i n S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , b u t g e n e r a l l y , i n all t h e t e r r i t o r i e s i n v o l v e d , it w a s t h e A f r i c a n p e a s a n t f a r m e r w h o p a i d f o r t h e E u r o p e a n settler farmer's success. E u r o p e a n agriculture w a s thus a critical constraint u p o n African agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t in these years. K e n y a n Africans d e m o n s t r a t e d in d u e c o u r s e , h o w e v e r , that this constraint c o u l d be o v e r c o m e . M o r e serious w a s the m a n n e r in w h i c h E u r o p e a n c o n t r o l o v e r l a r g e land areas c o n t r i b u t e d , f r o m the late 1940s, t o t h e d e t e r i o r a t i o n o f A f r i c a n l a n d s . B y 195 5 t h e E a s t A f r i c a n R o y a l C o m m i s s i o n , w a r n i n g o f the dangers o f inaction in the face o f serious pressures u p o n the land, u r g e d the abolition not o n l y o f racial b u t also o f e t h n i c barriers t o land o w n e r s h i p a n d land u s a g e . P o l i t i c a l e v e n t s o v e r t o o k its r e p o r t , b u t w h e n t h e w h i t e h i g h l a n d s w e r e o p e n e d u p t o A f r i c a n o w n e r s h i p in K e n y a , the difficulties o f m o v e m e n t a c r o s s t r i b a l b o u n d a r i e s r e m a i n e d . W h i l e it w a s c o m p a r a t i v e l y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d t o transfer land f r o m w h i t e t o b l a c k , it w a s m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o o v e r c o m e t h e s e r i o u s r e g i o n a l imbalance o f development to w h i c h European settlement had c o n t r i b u t e d s o m u c h . O n e result, b y n o m e a n s the least i m p o r t a n t , w a s an enhanced sense o f regional consciousness a m o n g Africans determined to protect their o w n lands. A n o t h e r equally important legacy o f the E u r o p e a n sector w a s its i n f l u e n c e u p o n p r e v a i l i n g i d e a s a b o u t a g r i c u l t u r e itself. I n Z a m b i a , the c o m m e r c i a l farmers and the federal M i n i s t r y o f A g r i c u l t u r e (responsible for E u r o p e a n agriculture in Z a m b i a for the federal d e c a d e ) created a set o f attitudes that ten y e a r s after 420

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i n d e p e n d e n c e still l e d officials t o d e f i n e * t r a d i t i o n a l ' a n d * m o d e r n ' farming in terms o f the patterns o f usage that h a d b e e n laid d o w n for the E u r o p e a n sector. M u c h m o r e w i d e l y debated w a s K e n y a ' s belief in the importance o f large-scale farming. T h e so-called ' m y t h o f the large-scale f a r m s ' b o t h o b s c u r e d t h e settler d e p e n ­ dence u p o n m o n o p o l y a n d f o r m s o f state assistance, a n d sustained the large-scale farms w h o s e e c o n o m i c size h a d b e e n questioned s i n c e t h e T r o u p R e p o r t o f 195 3. W h e t h e r o r n o t t h e t r a n s f e r i n t a c t o f large-scale farms t o individual African o w n e r s w a s the k e y t o the i n d e p e n d e n c e settlement, large-scale f a r m i n g remained as a critical a n d h i g h l y controversial c o m p o n e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n t K e n y a ' s agricultural strategy. 1

T h e transformation o f the African subsistence e c o n o m y a n d the development o f modern African agriculture were ultimately h o w e v e r the m o r e significant thrusts o f the colonial period. I f the objective w a s the increased p r o d u c t i o n o f export crops, there w a s a l s o a s e n s e o f u r g e n c y t o t a k e a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e effects o f inadequate husbandry a n d soil erosion. T h i s p r o d u c e d the c o m ­ pulsory conservation measures in b o t h agricultural and pastoral areas that w e r e t o p r o v i d e a p o w e r f u l issue f o r nationalist politicians. T h e r e w a s in addition, h o w e v e r , a p o s i t i v e emphasis u p o n t h e e x p a n s i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r e itself. T h e c o n f e r e n c e o n A f r i c a n land tenure in E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a held at A r u s h a in 1956 h i g h l i g h t e d the basic assumption that increased p r o d u c t i v i t y o f the land w o u l d follow land reform a n d the introduction o f individual land tenure. T h e strategies adopted for i m p r o v e d agriculture generally assumed the advantages o f individual o w n e r ­ ship, b u t in fact there w a s little u n i f o r m i t y o f p o l i c y , a n d o n l y K e n y a set o u t w i t h r e m a r k a b l e c o n v i c t i o n a n d a g o o d deal o f c o m p u l s i o n t o i m p l e m e n t it. T h e agents o f change were the agricultural and the c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p m e n t officers, a l t h o u g h t h e p r o v i n c i a l administration in each country generally assumed that the responsibility ultimately r e s t e d w i t h itself. T h e s t r a t e g i e s i n v o l v e d a v a r i e t y o f i n c e n t i v e s as w e l l a s t e c h n i c a l a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a n g e s d i r e c t e d a t t u r n i n g t h e 1

C o l i n L e y s , i n Underdevelopment in Kenya: the political economy of mo-colonialism ( L o n d o n , 1974), 3 7 - 9 , a r g u e d t h a t t h e e c o n o m i c s e t t l e m e n t i n 1963 w h i c h p r o v i d e d a protected position for foreign capital in independent K e n y a w a s possible largely because o f a g r e e m e n t b y the British t o transfer the former E u r o p e a n lands t o African o w n e r s h i p o n the terms the African leadership wanted, and w h i c h ensured that m i x e d farms w e r e available t o African o w n e r s o n easy terms.

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cultivator into a cash-crop farmer. I m p r o v e d farming schemes had a place in e v e r y territorial b u d g e t , and there w e r e s o m e notable showcase experiments. T h e Sukumaland ten-year d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e in w e s t e r n T a n z a n i a , t h e first o f its t y p e a n d s c a l e i n p o s t - w a r t r o p i c a l A f r i c a , s p e n t a p p r o x i m a t e l y £2 m i l l i o n in a coordinated p r o g r a m m e to maximise agricultural and veterinary d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h careful land usage, livestock c o n t r o l and i m p r o v e d a g r i c u l t u r a l m e t h o d s . It e n g a g e d N a t i v e A u t h o r i t y as w e l l as p r o v i n c i a l a n d d e p a r t m e n t a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n a j o i n t effort. I n T a n z a n i a , m o r e o v e r , t h e C h a g a f a r m e r s o n M t K i l i ­ manjaro had l o n g since d e m o n s t r a t e d their ability to g r o w coffee, so that b y 1961 the greater part o f the c o u n t r y ' s coffee c r o p w a s p r o d u c e d b y 1 2 0 0 0 0 coffee f a r m e r s t y p i c a l l y o n less t h a n a n a c r e each. U g a n d a s t o o d o u t as t h e c l a s s i c p e a s a n t e c o n o m y , s u s t a i n e d b y p e a s a n t - g r o w n coffee a n d c o t t o n . I n 1 9 4 6 , t h e W o r t h i n g t o n P l a n , in a n effort at l o n g - t e r m a n d c o m p r e h e n s i v e p l a n n i n g , a i m e d at a v i g o r o u s e x p a n s i o n o f African cash-crop p r o d u c t i o n for the export market b o t h o f existing and also o f n e w crops. U g a n d a ' s coffee a n d c o t t o n f a r m e r s r e s p o n d e d i n t h e late 1940s t o t h e d r a m a t i c rise i n c o m m o d i t y p r i c e s , as t h e p h e n o m e n a l e x p a n s i o n d e m o n s t r a t e d . C o t t o n p r o d u c t i o n increased f r o m 264000 bales in 1945 t o 3 7 8 6 0 0 in 1 9 5 2 , a n d coffee f r o m 20000 t o 3 7 0 0 0 t o n s . T h e v a l u e o f t h e t w o c a s h c r o p s r o s e f r o m £ 9 93 8 000 t o £ 4 7 7 0 4 0 0 0 . U g a n d a ' s p h e n o m e n a l g r o w t h b e t w e e n 1945 a n d 1955 w a s u n a m b i g u o u s l y based u p o n African peasant initiative and production. Y e t it w a s i n K e n y a , i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g s e t t l e r p r i v i l e g e s , t h a t A f r i c a n a g r i c u l t u r e a c h i e v e d its m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t a d v a n c e s in terms n o t o n l y o f increased p r o d u c t i o n b u t also o f i m p r o v e d agricultural practice. T h e gross value o f produce m a r k e t e d b y A f r i c a n farmers rose f r o m £3.2 million in 1951 to £ 1 1 . 6 million in 1963. W h e r e a s f e w Africans had d e r i v e d an i n c o m e f r o m tea, r i c e , coffee o r p y r e t h r u m i n 1 9 5 0 , i n 1 9 6 2 m o r e t h a n £4 m i l l i o n w e n t t o A f r i c a n s g r o w i n g t h e s e c r o p s . T h e K i p s i g i s set t h i s p r o c e s s i n m o t i o n , h a v i n g b y 1 9 5 3 o n t h e i r o w n v o l i t i o n c o n s o l i d a t e d their beautiful hills and b e g u n t o g r o w p y r e t h r u m ; b u t t h e K i k u y u s w i f t l y o v e r t o o k t h e m a n d it w a s t h e imperatives o f the e m e r g e n c y and the enforced agricultural c h a n g e in C e n t r a l P r o v i n c e u n d e r the S w y n n e r t o n P l a n that p r o d u c e d the m o s t fundamental change. 422

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S w y n n e r t o n set o u t in 1953 t o accelerate A f r i c a n agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t o n existing a c r e a g e s b y a c o n c e n t r a t e d p r o g r a m m e o f land reform a n d i m p r o v e d (and enforced) agricultural practice, and in the p r o c e s s t o p r o d u c e an A f r i c a n m i d d l e class. C o n s o l i ­ dation, registration and individual land tenure, and the expansion o f research, extension services and marketing, w e r e part o f a c o h e r e n t p r o g r a m m e o f e c o n o m i c r e f o r m d e s i g n e d n o t l e a s t as a n e c o n o m i c a n s w e r t o the political pressures that p r o d u c e d the e m e r g e n c y . T h e relationship b e t w e e n land tenure a n d increased agricultural production w a s b y n o means p r o v e n and w o u l d be a source o f debate for m a n y years. B u t the S w y n n e r t o n Plan w a s a l a n d m a r k in African agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h e p i t o m i s e d the o b j e c t i v e s o f agricultural p o l i c y o v e r the r e g i o n as a w h o l e : the d e v e l o p m e n t o f A f r i c a n c a s h - c r o p agriculture o n t h e basis o f the individual peasant farmer integrated into the m a r k e t e c o n o m y . W h e t h e r the p r o g r a m m e w a s designed for ' p r o g r e s s i v e ' o r ' i m p r o v e d ' o r ' b e t t e r ' farmers, its o b j e c t i v e w a s s u m m e d u p f o r M a l a w i b y the Jack R e p o r t in 1 9 5 8 : ' T h e ultimate a i m in agriculture should be the evolution o f the farmer w h o o w n s and w o r k s his o w n e c o n o m i c h o l d i n g . . . T h e Kenyans would have added that he s h o u l d e m p l o y his o w n farm labour. M

T h i s strategy p r o d u c e d a great m a n y African peasant farmers w h o s e level o f p r o d u c t i o n and w h o s e material standard o f living w a s v i s i b l y b e t t e r t h a n it h a d b e e n i n t h e p a s t . I n K e n y a t h e 1 9 5 0 s w e r e a p e r i o d o f t r e m e n d o u s d e v e l o p m e n t o f A f r i c a n as w e l l as E u r o p e a n farming, w h i c h w a s sustained w e l l into the 1960s, o n c e the initial difficulties o f t h e land-transfer p r o g r a m m e h a d b e e n o v e r c o m e . Indeed K e n y a ' s stronger agricultural cash e c o n o m y , as c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o t h e r c o u n t r i e s i n t h e r e g i o n , w a s b a s e d m o r e o n African potential than E u r o p e a n past achievements. It is n e v e r t h e l e s s d o u b t f u l w h e t h e r t h i s i m p r e s s i v e a g r i c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t c o n s t i t u t e d a r e v o l u t i o n , e v e n i n K e n y a , f o r it i n v o l v e d o n l y a minority o f the total population. M o r e o v e r , a l t h o u g h there h a d b e e n a dramatic e x p a n s i o n o f p r o d u c t i o n , it had for the m o s t part been the result o f the e x p a n s i o n o f the acreages under cultivation rather than o f structural o r techno­ l o g i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t . O u t s i d e K e n y a it is a l s o d o u b t f u l h o w m u c h i m p r o v e m e n t o f agricultural practice actually resulted from the ' I m p r o v e d Farmers' schemes. T h e great majority o f Africans in 1

Report on an economic survey of Nyasa/and ipjS-ipjp N y a s a l a n d , S a l i s b u r y , 1959), 4 4 .

(Federation o f Rhodesia and

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e a c h t e r r i t o r y w e r e still i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s s u b s i s t e n c e c u l t i v a t o r s w h o s e main i m p l e m e n t w a s the h o e . T h e y w e r e in, but o n the m a r g i n s of, t h e n e w e c o n o m y . M o r e o v e r t h e s t e a d y e x p a n s i o n o f acreage u n d e r cultivation in the face o f g r o w i n g p o p u l a t i o n s p o s e d critical, u n r e s o l v e d questions a b o u t the future relationship o f land and people. T h i s w a s the m o r e d i s q u i e t i n g in v i e w o f the limited industrial d e v e l o p m e n t that had occurred o v e r these years. A l t h o u g h the colonial administrator tended to be suspicious o f c o m m e r c e and industry, fearing the social consequences for the A f r i c a n p o p u ­ l a t i o n s , h e a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n as a m e a n s t o d e v e l o p m e n t . It w a s a s s u m e d that the i m p e t u s for c h a n g e m u s t c o m e f r o m outside and that external b o r r o w i n g in o n e f o r m o r another w a s essential. W i t h o n e e x c e p t i o n , industrial d e v e l o p m e n t w a s left t o t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r . T h e exception w a s U g a n d a w h e r e , in the post-war years, G o v e r n o r Sir J o h n Hall e m b a r k e d u p o n a strategy o f industri­ alisation that p r o d u c e d a g r o u p o f large-scale industrial projects c e n t r e d a r o u n d t h e h y d r o e l e c t r i c i n s t a l l a t i o n at Jinja. T h e O w e n Falls D a m w a s c o m p l e t e d in 1 9 5 6 , b u t the results o f H a l l ' s p r o p o s a l s , d e s c r i b e d as o f * a m u c h w i d e r s c o p e t h a n t h e l i m i t e d p r o g r a m m e s o f g o v e r n m e n t capital s p e n d i n g w h i c h f o r m e d the basis o f m o s t o f the c o l o n i a l d e v e l o p m e n t plans o f the p e r i o d ' , w e r e less i m p r e s s i v e t h a n e x p e c t e d . W h i l e the U g a n d a D e v e l o p ­ m e n t C o r p o r a t i o n , f o r m e d i n 195 2, s t o o d o u t as a u n i q u e e x a m p l e o f s t a t e p r o m o t i o n o f i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t , it h a d l i m i t e d s u c c e s s i n a t t r a c t i n g f o r e i g n finance a n d e n t e r p r i s e . U g a n d a d i d better perhaps in the l o n g run w i t h her o w n A s i a n entrepreneurs. 1

Indeed, concentration o n an external impetus for industrialis­ a t i o n r e f l e c t e d a n official i n d i f f e r e n c e o r h o s t i l i t y t o A s i a n e n t r e ­ preneurs, the o n l y appreciable local source o f v e n t u r e capital. Nonetheless, A s i a n expansion into import-substitution industries p r o c e e d e d apace in the 1950s and 1960s; capital w a s increasingly raised b y inter-family alliances, often o n an interterritorial basis. In practice this m e a n t a g r o w i n g penetration o f U g a n d a n and K e n y a n A s i a n capital into T a n g a n y i k a . In K e n y a and the Central African federation, h o w e v e r , w h e r e g o v e r n m e n t s s a w t h e i r r o l e as p r i m a r i l y t h a t o f p r o v i d i n g 1

D . A . L u r y , ' D a y s p r i n g m i s h a n d l e d ? T h e U g a n d a e c o n o m y , 1945-1960', in D . A . L o w a n d A l i s o n S m i t h ( e d s . ) , History of East Africa, v o l . I l l ( O x f o r d , 1976), 236.

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e n c o u r a g e m e n t and inducements to private enterprise, significant industrial e x p a n s i o n t o o k place. I n K e n y a b y 1955 the industrial contribution to G D P almost equalled that o f commercial agriculture and b y independence she had a nucleus o f small industry and an established c o m m e r c i a l sector. T h e Central A f r i c a n federation had also b y 1973 achieved an impressive g r o w t h o f industry, m a n u f a c t u r i n g o u t p u t h a v i n g risen in v a l u e f r o m £ 2 6 . 9 million i n 1 9 5 4 t o £ 6 5 . 4 m i l l i o n , a n d its s h a r e o f G D P f r o m 8.1 p e r c e n t t o 1 1 . 7 p e r cent. B y the early 1960s there w a s a significant industrial base o n w h i c h future d e v e l o p m e n t c o u l d rest. T h a t base w a s , h o w e v e r , for the m o s t part located in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a . Z a m b i a ' s considerable e c o n o m i c development o v e r the same period w a s distinctive, based o n a c o p p e r industry that had g i v e n h e r o n e o f t h e fastest g r o w i n g e c o n o m i e s i n t h e w o r l d . K e n y a and Southern Rhodesia enjoyed certain important a d v a n t a g e s d e r i v e d f r o m their strategic p o s i t i o n , e a c h at the c e n t r e o f a g r o w i n g e c o n o m i c r e g i o n . T h e i r critical a d v a n t a g e h o w e v e r w a s their ability to attract capital f r o m abroad. B e t w e e n 1950 and 1958, capital i n v e s t m e n t in K e n y a w a s just o v e r ¿ 3 0 0 million, o f w h i c h 62 p e r c e n t w a s f r o m t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r . I n t h e f e d e r a t i o n , o v e r t h e d e c a d e o f its e x i s t e n c e , o f a t o t a l g r o s s i n v e s t m e n t o f £1100 million, s o m e £223 million, o r one-fifth, w a s p r o v i d e d from external sources, the m o s t c o n s p i c u o u s e x a m p l e b e i n g o f c o u r s e t h e K a r i b a D a m . C a p i t a l e n g i n e e r e d g r o w t h , b u t it d i d s o i n r e s p o n s e less t o t h e A f r i c a n t h a n t o t h e E u r o p e a n c o m m u n i t i e s that had created e c o n o m i c enclaves w h i c h p r o v i d e d the stimulus for that g r o w t h . T h e result w a s n o t o n l y industrial d e v e l o p m e n t , b u t a l s o a l a r g e r a n d m o r e firmly r o o t e d f o r e i g n p r i v a t e s e c t o r a n d m a r k e t e c o n o m y i n t h o s e t e r r i t o r i e s t h a n e l s e w h e r e . It w a s also grossly lopsided d e v e l o p m e n t . R e g i o n a l distribution w a s u n e v e n : in the federation b y i960 m a n u f a c t u r i n g a c c o u n t e d for 15.5 p e r c e n t o f G D P i n S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , b u t o n l y 8 p e r c e n t i n N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a a n d 4.5 p e r c e n t i n N y a s a l a n d . M o r e o v e r , t h r o u g h o u t its e x i s t e n c e t h e f e d e r a t i o n w a s d e p e n d e n t on N o r t h e r n Rhodesia's copper, and the N o r t h e r n Rhodesian g o v e r n m e n t c a l c u l a t e d t h a t its n e t l o s s t o t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t w a s £ 9 7 million. A l t h o u g h the c o p p e r industry created a b o o m i n g e c o n o m y , i n N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a it w a s o n e c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y a severe imbalance b e t w e e n a stagnant, neglected rural sector a w a y f r o m t h e l i n e o f rail a n d a f a s t - g r o w i n g u r b a n s o c i e t y . F i n a l l y , t h e 425

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benefits o f industrial d e v e l o p m e n t w e r e u n e v e n l y distributed b e t w e e n races, f a v o u r i n g primarily the E u r o p e a n c o m m u n i t i e s . Industrial expansion contributed to the marked expansion o f e m p l o y m e n t in the years u p t o 1 9 5 5 , s o that each territory e x p e r i e n c e d a n i n c r e a s e i n its w a g e - l a b o u r f o r c e . A t t h a t p o i n t , h o w e v e r , the expansion slowed d o w n , and indeed for a short p e r i o d s h o w e d a p o s i t i v e d e c l i n e . L a b o u r d e p a r t m e n t s b e g a n after 1 9 5 6 t o r e p o r t i n c r e a s i n g u r b a n u n e m p l o y m e n t , as t h e e x p a n d i n g e c o n o m i e s d e m o n s t r a t e d their inability t o a b s o r b the g r o w i n g numbers of men and w o m e n seeking w a g e employment. Hindsight enables us t o identify the c o m p l e x c o m b i n a t i o n o f factors that c o n t r i b u t e d t o this critical c h a n g e . C o r p o r a t e capital w a s b o u n d , as it e x t e n d e d its a c t i v i t i e s , t o s e e k g r e a t e r e f f i c i e n c y , a n d t h e r e f o r e the advantages o f a m o r e permanent, skilled labour force. T h e s t a b i l i s a t i o n o f l a b o u r , i n t h e i n t e r e s t s b o t h o f a m o r e efficient planned e c o n o m y and better l i v i n g conditions for w o r k e r s , had b e e n official p o l i c y at least s i n c e t h e 1 9 4 9 C o n f e r e n c e o f E a s t African L a b o u r Commissioners. W h i l e there w a s a w i d e variation in territorial r e s p o n s e , m i n i m u m w a g e s l e g i s l a t i o n w a s g r a d u a l l y i n t r o d u c e d in each state in the 1950s. H i g h e r w a g e s e n c o u r a g e d e m p l o y e r s t o a n ad hoc i m p o r t a t i o n o f w e s t e r n t e c h n o l o g i e s , a n d w o r k e r s r e m a i n e d l o n g e r o n the j o b , n o t least in the face o f the increasing competition for employment. Neither foreign capital, h o w e v e r , n o r industrial g r o w t h p r o ­ duced an indigenous capitalism. In East Africa there w e r e g o v e r n m e n t p r o g r a m m e s t o e n c o u r a g e A f r i c a n trade, a n d in K e n y a the K i k u y u had both t h r o w n u p a landed gentry and also already s h o w n their propensity for business a n d c o m m e r c e . N e v e r t h e l e s s at i n d e p e n d e n c e t h e r e w e r e as y e t f e w e s t a b l i s h e d indigenous capitalists. 1

1

T h e process o f i n d i g e n o u s capital a c c u m u l a t i o n in colonial K e n y a has received i n c r e a s i n g a t t e n t i o n in r e c e n t y e a r s . S e e t h e w o r k o f M . C o w e n , e s p e c i a l l y ' C a p i t a l a n d p e a s a n t h o u s e h o l d s ' ( m i m e o , N a i r o b i , J u l y 1976), a n d ' N o t e s o n c a p i t a l , c l a s s a n d h o u s e h o l d p r o d u c t i o n ' ( m i m e o , N a i r o b i , n.d.). T w o m o r e recent a n d critical studies a r e A p o l l o L . N j o n j o , The Africanisation of the ' White Highlands*: a study in agrarian class struggles in Kenya 1910-1974, P h . D t h e s i s , P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y , 1 9 7 7 , a n d G a v i n K i t c h i n g , Class and economic change in Kenya: the making of an African petite bourgeoisie 1901-1970. ( N e w H a v e n a n d L o n d o n , 1980).

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Post-colonial change O n c e the political uncertainties that a c c o m p a n i e d the transfer o f p o w e r had been o v e r c o m e , the e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t that f o l l o w e d w a s i n t h e first p l a c e e n c o u r a g i n g . I n g e n e r a l , t h e i n i t i a l post-colonial expansion and the Africanisation p r o g r a m m e s that a c c e l e r a t e d after i n d e p e n d e n c e d e f u s e d t h e m o s t s e r i o u s t e n s i o n s arising o u t o f u n e m p l o y m e n t , and there w a s an impressive further increase in agricultural p r o d u c t i o n . M a l a w i , perhaps the p o o r e s t c o u n t r y o f all, n o n e t h e l e s s a c h i e v e d a n i m p r e s s i v e 4.2 p e r c e n t r a t e o f g r o w t h i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s a n d e l i m i n a t e d its b u d g e t a r y d e f i c i t . K e n y a ' s s m a l l h o l d e r a g r i c u l t u r e d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e ability o f its peasant farmers to increase their surplus a n d t o contribute t o the country's average 6 per cent g r o w t h . T h e Million A c r e s Settlement S c h e m e significantly e n l a r g e d the area o f land available for l a n d - h u n g r y K i k u y u a n d at t h e s a m e t i m e c o n t r i b u t e d t o a considerable increase in agricultural surplus. Z a m b i a , c o n f r o n t e d w i t h t h e c o n s t r a i n t s i m p o s e d b y its l a n d - l o c k e d p o s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e s o u t h e r n A f r i c a n r e g i o n , a n d t h e i n d i r e c t effects o f t h e s a n c ­ t i o n s i m p o s e d o n R h o d e s i a after U D I , n e v e r t h e l e s s i n t h e first f o u r y e a r s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a c h i e v e d a 13 p e r c e n t r a t e o f g r o w t h and a remarkable expansion o f social services, particularly education. T h a t early g r o w t h , h o w e v e r , obscured the u n d e r l y i n g w e a k ­ n e s s e s o f e a c h s t a t e , w h i c h e m e r g e d m o r e c l e a r l y as t h e 1 9 6 0 s progressed. M a l a w i ' s d i l e m m a h i g h l i g h t e d the issues that faced t h e m all. D r B a n d a ' s e c o n o m i c s t r a t e g y w a s b a s e d o n t h r e e p r i m e assumptions: the need for large-scale foreign aid and private investment; the need to maintain the country's links w i t h the s o u t h ; a n d the p r i m a c y o f agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t o n the lines laid d o w n i n t h e c o l o n i a l y e a r s , n a m e l y t h e e n c o u r a g e m e n t o f peasant agriculture. A l t h o u g h that strategy p r o d u c e d an i m ­ p r e s s i v e g r o w t h r a t e , b y t h e 1 9 7 0 s it h a d f a i l e d t o a c h i e v e a n y significant c h a n g e in the c o u n t r y ' s basic p o v e r t y . S m a l l h o l d e r agriculture had contributed significantly to agricultural pro­ d u c t i o n , b u t t h e m a j o r i t y o f A f r i c a n s w e r e still c u l t i v a t o r s c o n s t r a i n e d b y t h e i r l o w l e v e l o f t e c h n o l o g y , a n d it w a s t h e e s t a t e sector that had enjoyed the strongest g r o w t h based o n b o t h i m p r o v e d t e c h n o l o g y and increased acreage. T h e inherent w e a k ­ ness o f the c o u n t r y ' s p o s i t i o n w a s d e m o n s t r a t e d b y the c o n t i n 427

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u i n g e x o d u s o f M a l a w i a n s a b r o a d : w h e r e a s there w e r e 35000 M a l a w i a n s at w o r k o n t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n m i n e s i n 1 9 6 4 , i n 1 9 7 4 there w e r e just u n d e r 100000, w h o s e remittances w e r e the c o u n t r y ' s third largest source o f foreign earnings. M o r e o v e r the c o u n t r y ' s h e a v y d e p e n d e n c e o n e x t e r n a l financing, w h i l e c o n t r i ­ b u t i n g t o its g r o w t h , h a d a l s o r e s u l t e d i n its g r o w i n g p r o b l e m o f external indebtedness. U g a n d a ' s e a r l y , c a u t i o u s p l a n n i n g as a n i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e h a d also emphasised the need for increased foreign aid to finance d e v e l o p m e n t . A t t e m p t s to redress the inherited e c o n o m i c im­ balance b e t w e e n the northern and southern parts o f the c o u n t r y produced political tensions before they b r o u g h t e c o n o m i c g r o w t h , b u t t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s s e c o n d five-year d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n , for 1 9 6 6 - 7 0 , indicated a major a d v a n c e in e c o n o m i c p l a n n i n g w h i c h grasped the need for diversification and industrialisation m u c h as S i r J o h n H a l l h a d d o n e 20 y e a r s b e f o r e . D e s p i t e t h e e x c e p t i o n a l l y g o o d seasons o f 1968 and 1969 h o w e v e r , a n d a v a r i e t y o f a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o g r a m m e s , at t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s t h e r e h a d b e e n little s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e . U g a n d a ' s p e a s a n t s , l i k e t h o s e o f M a l a w i , w e r e still f o r t h e m o s t p a r t d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e h o e ; a n d there w e r e n e w areas o f land s h o r t a g e , and g r o w i n g u n e m p l o y ­ ment. H i n d s i g h t suggests the extent to w h i c h the Africanisation p r o g r a m m e a n d t h e f a i l u r e t o effect a w a g e s p o l i c y h a d i n c r e a s e d the rural-urban g a p in African i n c o m e s , w h i l e the g r o w i n g d o m i n a n c e o f the military had already distorted expenditure. President O b o t e ' s ' M o v e to the L e f t ' , h o w e v e r , w h i c h attempted in 1969 t o m o v e U g a n d a t o a m o r e radical socialist strategy, w a s h i s r e s p o n s e t o p o l i t i c a l r a t h e r t h a n t o e c o n o m i c p r e s s u r e s , as t h e r e c u r r i n g t h e m e o f unity in the text m a d e clear. H i s u n d i g e s t e d plans for nationalisation, w h i l e they w e r e in conflict w i t h his p r o p o s a l s f o r t h e A f r i c a n i s a t i o n o f t h e r e t a i l t r a d e , d i d little m o r e than p r o m o t e a d e g r e e o f e c o n o m i c uncertainty that un­ d o u b t e d l y contributed to the c o u p . 1

A l t h o u g h in 1964 the Seers R e p o r t w a s optimistic that Z a m b i a could use the great wealth inherited w i t h her c o p p e r to o v e r c o m e her p o v e r t y and her unbalanced d e v e l o p m e n t , ten years later her e c o n o m y w a s in disarray. W h i l e she c o u l d point to an impressive e x p a n s i o n o f s o c i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , t h e r u r a l - u r b a n g a p h a d i n fact increased, n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the priority a c c o r d e d t o rural 1

I n 1974, h o w e v e r , f o l l o w i n g a n air d i s a s t e r i n w h i c h 75 M a l a w i a n s r e t u r n i n g f r o m w o r k o n t h e m i n e s d i e d , D r B a n d a s u s p e n d e d all m i n e s r e c r u i t m e n t .

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d e v e l o p m e n t in each successive plan and in President K a u n d a ' s ' H u m a n i s m ' , p r o d u c e d as a g u i d e t o p l a n n i n g i n 1 9 6 7 . M a n y o f t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s Z a m b i a f a c e d as a l a n d - l o c k e d s t a t e w e r e m a d e w o r s e b y the consequences o f U D I , but the country's fundamental w e a k n e s s had b e e n that u p t o 1 9 7 4 she h a d failed t o face u p t o policy alternatives. W h i l e aware o f her o v e r w h e l m i n g dependence u p o n copper, o n those occasions w h e n the g o v e r n m e n t had b e g u n to g r a p p l e w i t h the issue a r e c o v e r y in the price o f c o p p e r had e n c o u r a g e d her t o delay. E c o n o m i c r e f o r m s in 1968 a n d 1969 p r o v i d e d for greater Z a m b i a n participation in the private sector and a major extension o f state participation in the e c o n o m y i n c l u d i n g a 51 p e r c e n t s t a t e i n t e r e s t i n t h e m i n i n g i n d u s t r y . B y the mid-1970s, h o w e v e r , the n o w o v e r w h e l m i n g d o m i n a n c e o f the state in the e c o n o m y h a d failed t o a c h i e v e a n y significant d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f p r o d u c t i o n . H a v i n g f a i l e d t o s a v e d u r i n g t h e fat years that f o l l o w e d independence, Z a m b i a f o u n d herself unpre­ p a r e d f o r t h e l e a n e r 1 9 7 0 s . M o r e o v e r , h a v i n g set o u t i n 1 9 6 4 w i t h a p r o u d financial i n d e p e n d e n c e , b y 1 9 7 5 s h e w a s w e i g h e d d o w n by increasing external indebtedness, itself the p r o d u c t o f the c h a n g e in the international c o p p e r market. T h e m o s t significant experience h o w e v e r in these years w a s that o f K e n y a a n d T a n z a n i a , f o r it w a s i n t h o s e t w o c o u n t r i e s t h a t t h e fundamental issues o f d e v e l o p m e n t w e r e m o s t clearly o p p o s e d . K e n y a f r o m t h e o u t s e t m a i n t a i n e d its i n h e r i t e d p o l i c i e s , w i t h t h e i r e m p h a s i s u p o n p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e a n d f o r e i g n c a p i t a l as t h e n e c e s s a r y a g e n t s o f g r o w t h . C o n f r o n t e d i n 1965 w i t h o p p o s i t i o n t o t h a t s t r a t e g y , t h e K A N U g o v e r n m e n t set o u t t h e o b j e c t i v e s c l e a r l y i n S e s s i o n a l P a p e r n o . 1 0 o n ' A f r i c a n s o c i a l i s m a n d its application t o p l a n n i n g in K e n y a ' . T h e o b j e c t i v e s w e r e political equality; social justice; h u m a n dignity including freedom o f conscience, freedom f r o m w a n t , disease and exploitation; equal opportunities; and h i g h and g r o w i n g per capita i n c o m e equitably distributed. T h e strategy w a s based o n certain equally clear assumptions; that g r o w t h w a s the necessary prerequisite for d e v e l o p m e n t ; that foreign capital, private and public, w a s essential for g r o w t h ; and that the objectives o f equity and justice c o u l d be achieved within a merit-based, achievement-oriented c o m ­ petitive society w h i c h r e c o g n i s e d and r e w a r d e d i n d i v i d u a l initi­ ative. W h i l e d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e s maintained from the outset a s t r o n g bias t o w a r d s rural d e v e l o p m e n t , the central focus o f K e n y a ' s policies w a s the Africanisation o f the private sector 429 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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and the d e v e l o p m e n t o f i n d i g e n o u s capitalism. T h e T r a d e L i c e n s i n g A c t o f 1967, w h i c h p r o v i d e d the basis for an o r d e r l y transfer o f o w n e r s h i p o f expatriate trade and c o m m e r c e t o A f r i c a n h a n d s , b e c a m e t h e m o d e l f o r o t h e r A f r i c a n states s e e k i n g t h e s a m e objective. T h a t strategy produced impressive e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p ­ m e n t a n d in t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s a g o o d m a n y p e o p l e w e r e d e m o n s t r a b l y better off than they had b e e n ten years before. Certain w e a k n e s s e s in t h i s s t r a t e g y h a d a l s o h o w e v e r b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d . O n t h e o n e hand the g r o w i n g presence o f c o r p o r a t e capital retarded the g r o w t h o f i n d i g e n o u s c a p i t a l i s m , a l t h o u g h it d i d n o t r e s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m s o f g r o w i n g u n e m p l o y m e n t . O n the other hand the Africanisation o f the private sector contributed to an increased inequality in A f r i c a n society. In the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s K e n y a appeared as a c l a s s i c i l l u s t r a t i o n o f g r o w t h w i t h o u t d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h demonstrated the fundamental limitations o f the inherited colonial economic model. T a n z a n i a also a c h i e v e d a significant agricultural e x p a n s i o n in the mid-1960s, but neither that increased p r o d u c t i o n n o r attempts at ' t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ' h a d r e s u l t e d i n a n y s i g n i f i c a n t s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e . T h e First N a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n failed m o r e o v e r t o a c h i e v e b o t h its i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n o b j e c t i v e s a n d t h e e x p e c t e d r a p i d rate o f g r o w t h , n o t least as a r e s u l t o f its d e p e n d e n c e u p o n a l e v e l o f f o r e i g n i n v e s t m e n t that failed t o materialise. T h a t failure p u s h e d T a n z a n i a t o r e v i e w its i n h e r i t e d s t r a t e g i e s , w i t h t h e i r r e l i a n c e o n c a p i t a l as t h e n e c e s s a r y a g e n t o f d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n o f 1 9 6 7 w a s , h o w e v e r , as m u c h a r e s p o n s e t o i n e q u a l i t y as t o i n e f f e c t i v e e c o n o m i c p e r f o r m a n c e . R e f l e c t i n g the T a n z a n i a n leadership's c o n c e r n w i t h the social c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e c a p i t a l i s t m o d e l , it l e d t o a r a d i c a l c h a n g e o f s t r a t e g y b a s e d o n f i v e p r i n c i p l e s a r t i c u l a t e d as t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r f u t u r e p l a n n i n g : public control o f the e c o n o m y ; d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h self-reliance; rural d e v e l o p m e n t ; social equality; and rural socialism. T h e S e c o n d D e v e l o p m e n t Plan o f 1 9 6 6 - 7 0 therefore m a r k e d a radical c h a n g e o f p r i o r i t i e s t o r u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t o n t h e b a s i s o f ujamaa, or socialist agriculture. In the early 1970s, the c o m b i n a t i o n o f d r o u g h t , structural c h a n g e and the w o r l d e n e r g y crisis p r o d u c e d the c o u n t r y ' s m o s t s e v e r e e c o n o m i c crisis since the 1930s a n d f o r c e d h e r i n t o a g r e a t e r d e p e n d e n c y . T e n y e a r s after t h e A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n , T a n z a n i a w a s still t h e r e f o r e n e i t h e r s o c i a l i s t n o r self-reliant, b u t had, despite climatic and international difficulties, 430

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taken s o m e i m p o r t a n t steps t o w a r d s her g o a l s . S h e had reduced, if not eradicated, the inequality that had been a major target o f the socialist strategy w h i c h b y 1972 President N y e r e r e a r g u e d w a s t h e r a t i o n a l c h o i c e f o r all A f r i c a n states. A s t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e d r e w t o a c l o s e , it h a d b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult f o r t h e p o s t - c o l o n i a l s t a t e t o i g n o r e t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f its r e s o u r c e s a n d t h e u n d e r l y i n g w e a k n e s s e s t h a t earlier g r o w t h m i g h t h a v e o b s c u r e d . G r o w t h h a d failed t o r e s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m s o f i n c r e a s i n g u n e m p l o y m e n t , as t h e m a s s i v e e x ­ p a n s i o n o f u r b a n a n d r u r a l p o o r h a d d e m o n s t r a t e d . A c o m p l e x set o f forces w a s p u s h i n g an increasing n u m b e r o f m e n and w o m e n t o s e e k w a g e e m p l o y m e n t a n d t h e e a r l i e r m e a s u r e s w e r e s e e n as short-term palliatives rather than long-term cures. T h e increased e m p h a s i s u p o n r u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t as a s t r a t e g y t o a b s o r b t h e r a p i d l y g r o w i n g p o p u l a t i o n b r o u g h t e a c h s t a t e f a c e t o f a c e at t h e s a m e t i m e w i t h t h e c o n t i n u i n g w e a k n e s s o f its a g r i c u l t u r e . K e n y a ' s K e r i c h o Conference on Education, E m p l o y m e n t and R u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t h i g h l i g h t e d as e a r l y as 1 9 6 6 t h e s i z e o f t h e p r o b l e m and the extent to w h i c h the agricultural r e v o l u t i o n r e m a i n e d t o b e w o n . N o r h a d ujamaa r e s u l t e d in T a n z a n i a i n a n y r a p i d s p r e a d o f m o d e r n m e t h o d s o f a g r i c u l t u r e . It w a s n o t o n l y in K e n y a m o r e o v e r t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n h a d c h a n g e d f r o m o n e o f land surplus t o o n e o f land s h o r t a g e . In e a c h state the central issue o f d e v e l o p m e n t strategy was clear: h o w to mobilise to greater p r o d u c t i v i t y t h e g r o w i n g A f r i c a n p e a s a n t r y still o n t h e p e r i p h e r y o f the m o d e r n e c o n o m y . A t the same time, there w a s an increasing awareness o f the constraints i m p o s e d b y d e p e n d e n c e not o n l y o n f o r e i g n c a p i t a l , b u t o n t h e c a p i t a l i s t m o d e l itself.

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B o t h t o w n and c o u n t r y experienced p r o f o u n d c h a n g e s o v e r these y e a r s . I n 1 9 4 0 t h e c o l o n i a l state w a s e s s e n t i a l l y a c a s t e s o c i e t y i n w h i c h race d e t e r m i n e d b o t h social and e c o n o m i c position. E u r o p e a n s w e r e d o m i n a n t , w h e t h e r as a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , s e t t l e r s o r businessmen. T h e g r o w i n g Asian population occupied the middle r a n k s o f s o c i e t y e x c e p t in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , a n d N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a w h e r e t h e y n u m b e r e d o n l y s o m e 2500 i n 1 9 5 0 . W h i l e they w e r e characteristically the s h o p k e e p e r s , the traders and the b u s i n e s s m e n , t h e y a l s o filled m a n y o f t h e c l e r i c a l a n d m i d d l e - l e v e l 431

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administrative positions in b o t h g o v e r n m e n t and p r i v a t e sector. T h e r e w a s a small educated A f r i c a n élite, b u t the great mass o f Africans w h o constituted the broad base o f society w e r e country dwellers, w h o s e horizons w e r e b o u n d b y homestead and subsist­ ence. W h i l e the presence o f g o v e r n m e n t , church and school ensured that n o rural c o m m u n i t y w a s isolated from the larger territorial society, the d e g r e e o f interaction varied a great deal. G o v e r n m e n t d e m a n d e d tax but otherwise did not i m p i n g e heavily o n p e o p l e ' s l i v e s at t h e l o c a l l e v e l . M i g r a n t l a b o u r , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t , s u s t a i n e d r a t h e r t h a n d e s t r o y e d t h e s o c i e t y f r o m w h i c h it c a m e . R u r a l life w a s c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y a c o n s i d e r a b l e a u t o n o m y a n d integrity, and traditional institutions and reciprocal relations prevailed for b o t h the returning migrant and those w h o stayed at h o m e . B e a r i n g in m i n d their rich diversity, w e m a y identify the broad p r o c e s s e s o f c h a n g e that e n c o m p a s s e d these states in the years that f o l l o w e d . T h e m o s t o b v i o u s c h a n g e related t o the racial fabric o f society w h i c h (except in R h o d e s i a ) w a s u n d e r m i n e d b y the political transformation that t o o k place. W h i l e independence did n o t n e c e s s a r i l y b r i n g a n e n d t o e x p a t r i a t e p r i v i l e g e , it d i d r e m o v e m u c h o f the o l d racial d o m i n a n c e . T h e m o r e fundamental changes, h o w e v e r , w e r e those that occurred within African s o c i e t y itself, w h i c h b e c a m e s t e a d i l y m o r e c o m p l e x a n d m o r e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d as A f r i c a n s a r r o g a t e d t o t h e m s e l v e s t h e o p p o r ­ t u n i t i e s as w e l l as t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f t h e m o d e r n s t a t e . A n e w a n d e n l a r g e d é l i t e g r e w s t e a d i l y , i n r e s p o n s e first t o t h e opportunities o f education and the e x p a n d i n g bureaucracy, and s e c o n d t o the transfer o f p o w e r . T h e result w a s the g r o w t h o f a n e w inequality within African society. W h i l e the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r and the a c h i e v e m e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n c e b o t h in turn accelerated t h e g r o w t h o f t h a t i n e q u a l i t y , it w a s e s s e n t i a l l y a c u m u l a t i v e p r o c e s s o f c h a n g e already set in m o t i o n l o n g b e f o r e the p e r i o d began. The colonialyears Perhaps the m o s t important influence in the l o n g run w a s the expansion o f the cash-crop e c o n o m y , w h i c h substantially increased rural cash i n c o m e s and p r o d u c e d noticeable i m p r o v e m e n t s in s t a n d a r d s o f c o n s u m p t i o n for a s i g n i f i c a n t s e c t i o n o f t h e c o m ­ munity. A cash i n c o m e b e c a m e a necessity, not o n l y for tax, b u t

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also for the increasing range o f n e w g o o d s that appeared in the rural trade centres a n d t h e A s i a n stores. N e w h o u s e s w i t h sheet-metal roofs became a g o o d deal m o r e c o m m o n , a n d a l o n g w i t h bicycles and, for a few, the n e w m o t o r cars, contributed t o the g r o w i n g air o f p r o s p e r i t y o f a g r e a t m a n y v i l l a g e s a n d h o m e s t e a d s . I n t h e m o r e fertile parts, p a r t i c u l a r l y o f E a s t A f r i c a , many villagers became p r o s p e r o u s peasants w h o , until the m i d 1950s a t l e a s t , e n j o y e d a s u b s t a n t i a l g a i n i n r e a l i n c o m e a s a r e s u l t o f their cultivation o f cash c r o p s : the G a n d a , the S o g a , t h e K i k u y u , the C h a g a a n d S u k u m a all e n j o y e d in c o m m o n this n e w position o f the better-off farmer. T h e r e w e r e also, a l t h o u g h in m u c h smaller numbers, the larger cash-crop farmers, the bur­ g e o n i n g entrepreneurs. T h e p r o s p e r o u s l a n d - o w n i n g class that h a d g r o w n o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e mailo l a n d s y s t e m i n B u g a n d a h a d d e v e l o p e d a g o o d deal further b y the time o f independence. I n K e n y a , w h e r e f r o m the 1940s o n w a r d s chiefs w e r e b u y i n g land, m a n y o f t h e m e m e r g e d as p r o s p e r o u s farmers. T h e size o f landholdings varied a great deal, s o that the n e w m o r e substantial farmers c o u l d b e arranged o n a c o n t i n u u m f r o m p r o s p e r o u s p e a s a n t s t o s u c c e s s f u l l a r g e - s c a l e f a r m e r s , all o f t h e m s h a r i n g certain attributes in c o m m o n : they farmed for the market a n d they e m p l o y e d labour, if o n l y o n a seasonal basis. T h e y w e r e the n e w a g r i c u l t u r a l e n t r e p r e n e u r s , t h e mulimi simpindi, ' f a r m e r s f o r p r o f i t ' , as t h e y w e r e k n o w n a m o n g t h e T o n g a o f Z a m b i a ' s Southern Province. T h e y b o u g h t an increasing range o f imported g o o d s , they built better h o u s e s , they p a i d s c h o o l fees f o r a n expanding extended family, and they generally had m o r e r o o m for m a n o e u v r e as a result o f their greater e c o n o m i c r e s o u r c e s . T h e y constituted a n e w rural m i d d l e class. N o t every villager h o w e v e r became a prosperous peasant. T h e typical villager remained the m a n w i t h an acre o r t w o o n w h i c h , with the help o f family labour and the h o e , he p r o d u c e d a small quantity o f cash c r o p in addition t o his subsistence. H i s cash return w a s small and his resulting opportunities limited. H e n c e agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t p r o d u c e d a n e w rural inequality, a n d i f this w a s less v i s i b l e in s o m e areas t h a n o t h e r s , n o n e t h e l e s s , n o rural society r e m a i n e d u n c h a n g e d in t h o s e years. T h e g r o w t h o f cash c r o p s d e p e n d e d u p o n t h e fertility o f t h e s o i l , t h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e rainfall a n d t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f t r a n s p o r t and m a r k e t i n g facilities. S o m e c r o p s offered a better return than

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o t h e r s , s o that t h e m a n w h o s e land w o u l d p r o d u c e coffee o r tea w a s found t o d o better than the m a n w h o could g r o w only cotton. M o r e o v e r there w e r e areas o f acute p o p u l a t i o n pressure, w h i c h presented the ultimate constraint o n d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e benefits o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h w e r e therefore unequally enjoyed between regions, and rural inequality d e v e l o p e d a m a r k e d regional di­ m e n s i o n . I n t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s , f o r e x a m p l e , at t h e p e a k o f U g a n d a ' s n e w cash crop prosperity, in w h a t w a s a peasant-oriented e c o n o m y , the net annual farm i n c o m e for the peasant farmer v a r i e d f r o m 218 shillings in B u g a n d a t o 1 7 shillings in K i g e z i . M o r e o v e r in U g a n d a as e l s e w h e r e t h e r e w a s a d r a m a t i c c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d p a s t o r a l a r e a s , as t h e p a s t o r a l p e o p l e s w e r e f u r t h e r left b e h i n d , w h i l e t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l r e g i o n s p u s h e d a h e a d . A n i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r o f m e n f r o m t h e less f e r t i l e r e g i o n s m i g r a t e d e l s e w h e r e in search o f e m p l o y m e n t , a n d this in turn h a d s i g n i f i c a n t i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r r u r a l life. T r a d i t i o n a l a g r i c u l t u r a l practice w a s modified to take into account the c h a n g e d labour resources, a n d the m a r k e t b e c a m e a permanent feature o f rural s o c i e t y as r u r a l s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y w a s b r o k e n d o w n . W h e n , f o r e x a m p l e , b y t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s , 60 p e r c e n t o f Z a m b i a ' s r u r a l m a l e taxpayers w e r e absent at a n y o n e time f r o m h o m e , their a b s e n c e c o u l d n o t fail t o affect a g r i c u l t u r e . N o t all t h o s e s e e k i n g w a g e e m p l o y m e n t w e r e t h i n k i n g o n l y o f the regular needs o f tax. T h e r e w e r e g r o w i n g aspirations for i m p r o v e d material standards, and f o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s o f m o d e r n life o f w h i c h p e o p l e w e r e increasingly a w a r e . T h u s in B u g a n d a in t h e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s w a g e e m p l o y m e n t for m a n y G a n d a had b e c o m e a perpetual necessity, b e c a u s e ' c o t t o n a n d coffee h a v e created in B u g a n d a c u s t o m a r y standards o f consumption w h i c h only a continuous m o n e y income can m a i n t a i n ' . T h e s a m e m i g h t h a v e b e e n said o f t h e C o p p e r b e l t , w h o s e g r o w i n g p o p u l a t i o n h a d a d o p t e d t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c life­ style o f a c o n s u m e r society. 1

T h e 1950s w i t n e s s e d an increasing search f o r u r b a n w a g e e m p l o y m e n t , a n d a p e r c e p t i b l e drift o f A f r i c a n s f r o m c o u n t r y t o t o w n . M e n travelled l o n g distances, s o m e t i m e s across territorial b o u n d a r i e s , s o that there w a s in s o m e respects an international labour force that c o u l d b e found b e t w e e n the S o u t h e r n S u d a n a n d S o u t h A f r i c a . I n U g a n d a i n 1 9 5 7 39 p e r c e n t o f w a g e l a b o u r i n 1

W a l t e r E l k a n , Migrants and proletarians: urban labour in the economic development of Uganda ( L o n d o n , 1961), 47.

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the p r i v a t e s e c t o r w a s f r o m o u t s i d e the c o u n t r y , a n d in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a i n 1 9 5 9 , 50 p e r c e n t o f t h e A f r i c a n l a b o u r f o r c e w a s foreign. K e n y a n s s o u g h t e l s e w h e r e in E a s t A f r i c a the o p p o r ­ t u n i t i e s r e f u s e d t h e m at h o m e , a n d M a l a w i a n s h a d a l w a y s b e e n k n o w n as g r e a t w a n d e r e r s , f o r c e d a b r o a d b y t h e p o v e r t y o f t h e i r h o m e resources. N e v e r t h e l e s s , the majority o f migrants remained w i t h i n their o w n c o u n t r y and this internal m i g r a t i o n g a v e e a c h l a b o u r f o r c e its s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r . I n U g a n d a it w a s m i g r a n t s f r o m the p o o r e r n o r t h e r n parts o f the c o u n t r y w h o s o u g h t w o r k in the southern estates and o n G a n d a farms ; in Z a m b i a m i n e l a b o u r w a s d o m i n a t e d f r o m the outset b y B e m b a - s p e a k e r s f r o m the n o r t h , s o t h a t t h e C o p p e r b e l t c o u l d b e r e f e r r e d t o as a n ' e x t e n s i o n o f B e m b a - s p e a k i n g s o c i e t y ' and the B e m b a w e r e b y the 1950s the most proletarianised o f Z a m b i a ' s people. 1

Economic development produced a marked expansion o f w a g e e m p l o y m e n t in the late 1940s a n d early 1950s, particularly in Z a m b i a , K e n y a a n d R h o d e s i a . T h e R o y a l C o m m i s s i o n in 1955 reported an ' e x p a n d i n g v o l u m e o f e m p l o y m e n t n o t restricted b y l a b o u r s h o r t a g e ' in E a s t A f r i c a , and generally n o e v i d e n c e o f u n e m p l o y m e n t . B y t h a t d a t e e m p l o y m e n t h a d r e a c h e d 5 5 8 000 i n K e n y a , 610000 in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a and 254000 in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a . A l t h o u g h t h i s w a s still a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e t o t a l A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n , n e v e r t h e l e s s it c h a n g e d t h e n a t u r e o f t h e t o w n s . I n t h e 1940s t h e y h a d b e e n f o r t h e m o s t p a r t f o r e i g n enclaves w h o s e d o m i n a n t characteristic w a s racial inequality, and in w h i c h A f r i c a n s f o u g h t a h a r d and c o n t i n u i n g battle against p o v e r t y and appalling conditions. T h e r e w a s a small African educated élite: the teachers, clerks and hospital orderlies w h o o r g a n i s e d the welfare associations and p r o v i d e d links w i t h h o m e ; but the majority o f Africans w e r e unskilled w o r k e r s . W h i l e m o s t did n o t stay l o n g , in R h o d e s i a the L a n d A p p o r t i o n m e n t A c t h a d already g o n e a l o n g w a y to creating a landless African w o r k i n g class, and in M o m b a s a and Z a n z i b a r there w a s s o m e t h i n g a k i n to a p e r m a n e n t urban l a b o u r i n g class. N e v e r t h e l e s s w o r k e r s in due course w e n t h o m e to the rural areas; they w e r e migrants subject to the l o w w a g e s and appalling conditions w h i c h w e r e the characteristic lot o f colonial labour. D u r i n g t h e 1 9 5 0 s t h a t s i t u a t i o n a l t e r e d , as b o t h t h e c h a r a c t e r o f the t o w n s and the c o n d i t i o n s o f e m p l o y m e n t b e g a n to c h a n g e . 1

George Kay, A

social geography of Zambia

(London,

1967).

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W h i l e w o r k e r s still w e n t b a c k w a r d s a n d f o r w a r d s b e t w e e n t o w n and country there were many m o r e o f them and they

stayed

l o n g e r . F r o m the mid-1950s the signs w e r e o f an increasingly stable labour force and a declining turnover. S l o w l y a casual and migrant labour force w a s being converted into a c o m m u n i t y o f workers. T h r e e critical factors contributed to that c h a n g e . T h e crucial influence w a s p r o b a b l y the introduction w h i c h constituted a fundamental

of minimum

wages,

stage in the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a

m o r e stable and skilled l a b o u r force, and in that respect

the

w a t e r s h e d w a s perhaps the Carpenter R e p o r t in K e n y a in 1954, w h i c h p r o p o s e d an urban family w a g e level that did n o t assume a rural subsidy. E q u a l l y important

w a s the c h a n g e in

urban

h o u s i n g p o l i c y . A r o u n d 1 9 5 7 , a n d as t h e e m e r g e n c y d r e w t o a close, the N a i r o b i City C o u n c i l b e g a n t o build family h o u s i n g for w o r k e r s instead o f the o l d bachelors' quarters. A t the same time Uganda,

stimulated

by

Governor

Sir

Andrew

Cohen,

had

i n t r o d u c e d e x t e n d e d p r o g r a m m e s in urban A f r i c a n h o u s i n g , and for u r b a n d e v e l o p m e n t in g e n e r a l . N o h o u s i n g p r o g r a m m e c o u l d h o p e to meet the needs o f the rapidly g r o w i n g urban populations. I n K a m p a l a a n d J i n j a , f o r e x a m p l e , w h e r e at l e a s t 5 0 0 0 0 w e r e e m p l o y e d b y t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , t h e r e w e r e f e w e r t h a n 4000 t e n a n t s on

government

estates.

Y e t , despite

the g r o w i n g

peri-urban

s q u a t t e r s e t t l e m e n t s , a c h a n g e h a d b e g u n , a n d it b e c a m e p o s s i b l e f o r u r b a n w o r k e r s t o c o n t e m p l a t e a s t a b l e f a m i l y life i n t o w n . T h e t h i r d f a c t o r w a s t h e s t e a d y rise i n w a g e s t h a t o c c u r r e d t h r o u g h the 1950s. T h e c h a n g e w a s perhaps m o s t dramatic o n the C o p p e r b e l t , w h e r e A f r i c a n real e a r n i n g s r o s e a p p r o x i m a t e l y per cent between

1945 a n d

i960; but e v e r y w h e r e the

300

urban

w o r k e r became better paid. T h e labour force also became m o r e specialised. Increased

wages not

only persuaded

workers

to

r e m a i n l o n g e r o n t h e j o b , b u t a l s o p e r s u a d e d e m p l o y e r s t o offer training and to e n c o u r a g e a skilled labour force. Indeed m u c h o f the stimulus for c h a n g e b e g a n w i t h the e m p l o y e r s themselves, and their

concern

for

greater

efficiency.

A f r i c a n i s a t i o n , in spite o f E u r o p e a n

Job

specialisation

o p p o s i t i o n at the

and

outset,

slowly p r o d u c e d a n e w African skilled and semi-skilled labour force. A n d because the u p w a r d trend o f w a g e s benefited skilled rather than the unskilled w o r k e r s , so the urban

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e a r n i n g p o p u l a t i o n also b e c a m e m o r e differentiated. U r b a n e q u a l i t y a d v a n c e d a m o n g A f r i c a n s , at t h e s a m e t i m e u n e m p l o y m e n t increased.

in­ as

T h e colonial order also contributed to the rapid e x p a n s i o n o f a n e w é l i t e . T h e w o r d is u n s a t i s f a c t o r y , b u t m a y b e u s e d w i t h caution to identify the g r o w i n g b o d y o f Africans distinguished b y their better education, their greater w e a l t h , and their position in a s o c i e t y w h o s e racial b o u n d a r i e s w e r e b e i n g e r o d e d . I n 1946 G o v e r n o r S i r P h i l i p M i t c h e l l a p p o i n t e d s e v e n A f r i c a n s as a d m i n i s t r a t i v e assistants t o the K e n y a p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . In 1947 the H o l m e s C o m m i s s i o n o n the East African civil services r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t all p o s t s s h o u l d b e o p e n t o all c a n d i d a t e s regardless o f race, and the L i d b u r y C o m m i s s i o n in 1954 g r e a t l y a d v a n c e d the f r a m e w o r k o f A f r i c a n i s a t i o n , n o t the least b y eliminating m a n y w a g e inequalities based o n racial g r o u n d s . T h e process w a s s l o w e r in Central A f r i c a , b u t in Z a m b i a and M a l a w i ultimately the direction w a s the same. O v e r those years Africans also m o v e d u p w a r d s in the teaching s e r v i c e , at s e c o n d a r y as w e l l as p r i m a r y l e v e l ; a n d t h e p r i v a t e sector, m o r e hesitantly in s o m e territories than others, b e g a n s l o w l y t o s e e k o u t p r o m i s i n g y o u n g A f r i c a n s t o t r a i n as a n e w executive class. T h e r e w a s also a s l o w l y increasing n u m b e r o f professionals. A f r i c a n i s a t i o n in fact p r o c e e d e d a g o o d deal m o r e s l o w l y than the c o m m i t m e n t to political i n d e p e n d e n c e w o u l d s e e m to require, held u p n o t least b y the early n o t i o n o f multiracialism. It also p r o c e e d e d a g o o d deal m o r e s l o w l y in Central A f r i c a than in E a s t A f r i c a . N e v e r t h e l e s s in e a c h state, there w a s to a greater o r lesser d e g r e e b y the early 1960s a distinctive A f r i c a n élite w h o w e r e increasingly t a k i n g u p roles p r e v i o u s l y restricted to the colonial ruling class. T h e i r aspirations w e r e e n c o u r a g e d b y the t r e m e n d o u s opportunities o p e n e d u p to t h e m b y decolonisation and the transfer o f p o w e r , and society in m a n y w a y s e n c o u r a g e d t h e m i n t h e elitist a s s u m p t i o n s o f t h e c o l o n i a l o r d e r as w e l l as t h e i r a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e y w o u l d t a k e o v e r c o n t r o l in the i n d e p e n d e n t state. S o c i e t y , h o w e v e r , r e m a i n e d at i n d e p e n d e n c e r e m a r k a b l y e g a l i ­ t a r i a n i n t e r m s o f o p p o r t u n i t y , still e s s e n t i a l l y o p e n a n d fluid. I n East Africa the B a n t u interlacustrine k i n g d o m s and in Central A f r i c a B a r o t s e l a n d s t o o d o u t as s o c i e t i e s i n w h i c h t h e r e w a s g r e a t

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inequality and ' t h e language and gestures o f deference were e l a b o r a t e d . . . in a quite fantastic w a y ' . N e v e r t h e l e s s , e v e n in B u g a n d a , u p w a r d m o b i l i t y w a s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e o f life. A l t h o u g h m a n y rural societies m u s t h a v e identified the n e w élite as d i d t h e L u g b a r a o f n o r t h - w e s t e r n U g a n d a , as ' t h e e d u c a t e d a n d semi-educated proteges o f the g o v e r n m e n t ' , appointment to the civil service w a s generally considered a highly desirable goal. A l t h o u g h in every society there w e r e popular perceptions o f social stratification based u p o n o c c u p a t i o n , A f r i c a n society generally accorded the educated m a n respect, whether he w a s a village p r i m a r y - s c h o o l teacher o r the n e w u n i v e r s i t y g r a d u a t e . T h e latter m o r e o v e r w a s still i n m o s t c a s e s a s m u c h a t h o m e i n t h e v i l l a g e as t h e f o r m e r . I t w a s f o r t h e m o s t p a r t t h e o l d e r é l i t e , e s p e c i a l l y the chiefs, w h o m the nationalists h a d discredited. T h e nationalist ethic a n d e x p a n d i n g opportunities o b s c u r e d the potential conflict o f interests a n d the d i l e m m a o f inequality posited b y a strategy o f d e v e l o p m e n t that assumed the capitalist m o d e l a n d emphasised t h e v i r t u e s o f i n d i v i d u a l effort. T h e e x c e p t i o n s s t o o d o u t c l e a r l y , a n d it w a s n o t i n s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e y o c c u r r e d i n t h o s e states w h e r e t h e m a r k e t e c o n o m y h a d m a d e its d e e p e s t i m p a c t u p o n s o c i e t y . If capital h a d engineered g r o w t h , g r o w t h h a d engineered c h a n g e , s o t h a t it w a s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t i n K e n y a t h e p r o c e s s o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t h a d p r o d u c e d n o t o n l y a n A f r i c a n élite b u t also a n African p r o p e r t y - o w n i n g class, primarily a m o n g the K i k u y u . T h e e m e r g e n c y h a d d e m o n s t r a t e d the extent t o w h i c h , b y t h e 1950s, the K i k u y u w e r e divided into landed a n d landless, w i t h a l a n d - o w n i n g gentry d o m i n a n t w i t h i n that society. I n Z a m b i a the mines h a d p r o d u c e d a distinctive urban industrial w a g e - e a r n i n g l a b o u r force w i t h clear p e r c e p t i o n s o f their interests as a w o r k i n g class; a n d U N I P h a d a distinctive anti-élitist sentiment. 1

2

Post-colonial change D u r i n g t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a m o r e c o m p l e x s e t o f social structures b e g a n t o e m e r g e . T h e objective conditions o f inequality intensified w h i l e at t h e s a m e t i m e t h e p o p u l a t i o n became occupationally more diverse and, almost imperceptibly, 1

L l o y d A . F a l l e r s , Inequality: stratification reconsidered ( C h i c a g o , 1973), 4. J. F . M . M i d d l e t o n , ' S o m e effects o f c o l o n i a l r u l e a m o n g t h e L u g b a r a o f U g a n d a * , i n V . T u r n e r ( e d . ) , Colonialism in Africa, v o l . m ( S t a n f o r d , 1971), 21. 2

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the familial links b e t w e e n richer a n d p o o r e r w e a k e n e d . W h i l e in t h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f c a s e s t h e ties o f t h e e x t e n d e d f a m i l y prevented any rigid division between upper and l o w e r income g r o u p s , nevertheless the social and cultural cleavages b e t w e e n them began to g r o w . T h e expansion o f the cash-crop e c o n o m y had done most to h a s t e n i n e q u a l i t y after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , a n d p e r h a p s t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t i n f l u e n c e 20 y e a r s l a t e r w a s t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n o f A f r i c a n i s a t i o n , first i n g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e n i n t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r , that f o l l o w e d independence. Africanisation a n d the need for skilled m a n p o w e r m e a n t an e n o r m o u s e x p a n s i o n in t h e élite ; a n d the retention o f expatriate scales o f r e m u n e r a t i o n p r o d u c e d the m a n d a r i n class against w h i c h the H o l m e s C o m m i s s i o n h a d w a r n e d in 1947. T h e upper echelons o f the bureaucracy, a l o n g w i t h African ministers, the g r o w i n g b o d y o f professionals and a c a d e m i c s , a n d n o t l e a s t t h e a r m y o f f i c e r s , s w i f t l y e m e r g e d as a d i s t i n c t i v e , p r i v i l e g e d salariat d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y its w e a l t h , its s t a t u s a n d t o o o f t e n its elitist a t t i t u d e s . E a c h salariat a c q u i r e d its o w n d i s t i n c t i v e traits. D r B a n d a ' s c a u t i o u s A f r i c a n i s a t i o n m e a n t that M a l a w i ' s t o p - l e v e l b u r e a u c r a c y r e m a i n e d small in size, a n d in T a n z a n i a t h e A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n a n d t h e L e a d e r s h i p C o d e specifically c h a l l e n g e d , a l t h o u g h they d i d n o t eliminate, s u c h an é l i t e . I n g e n e r a l elites s h o w e d a d i s t i n c t p r e f e r e n c e f o r u r b a n life, a l t h o u g h for the m o s t part k e e p i n g o n e foot in the c o u n t r y s i d e , and in K e n y a especially h a v i n g v e r y d e e p roots in the rural areas. T h e Africanisation o f the private sector in d u e course reinforced this c h a n g e . A l t h o u g h large-scale i n d u s t r y r e m a i n e d in expatriate hands, African trade and c o m m e r c e greatly expanded, and in K e n y a a n d Z a m b i a a t least t h e r e w a s a l s o a t t h e e n d o f t h e p e r i o d a distinctive g r o u p o f n e w entrepreneurs and businessmen w i t h deep interests in capitalist d e v e l o p m e n t . T o f o c u s e x c l u s i v e l y o n t h e s e u p p e r l e v e l s o f s o c i e t y is h o w e v e r to obscure the changes occurring elsewhere. W h e t h e r w e identify them b y e m p l o y m e n t , b y w a g e levels o r b y material standards o f l i v i n g , it is c l e a r t h a t t h e m i d d l e l e v e l s o f s o c i e t y w e r e b e c o m i n g 1

1

In addition t o w o r k o n i n d i g e n o u s capital a c c u m u l a t i o n cited a b o v e , see also f o r the o n g o i n g debate o n the e m e r g e n c e a n d nature o f i n d i g e n o u s capitalism in K e n y a L e y s , Underdevelopment in Kenya; L e y s , ' C a p i t a l a c c u m u l a t i o n , c l a s s f o r m a t i o n a n d d e p e n d e n c y : t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e K e n y a n c a s e ' , Socialist Register, 1978; S w a i n s o n , Corporate capitalism; a n d Review of African Political Economy, 1980, n o . 17. D e b a t e o n ' D e p e n d e n c y ' i n K e n y a , p u b l i s h e d after t h i s c h a p t e r h a d b e e n c o m p l e t e d .

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a g o o d deal m o r e differentiated. A w h o l e r a n g e o f n e w o c c u p a t i o n s w a s o p e n i n g u p to Africans, especially to the increasing ranks o f educated, so that society b e c a m e functionally a g o o d deal m o r e diverse. T h e industrial and c o m m e r c i a l labour force, the w o r k e r s , w e r e a l s o b e c o m i n g m o r e d i v e r s i f i e d , as t h e y a l s o a c q u i r e d a m o r e clearly defined status. W a g e increases, n e w p e n s i o n s c h e m e s and e x t e n d e d w e l f a r e s e r v i c e s all c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e i m p r o v e d conditions o f the urban w o r k i n g class, w h i c h became a g o o d deal m o r e s t a b l e a n d c o m m i t t e d t o w a g e e m p l o y m e n t . I n Z a m b i a it b e c a m e m u c h easier t o retire o n the C o p p e r b e l t , and b y 1975 a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f miners w e r e d o i n g so. Presence in t o w n did n o t necessarily m e a n an e n d t o rural ties, especially in E a s t A f r i c a . In K e n y a the a i m o f a l m o s t e v e r y u r b a n w o r k e r , w h a t e v e r his e c o n o m i c s t a t u s , w a s t o b u i l d a h o u s e o n a p i e c e o f l a n d at h o m e , a n d the u r b a n family in m o s t cases h a d a s e c o n d h o u s e h o l d in the rural area. Increased internal m i g r a t i o n s w e l l e d the u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n s in the i n d e p e n d e n t state. T h e p o p u l a t i o n o f the C o p p e r b e l t h a d passed a million by 1974, but every urban centre had expanded as t h e g r o w t h o f s p r a w l i n g s h a n t y t o w n s a n d t h e i n f o r m a l s e c t o r demonstrated. There was a g r o w i n g army o f unemployed w o r k seekers w h o m the e c o n o m y c o u l d not p r o v i d e w i t h jobs, especially the g r o w i n g band o f school-leavers. T h e r e w a s also a v i g o r o u s and e x p a n d i n g informal sector. B y the 1970s the d o m i n a n t feature o f u r b a n life h a d , h o w e v e r , b e c o m e t h e v i s i b l e i n e q u a l i t y o f A f r i c a n society. T h e rapid increase in A f r i c a n e a r n i n g s after i n d e p e n d e n c e n a r r o w e d the g a p b e t w e e n African and non-African, but w i d e n e d the differences a m o n g A f r i c a n s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e c o l o n i a l l e g a c y o f s e g r e g a t e d residential areas c o n t r i b u t e d significantly t o the d e v e l o p m e n t o f d i s t i n c t i v e s o c i a l s t r a t a w h i c h u r b a n life a n d w a g e e m p l o y m e n t i n v a r i a b l y foster. T h e refinement in r a n k i n g o f o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r y c o n t r i b u t e d a l s o t o t h e p r o c e s s o f differ­ entiation. B y 1970 U g a n d a h a d altered her c o s t o f l i v i n g statistics t o take a c c o u n t o f h i g h , m i d d l e a n d l o w i n c o m e g r o u p s in u r b a n society, a n d in K e n y a the T h i r d D e v e l o p m e n t Plan a c k n o w l e d g e d that in a society w h e r e individual merit m u s t be r e w a r d e d , e c o n o m i c g r o w t h c o u l d not yet lead to equality. B u t w h a t w a s m o s t noticeable w a s the g r o w t h o f a great b o d y o f w o r k i n g p o o r , m a n y o f t h e m e m p l o y e d in the i n f o r m a l sector, r e c e i v i n g less than

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half the w a g e s o f the modern housing.

sector, and living in

squatter

W i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n , t h e w a g e increases o f t h e 1960s benefited urban rather than rural w a g e - e a r n e r s . A t the same time the e c o n o m i c situation o f rural d w e l l e r s varied a g o o d deal b o t h within and b e t w e e n countries in the region. A t o n e e x t r e m e Z a m b i a ' s rural inhabitants w e r e absolutely w o r s e off in 1975 than they h a d b e e n in 1964, a n d that c o u n t r y ' s dramatic u r b a n g r o w t h w a s itself a reflection o f rural decline. A t the o t h e r e x t r e m e , K e n y a ' s 225000 smallholders secured an impressive share o f their c o u n t r y ' s d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d t h e cash inflow t o s m a l l h o l d e r f a r m i n g h a d i n c r e a s e d f r o m £10 t o £ 3 0 m i l l i o n b e t w e e n i 9 6 0 a n d 1968. T h e vitality o f K e n y a ' s rural e c o n o m y w a s demonstrated n o t o n l y b y i n c r e a s e d a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n b u t a l s o b y a selfh e l p p r o g r a m m e w h i c h , w h a t e v e r i t s w e a k n e s s e s , c o n t r i b u t e d £4 million t o d e v e l o p m e n t in the 1960s. A t the same time, h o w e v e r , that e x p a n s i o n sustained the existing rural inequality, a n d , in m o s t cases, existing regional disparities. M o r e o v e r K e n y a ' s landtransfer p r o g r a m m e p r o d u c e d a n e w l e v e l o f rural i n e q u a l i t y w i t h the e m e r g e n c e o f A f r i c a n large-scale farmers w h o w e r e also something o f a landed oligarchy, and t o w h o m the continuation o f the large-scale farm strategy g a v e a disproportionately large share o f d e v e l o p m e n t resources. T h e 1 9 6 7 L a n d C o n t r o l A c t offered t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f l a n d i n U g a n d a , although the demise o f B u g a n d a ' s political p o w e r in 1966 s u g g e s t e d that a n y n e w l a n d e d o l i g a r c h y that e m e r g e d as a result w o u l d h a v e a different r e g i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l b a s e . I n B u g a n d a itself t h e trend h a d b e e n in fact t o w a r d s t h e s u b d i v i s i o n o f t h e o l d mailo e s t a t e s . L a r g e - s c a l e l a n d o w n e r s s u c h a s K e n y a ' s w e r e still h o w e v e r t h e exception rather than the rule. W h a t w a s a g o o d deal m o r e significant w a s the c h a n g i n g pattern o f l a n d o w n e r s h i p at t h e l o w e r levels o f rural society, especially in t h o s e areas o f acute p o p u l a t i o n pressure and land shortage. Tanzania w a s here the exception, since h e r ujamaa p r o g r a m m e w a s a d e l i b e r a t e a t t e m p t t o r e t u r n t o a c o m m u n a l l a n d o w n e r s h i p , a l t h o u g h s h e d i d n o t i n fact seek t o d i s t u r b h e r C h a g a coffee f a r m e r s f r o m t h e i r l a n d h o l d i n g s . I n M a l a w i also the dominant pattern remained that o f a large n u m b e r o f v e r y small p l o t holders. E l s e w h e r e , h o w e v e r , it w a s p o s s i b l e

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to identify the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n e w m a r k e t in land. In K e n y a the land-reform p r o g r a m m e significantly altered the pattern o f land d i s t r i b u t i o n in the peasant sector, l a r g e l y t o the d i s a d v a n t a g e o f the p o o r e s t levels o f rural society. In a c o u n t r y w h e r e land w a s n o t o n l y the m a j o r s o u r c e o f security b u t also the base for an a s p i r i n g e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l c l a s s , salariat a n d w a g e e a r n e r s as w e l l as w e a l t h y farmers had b e g u n to purchase land in the former ' A f r i c a n a r e a s '. A l t h o u g h it w o u l d b e s o m e t i m e b e f o r e t r a d i t i o n a l rights w o u l d disappear, and a l t h o u g h there w e r e significant r e g i o n a l differences, n e v e r t h e l e s s a f u n d a m e n t a l c h a n g e in lando w n e r s h i p had b e g u n . A n d while for the time being the process o f s u b d i v i s i o n and the further distribution o f e x p a t r i a t e - o w n e d land c o u l d absorb the e x p a n d i n g population, the inexorable a d v a n c e o f p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s a n d 1 9 7 0 s r e s u l t e d in t h e c o n t i n u o u s e x p a n s i o n o f the rural p o o r . T h e s e w e r e the great mass o f A f r i c a n s , n o t necessarily landless, b u t w i t h t o o little land a n d t o o little e d u c a t i o n t o a c q u i r e the s u r p l u s o r the skills t o s u p p l y t h e i r b a s i c n e e d s . I f K e n y a ' s r u r a l p o o r w e r e t h e b e s t k n o w n , it w a s M a l a w i t h a t p r e s e n t e d t h e p r o b l e m in its s t a r k e s t f o r m . M a l a w i ' s s m a l l h o l d e r a g r i c u l t u r e a l s o e x p a n d e d after i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e , its v a l u e i n c r e a s i n g f r o m K i 5.9 t o K 2 6 . 0 m i l l i o n b e t w e e n 1964 and 1970. In a c o u n t r y w h o s e d o m i n a n t characteristic w a s the pressure o f p o p u l a t i o n u p o n land, o n l y 2 per cent o f the p e o p l e had m o r e t h a n 12 acres, and the g r e a t majority o f s m a l l h o l d e r s w h o contributed so m u c h to the g r o w t h o f the agricultural s u r p l u s t y p i c a l l y h a d less than t w o acres. T h e i n d i v i d u a l r e t u r n w a s small and in a c o u n t r y w i t h a per capita i n c o m e o f K 3 8 , did not g i v e the smallholder m u c h r o o m for m a n o e u v r e . In the early 1 9 7 0 s it w a s t h e e x p a t r i a t e - o w n e d e s t a t e s e c t o r t h a t h a d u n u s e d l a n d still t o b e t a k e n u p i n t h e f u t u r e f o r c u l t i v a t i o n . Y e t t h e increased m i g r a t i o n t o S o u t h A f r i c a o f the 1960s and the e x p a n s i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r a l w a g e e m p l o y m e n t ( s o m e o f it n o m o r e t h a n seasonal) in the p r i v a t e s e c t o r o n the estates, p o i n t e d t o the evolution o f a permanent, l o w l y paid, unskilled agricultural l a b o u r i n g class: the foundation o f a rural proletariat. R e g i o n a l inequality added a m a r k e d ethnic d i m e n s i o n to the g r o w t h o f social and e c o n o m i c inequality in these years. Least o b v i o u s in T a n z a n i a , m o s t m a r k e d in K e n y a , the c o i n c i d e n c e o f regional and therefore ethnic associations w i t h e c o n o m i c status and o p p o r t u n i t y p r o d u c e d significant tensions. H e n c e in K e n y a 442

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b y t h e late 1960s s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n d e m o n s t r a t e d a k e e n awareness o f the greater a d v a n t a g e s available to those f r o m C e n t r a l as c o m p a r e d w i t h N y a n z a p r o v i n c e , a n e t h n i c c o n t r a s t t h a t intensified n o d o u b t the p e r c e p t i o n s o f L u o d e p r i v a t i o n and K i k u y u a d v a n t a g e . T r i b e and e c o n o m i c class a c q u i r e d a direct association, illustrated dramatically b y G E M A , the w e l f a r e as­ s o c i a t i o n o f K i k u y u , E m b u a n d M e r u p e o p l e , e s t a b l i s h e d in 1 9 6 8 , and s y m b o l i s i n g the d o m i n a n c e o f the g r o w i n g K i k u y u capitalist interests. T h e identification o f e c o n o m i c and social status w i t h regional and ethnic identity w a s , h o w e v e r , most tragically de­ m o n s t r a t e d in U g a n d a in t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e 1 9 7 1 c o u p . B y 1975 A m i n ' s r e g i m e w a s b e s t i d e n t i f i e d as t h a t o f a r o b b e r b r i g a n d w h o lacked the capacity to rule if n o t to e x p l o i t his prize. A t the s a m e time the pattern o f p u r g e and conflict s u g g e s t e d also that m u c h o f the b e h a v i o u r o f his f o l l o w e r s d e r i v e d f r o m their p e r c e p t i o n s o f e c o n o m i c deprivation. T h o s e followers w e r e not only soldiers but also m e m b e r s o f a minority for w h o m e c o n o m i c status c o i n c i d e d w i t h e t h n i c a n d r e l i g i o u s affiliations. T h e h a r d c o r e o f the U g a n d a n a r m y in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s w a s M u s l i m , d r a w n f r o m the least e d u c a t e d o f U g a n d a ' s s m a l l e s t a n d least d e v e l o p e d e t h n i c g r o u p s . T h e i r e c o n o m i c d e s i r e s w e r e m a d e c l e a r n o t least b y t h e m a n n e r in w h i c h t h e y p l u n d e r e d t h e b u l k o f t h e e c o n o m i c s p o i l s m a d e available b y the e x p u l s i o n o f the A s i a n c o m m u n i t y in 1 9 7 2 . T e n y e a r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e t h e o l d n o t i o n s o f é l i t e a n d m a s s w e r e a g o o d d e a l less a p p o s i t e t h a n b e f o r e i n t h e f a c e o f t h e c h a n g e s that had o c c u r r e d . E a c h state h a d r e s p o n d e d differently b o t h t o its i n h e r i t e d e c o n o m i c i n e q u a l i t y a n d t o t h e p r o c e s s o f post-colonial change. S o m e t h i n g remarkably like a national identity w a s increasingly apparent to those w h o crossed national b o u n d a r i e s , a n d as g o v e r n m e n t s a n d p e o p l e r e s p o n d e d d i f f e r e n t l y to the process o f c h a n g e . T h e c o n t i n u i n g process o f Africanisation a n d t r a i n i n g o f h i g h - l e v e l m a n p o w e r h a d m e a n t i n T a n z a n i a , as e l s e w h e r e , the absolute g r o w t h o f the élite, the h i g h e s t w a g e and salary earners. Y e t T a n z a n i a h a d n a r r o w e d , if she h a d n o t eliminated, the g a p b e t w e e n rich and p o o r , and she b e l i e v e d that w i t h the A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n she had r e v e r s e d the national drift t o w a r d s the g r o w t h o f a class-based society. In K e n y a , the e m e r g e n c e o f a p r o p e r t y - o w n i n g class and a capitalist ethic e p i t o m i s e d the g r o w i n g m e r i t o c r a c y and an a c h i e v e m e n t - o r i e n t e d , class-based society. R e g i o n a l and ethnic associations h o w e v e r , in

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t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , still d i f f u s e d p e r c e p t i o n s o f c l a s s , a l t h o u g h t h e y h e i g h t e n e d awareness o f e c o n o m i c inequality, in a situation o f diminishing resources. E t h n i c d i v e r s i t y w a s t h e r e f o r e i n t h e final a n a l y s i s less i m p o r t a n t than the u n e v e n rate o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e a d d i t i o n o f t h e t e r m waben^i ( l i t e r a l l y , ' t h o s e w h o d r i v e M e r c e d e s B e n z c a r s ' , implying those w i t h m o n e y and p o w e r ) to K e n y a ' s political v o c a b u l a r y , as o f apamwamba (' t h o s e n e a r e r h e a v e n ' , i m p l y i n g t h e i m p o r t a n t people) to that o f Z a m b i a , s u g g e s t e d that in those t w o c o u n t r i e s at l e a s t t h e r e w e r e p o w e r f u l p e r c e p t i o n s o f i n e q u a l i t y , and an increasing reaction to the coincidence b e t w e e n politics and material w e a l t h . A n d in U g a n d a the c o n t i n u i n g conflict that f o l l o w e d t h e c o u p w a s g e n e r a t e d n o t least b y t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f a deprived religious and ethnic minority to keep what they had taken b y force. I n g e n e r a l , s o c i e t y as a w h o l e h a d m o r e o b v i o u s l y d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e s t r a t a : t h e salariat a t t h e t o p , t h e g r e a t m a s s o r u r b a n a n d r u r a l p o o r at t h e b o t t o m , a n d i n t h e m i d d l e , t h e b e t t e r - o f f , including s o m e farmers and urban wage-earners. T h e r e w a s m u c h to s u g g e s t that the m o s t far-reaching c h a n g e s had b e e n those in the m i d d l e ; the n e w class o f better-off farmers, the n e w u r b a n w o r k i n g class, w h o w e r e rapidly acquiring coherent perceptions o f their o w n identity. W h a t w a s equally significant w a s the extent t o w h i c h a c c e s s t o e d u c a t i o n still d e t e r m i n e d o n e ' s p l a c e i n society. E D U C A T I O N

T h e p o s t - w a r years w e r e characterised b y a universal and insistent d e m a n d for education. T h e K i k u y u independent s c h o o l s (started in the 1920s) d r a m a t i c a l l y e n l a r g e d K e n y a ' s e d u c a t i o n a l base, a l t h o u g h at t h e s a m e t i m e t h e y i n t e n s i f i e d its u n e v e n e t h n i c d i s t r i b u t i o n . B e t w e e n 1 9 4 3 a n d 1948 A f r i c a n s c h o o l e n r o l m e n t s a l m o s t d o u b l e d in S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a , w h e r e e d u c a t i o n r e m a i n e d predominantly a mission responsibility. T h e C h a g a C o u n c i l p e t itioned the V i s i t i n g U N M i s s i o n to T a n g a n y i k a o n the subject i n 1 9 4 8 as d i d t h e N y a s a l a n d A f r i c a n C o n g r e s s t h e C o l o n i a l Secretary in the s a m e year. In U g a n d a , w h e r e g o v e r n m e n t e d u c a t i o n p r o c e e d e d apace, nevertheless in the 1950s, the p r i v a t e s c h o o l s m u s h r o o m e d t o satisfy the d e m a n d s o f t h o s e w h o c o u l d not meet the requirements o f the g o v e r n m e n t educational system. :

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In T a n z a n i a T A N U a n d in U g a n d a the U P C , a d m i t t e d l y w i t h o n l y l i m i t e d s u c c e s s , s e t u p s c h o o l s as p a r t o f t h e i r n a t i o n a l i s t c a m ­ paigns. T h e r e w a s n o d o u b t a b o u t the desire for education, n o r t h a t it r e f l e c t e d t h e a s p i r a t i o n s o f A f r i c a n s a w a r e o f t h e k e y relationship b e t w e e n education and e c o n o m i c opportunity. T h e result w a s that the direction o f p o s t - w a r educational d e v e l o p m e n t w a s a g o o d d e a l i n f l u e n c e d b y A f r i c a n p r e s s u r e s as w e l l as b y c o l o n i a l d e s i g n a n d s e t t l e r c o n t r o l s . C o l o n i a l p o l i c y i n t h e 1 9 4 0 s e m p h a s i s e d m a s s e d u c a t i o n f o r c i t i z e n s h i p a n d selfg o v e r n m e n t , and an integrated process that w o u l d train a smaller n u m b e r o f Africans for administration and also d e v e l o p a civic consciousness. Priority w a s placed o n the d e v e l o p m e n t o f mass primary education for rural d e v e l o p m e n t , w i t h a m o r e limited s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l e x p a n s i o n sufficient t o s u p p l y the t h e n limited m a n p o w e r needs. O n that basis primary education u n d o u b t e d l y e x p a n d e d d r a m a t i c a l l y after 1 9 4 5 , a l t h o u g h t h e e x t e n t a n d t h e quality v a r i e d f r o m state t o state. U g a n d a a c h i e v e d a r e m a r k a b l e expansion under G o v e r n o r C o h e n , and o n the basis o f the de Bunsen Report on African Education o f 1953, w h i c h w a s en­ thusiastically a c c e p t e d , b y 19 5 9 h a l f the c h i l d r e n o f a p p r o p r i a t e a g e w e r e at p r i m a r y s c h o o l . I n T a n g a n y i k a , w h i c h h a d a g o o d d e a l m o r e g r o u n d to m a k e u p than the other East African territories, primary enrolments e x p a n d e d f r o m 142000 in 1950 t o 375000 in i 9 6 0 ; b u t it w a s K e n y a t h a t m o v e d f u r t h e r a h e a d w i t h 7 2 6 0 0 0 c h i l d r e n in p r i m a r y s c h o o l s i n i 9 6 0 c o m p a r e d w i t h 300000 i n 1949. C e n t r a l A f r i c a l a g g e d a g o o d deal b e h i n d , n o t least b e c a u s e o f the constraints i m p o s e d u p o n African education b y the settler-dominated federation. Z a m b i a and M a l a w i (notwithstand­ i n g the latter's l o n g h i s t o r y o f m i s s i o n e d u c a t i o n ) in 1964, at i n d e p e n d e n c e , had a c h i e v e d less p r i m a r y e x p a n s i o n than e v e n Rhodesia. In the 1950s, h o w e v e r , priorities c h a n g e d , and the emphasis shifted t o s e c o n d a r y and p o s t - s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n . Part o f the explanation related to the g r o w i n g needs o f g o v e r n m e n t for A f r i c a n m a n p o w e r as p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e a d v a n c e d , a n d t h e m e t r o ­ politan p o w e r s o u g h t to create that n e w r u l i n g class to w h o m they h o p e d to hand o v e r p o w e r . A t the same time m u c h o f the pressure for c h a n g e w a s f r o m Africans and nationalists u n w i l l i n g t o accept the constraints o f the racially differentiated e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m s , and the pressures o f the c h a n g i n g political climate. H e n c e the 445

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1950s s a w a significant e x p a n s i o n in s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n , not­ w i t h s t a n d i n g t h a t it w a s m e a g r e i n c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e a c t u a l demand. A l r e a d y the p r o b l e m o f w a s t a g e w a s serious, a l t h o u g h p r i m a r y - s c h o o l l e a v e r s as y e t f o u n d n o d i f f i c u l t y i n o b t a i n i n g e m p l o y m e n t , as w o u l d b e t h e c a s e t e n y e a r s later. I n C e n t r a l A f r i c a and in K e n y a , E u r o p e a n and, to a lesser extent, A s i a n e d u c a t i o n still t o o k p r e c e d e n c e o v e r A f r i c a n , w h i c h i n C e n t r a l A f r i c a i n p a r t i c u l a r l a g g e d far b e h i n d . Z a m b i a at i n d e p e n d e n c e c o n s e ­ q u e n t l y h a d o n l y 1200 s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l c e r t i f i c a t e t r a i n e d p e o p l e (of w h o m a significant minority had obtained their training t h r o u g h S o u t h A f r i c a ) w h e r e a s K e n y a had reached that stage in 1 9 5 7 a n d T a n z a n i a i n i 9 6 0 ; a n d U g a n d a h a d s i x t i m e s as m a n y at i n d e p e n d e n c e . U n i v e r s i t y e d u c a t i o n a l s o s a w its r e a l b e g i n n i n g s i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s . T h e A s q u i t h C o m m i s s i o n i n 1945 h a d r e g a r d e d t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f u n i v e r s i t i e s as t h e i n e s c a p a b l e c o r o l l a r y o f t h e c o m m i t m e n t t o p o l i t i c a l a d v a n c e b u t t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n w e n t a h e a d m u c h faster in E a s t than in C e n t r a l A f r i c a . M a k e r e r e C o l l e g e in U g a n d a , h a v i n g s t a r t e d life i n t h e 1 9 2 0 s as a s c h o o l f o r a r t i s a n s , i n 1 9 4 9 b e c a m e a u n i v e r s i t y c o l l e g e in special relationship w i t h L o n d o n University. O n c e again the force o f nationalism and the dictates o f m a n p o w e r p l a n n i n g accelerated the p a c e o f e x p a n s i o n : in 1956 N a i r o b i ' s R o y a l T e c h n i c a l C o l l e g e b e c a m e the University C o l l e g e o f N a i r o b i a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f D a r e s S a l a a m b e g a n life i n q u a r t e r s l o a n e d b y T A N U i n 1 9 6 2 , b y w h i c h t i m e all t h r e e h a d b e c o m e constituent c o l l e g e s o f a U n i v e r s i t y o f East Africa. B y that time, h o w e v e r , the opportunities for East Africans anxious for education to g o abroad w e r e greatly enlarged. In i960, w h e n there w e r e 396 K e n y a n s at M a k e r e r e t h e r e w e r e 1655 a b r o a d . I n C e n t r a l A f r i c a , in contrast, and n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the m o v e m e n t o f a fortunate few abroad, higher education w a s a g o o d deal s l o w e r t o a d v a n c e a n d , at t h e U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e o f R h o d e s i a a n d N y a s a l a n d set u p i n 1 9 5 6 , a g o o d d e a l m o r e r a c i a l l y b o u n d t h a n it e v e r w a s i n E a s t A f r i c a . T h e a c h i e v e m e n t b y the time o f independence w a s therefore not inconsiderable. M o r e o v e r , sight should not be lost o f the extent t o w h i c h o v e r t h e s e y e a r s it h a d b e e n p a i d f o r b y A f r i c a n s t h e m s e l v e s , t h r o u g h t a x e s a n d s c h o o l fees. I n U g a n d a , f o r instance, the A f r i c a n D e v e l o p m e n t F u n d s based o n the Price

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A s s i s t a n c e F u n d s p r o v i d e d a g r e a t d e a l o f t h e finance f o r t h e expansion o f the 1950s. T h e inherited e d u c a t i o n a l systems nevertheless raised i m p o r ­ t a n t q u e s t i o n s as t o t h e p a t t e r n o f f u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t . I n e a c h c a s e they absorbed a significant p r o p o r t i o n o f the recurrent b u d g e t , but came n o w h e r e near satisfying either the p o p u l a r d e m a n d o r t h e n a t i o n a l n e e d . N o w h e r e w a s m o r e t h a n 50 p e r c e n t o f t h e s c h o o l - a g e p o p u l a t i o n in p r i m a r y s c h o o l s , and in T a n z a n i a a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a it w a s a g o o d d e a l l e s s . T h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h o s e w h o continued to secondary school w a s minute. T h e availability o f education was geographically and therefore ethnically un­ b a l a n c e d . I n T a n g a n y i k a i n t h e e a r l y 19 5 o s f o r e x a m p l e , 7 9 p e r c e n t o f the C h a g a o f K i l i m a n j a r o district w e r e in p r i m a r y s c h o o l b u t o n l y 7 p e r cent o f the M a s a i . I n e a c h state the c o n s e q u e n c e o f this r e g i o n a l i m b a l a n c e in d e v e l o p m e n t w a s a v i s i b l e identification o f the n e w e d u c a t e d and p r i v i l e g e d élite w i t h a particular ethnic g r o u p : t h e G a n d a , t h e K i k u y u , t h e L o z i as w e l l as t h e C h a g a , might not have had a m o n o p o l y of education, but they undoubtedly e n j o y e d a g o o d d e a l m o r e e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t y at a t i m e w h e n the r e w a r d s o f e d u c a t i o n w e r e v e r y great. Finally e d u c a t i o n h a d b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y l i n k e d t o e x a m i n a t i o n s as t h e m e a n s o f a c c e s s to e m p l o y m e n t o r further training. In the 1940s c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s had indeed e m p h a s i s e d the n e e d to link e d u c a t i o n w i t h r u r a l life, b u t t h a t e a r l y e m p h a s i s u p o n a d a p t a t i o n t o t h e needs o f an agricultural e n v i r o n m e n t had b e e n i n c r e a s i n g l y u n d e r m i n e d , n o t least b y the pressures o f A f r i c a n o p i n i o n . A f r i c a n s w h o h a d c o m e t o r e g a r d e d u c a t i o n as t h e k e y t o g r e a t e r a f f l u e n c e a n d t h e w a y o u t o f r u r a l p o v e r t y w e r e b o u n d t o find s u c h a n a g r i c u l t u r a l b i a s u n a c c e p t a b l e , a n d t h e y r e j e c t e d it as a f o r m o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n in a r a c i a l l y s t r u c t u r e d e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m . F o r similar reasons A f r i c a n o p i n i o n defeated g o v e r n m e n t attempts in the early 1950s t o i n t r o d u c e a basic f o u r - y e a r e d u c a t i o n , c o m p l e t e in itself, a l o n g t h e l i n e s r e c o m m e n d e d b y t h e 1 9 5 1 B i n n s R e p o r t for T a n g a n y i k a . N o d o u b t these suspicions w e r e strongest a m o n g t h e é l i t e , a n d at t h a t t i m e it w a s r a c i a l i n e q u a l i t y r a t h e r t h a n t h e elitist a n d i n e g a l i t a r i a n n a t u r e o f t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m t h a t w a s under attack. N e v e r t h e l e s s the mass also had educational aspirations, and the tradition o f a m o r e academic education w a s strong. M o r e o v e r the d e m a n d s for trained A f r i c a n m a n p o w e r and

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the Africanisation p r o g r a m m e that a c c o m p a n i e d independence p u s h e d educational e x p a n s i o n in the same direction. E a c h s t a t e w a s c o m m i t t e d at i n d e p e n d e n c e t o t h e n o t i o n o f planned educational d e v e l o p m e n t to o v e r c o m e these inherited i n a d e q u a c i e s . T h e first o b j e c t i v e w a s t h e a b o l i t i o n o f r a c i a l discrimination. A s a Z a m b i a n report put it: ' T h e r e w e r e certain t h i n g s w e h a d t o d o at i n d e p e n d e n c e , a b o u t w h i c h t h e r e w a s n o a r g u m e n t w h a t s o e v e r . F o r e x a m p l e the racist structure o f the educational system had to be destroyed'. Certain other admin­ i s t r a t i v e c h a n g e s f o l l o w e d , as g o v e r n m e n t s g r a d u a l l y a s s u m e d direct control o v e r education, and the churches for the m o s t part w e r e required t o transfer their s c h o o l s t o t h e m . Priority w a s g i v e n i n t h e first p l a c e t o s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l e x p a n s i o n , a n d t o a s t r a t e g y o f m a n p o w e r planning that f o l l o w e d logically o n the p r o g r a m m e s and training laid d o w n earlier b y c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t s . T e n years later the d e g r e e o f A f r i c a n i s a t i o n w a s i m p r e s s i v e . M a l a w i s t o o d o u t for h e r m o r e c a u t i o u s a p p r o a c h t o A f r i c a n i s a t i o n , b u t in Tanzania, b y 1 9 7 1 , 90-95 per cent o f senior and middle-level c i v i l - s e r v i c e p o s t s w e r e h e l d b y c i t i z e n s c o m p a r e d w i t h 38 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 6 2 . T h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e h o w e v e r w i t n e s s e d a r e m a r k a b l e a c c e l e r a t i o n o f e d u c a t i o n as a w h o l e . P e r h a p s t h i s w a s d e m o n s t r a t e d m o s t dramatically in Z a m b i a , w h i c h set o u t w i t h a sense o f u r g e n c y to redress the inherited colonial neglect, and doubled her primary-school enrolments between 1964 and 1972, increased her secondary-school numbers from 1 3 8 5 3 1 0 6 1 0 0 0 and set u p t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Z a m b i a i n 1 9 6 5 . E q u a l l y i m p r e s s i v e , a n d demonstrating the same kind o f i m m e n s e popular enthusiasm for education, w a s the e x p a n s i o n in K e n y a , w h e r e b y 1975 there w e r e t w o m i l l i o n c h i l d r e n e n r o l l e d in p r i m a r y s c h o o l s a n d 300000 in secondary schools, and a v i g o r o u s self-help p r o g r a m m e had p u s h e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t far b e y o n d its p l a n n e d d e v e l o p m e n t . 1

T h i s v e r y e x p a n s i o n p r o d u c e d its o w n difficulties, h o w e v e r , a n d as t h e 1 9 6 0 s a d v a n c e d , e a c h s t a t e f a c e d a n e w e d u c a t i o n a l c r i s i s , in w h i c h p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e d e v e l o p m e n t c o m p o u n d e d the w e a k ­ nesses o f the past. E d u c a t i o n a l expansion p r o c e e d e d a g o o d deal m o r e rapidly than e m p l o y m e n t , s o that b y the e n d o f the 1960s there w a s a s c h o o l - l e a v e r p r o b l e m in e a c h state. H o w e v e r , the c r i s i s i n e d u c a t i o n w e n t a g o o d d e a l d e e p e r . I n t h e first p l a c e t h e r e w a s a conflict b e t w e e n the need for skilled citizen m a n p o w e r and 1

Education for development ( G o v e r n m e n t o f t h e R e p u b l i c o f Z a m b i a , 1976), 77.

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the relevant h i g h - l e v e l training, a n d the need t o b r o a d e n educational opportunities, create a m o r e egalitarian society, and satisfy p o p u l a r d e m a n d . I n t h e f a c e o f l i m i t e d r e s o u r c e s t h e r e w a s an intense c o m p e t i t i o n f o r e d u c a t i o n a l facilities w h i c h lay at t h e heart o f the d e v e l o p m e n t process. T h i s conflict o f interest w a s also central t o the process o f differentiation a n d the g r o w i n g inequality in e a c h s t a t e . T h u s t h e c r i s i s o f t h e l a t e 1 9 6 0 s w a s n o t m e r e l y a b o u t t h e m o r e efficient u s e o f m a n p o w e r ( a n d h e n c e t h e p r o b l e m s o f wastage), school leavers, regional imbalances and the rural-urban g a p ; it w a s a l s o a b o u t t h e p r o c e s s o f s o c i a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . I n a situation o f g r o w i n g social a n d e c o n o m i c differentiation, access to education remained the k e y to e c o n o m i c advance and to a p r i v i l e g e d position in society. A c c e s s t o education w a s thus a k e y political issue. E a c h state r e s p o n d e d d i f f e r e n t l y t o t h i s c r i s i s , d e m o n s t r a t i n g n o t o n l y t h e i r different i d e o l o g i c a l c o m m i t m e n t s a n d s t y l e s o f r e s p o n s e t o inherited i n e q u a l i t y , b u t also t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y different s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c p r e s s u r e s at w o r k w i t h i n t h e i n d e p e n d e n t state. W h i l e t h e s a m e p o p u l a r a s p i r a t i o n s c o u l d , f o r e x a m p l e , b e i d e n t i f i e d i n K e n y a a n d M a l a w i , it w a s a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e y c o u l d b e h e l d i n c h e c k m o r e firmly i n t h e l a t t e r c o u n t r y t h a n t h e f o r m e r . E d u c a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g m o r e o v e r e n c o u n t e r e d different obstacles. H e n c e w h i l e t h e r e w a s , a s t h e 1 9 6 0 s p r o g r e s s e d , a g e n e r a l shift back t o a strategy centred o n rural e d u c a t i o n , the m a n n e r in w h i c h it w a s a p p r o a c h e d v a r i e d a g o o d d e a l . I n t h i s r e s p e c t M a l a w i m o s t firmly b a s e d e d u c a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g o n the n e e d s o f a g r i c u l t u r e as t h e k e y s e c t o r o f t h e e c o n o m y , a n d a r g u e d that expansion o f secondary a n d h i g h e r education must be related directly a n d primarily t o m a n p o w e r needs rather than p o p u l a r aspirations o r d e m a n d s . T a n z a n i a also reasserted the n e e d s o f r u r a l life a n d a t t e m p t e d a f u n d a m e n t a l r e o r i e n t a t i o n o f h e r t o t a l e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m . P r o m p t e d m o s t o f all b y t h e a r r o g a n t reaction o f university students in 1966 t o National Service, w h i c h h i g h l i g h t e d the dangers o f a n e w élite, the A r u s h a D e c l a r a t i o n spelled o u t the conflict b e t w e e n the inherited educational system and the goals o f Tanzanian socialism. President Nyerere's subse­ q u e n t Education for self-reliance o u t l i n e d a n e d u c a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y that w o u l d p r o v i d e a seven years' basic education c o m p l e t e in itself, a n d a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e r u r a l life t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y o f T a n z a n i a n s w o u l d l e a d . P r i o r i t y w a s t h u s r e t u r n e d i n t h e late 449

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1960s t o p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n f o r r u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t , a c o m m i t m e n t further articulated in the M u s o m a D e c l a r a t i o n o f 1 9 7 4 ( w h i c h p r o m i s e d a f o u r - y e a r e d u c a t i o n f o r e v e r y o n e ) , b u t still s o m e w a y f r o m a c h i e v e m e n t as o u r p e r i o d c a m e t o a c l o s e . K e n y a ' s e d u c a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y w a s , in c o n t r a s t , t o a c c e l e r a t e t h e p r o v i s i o n o f e d u c a t i o n a l s e r v i c e s at all l e v e l s , t o r e d r e s s r e g i o n a l imbalances, but to equalise opportunities rather than rewards. In t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c y , p u s h e d o n b y a n i n f e c t i o u s s e l f - h e l p o r harambee m o v e m e n t , r e s u l t e d in substantial expansion. A t the same time g r o s s disparities remained and unequal access to education had contributed a great deal to the g r o w i n g social and e c o n o m i c class f o r m a t i o n . T h i r s t for e d u c a t i o n c o n t i n u e d as t h e b i g e x p a n s i o n in p r i m a r y e n r o l m e n t after t h e r e m o v a l o f fees i n 1 9 7 4 s h o w e d . T h e r e s u l t s o f r a c i a l integration varied a g o o d deal. U g a n d a and Tanzania had indeed b e g u n the process prior to independence. K e n y a , a d o p t i n g a c o n t r a r y line o f action, maintained the e x i s t i n g tiered structure o f s c h o o l s inherited f r o m the settler years, s o that w h i l e racial segregation w a s abolished, the old system o f high-and l o w - c o s t s c h o o l s r e m a i n e d , a n d w i t h it t h e i n e q u a l i t y o f a c c e s s t o e d u c a t i o n b a s e d i n c r e a s i n g l y o n e c o n o m i c r a t h e r t h a n r a c i a l strata. M o r e o v e r the c o n t i n u i n g e x p a n s i o n presented significant b u d g e t a r y p r o b ­ l e m s t o a g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h i n 1 9 7 5 w a s s p e n d i n g 30 p e r c e n t o f t h e state b u d g e t o n e d u c a t i o n . K e n y a and T a n z a n i a represented the t w o extreme responses to t h e e d u c a t i o n a l c r i s i s o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t state. T h e y s h a r e d w i t h the o t h e r states, h o w e v e r , certain strategies that a t t e m p t e d to o v e r c o m e educational p r o b l e m s , for e x a m p l e the N a t i o n a l S e r v i c e that attempted to a b s o r b s c h o o l leavers. T h e m o s t f a m o u s and possibly the m o s t successful w a s M a l a w i ' s Y o u n g Pioneers f o r m e d b y President B a n d a in 1963, to g i v e specialised t r a i n i n g in a g r i c u l t u r e t o y o u n g m e n a n d w o m e n w h o t h e n r e t u r n e d t o the land. E d u c a t i o n a l p o l i c y t h u s c a m e full c i r c l e in t h e s e y e a r s , e n d i n g as it h a d b e g u n w i t h a firm e m p h a s i s o n e d u c a t i o n f o r r u r a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n . T h e r e w a s , h o w e v e r , a g r e a t difference in the n o t i o n o f r e l e v a n c e as p a r t o f t h e p r o c e s s o f c o l o n i a l t u t e l a g e a n d r e l e v a n c e as t h e k e y t o a m o r e r e a l i s t i c , i n d e p e n d e n t g o v e r n m e n t ' s educational policy. N e v e r t h e l e s s the p o p u l a r aspirations remained, a n d e d u c a t i o n w a s still in r e a l i t y as w e l l as in p o p u l a r p e r c e p t i o n s 450

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t h e m e a n s o f u p w a r d m o b i l i t y in t h e p o s t - c o l o n i a l state. E d u c a t i o n remained, a l o n g w i t h politics, the k e y to p r i v i l e g e and p o w e r .

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I n t e r - s t a t e r e l a t i o n s p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h r e e s u c c e s s i v e s t a g e s in t h e c o u r s e o f t h e s e 35 y e a r s . A t t h e o u t s e t , i n 1 9 4 0 , t h e p o l i t i c a l ties w e r e essentially those created b y c o l o n i a l rulers and alien settler c o m m u n i t i e s . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h a t t h e s e t t l e r s in N o r t h e r n a n d S o u t h e r n R h o d e s i a felt a g r e a t e r affinity w i t h S o u t h t h a n w i t h E a s t Africa, the n o t i o n o f a confederation o f British Central A f r i c a n states n o r t h o f t h e Z a m b e z i d i e d h a r d . T h e w a r y e a r s s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e p o s i t i o n o f E u r o p e a n s , a n d i n 1945 t h e d o m i n a n t i s s u e i n i n t e r t e r r i t o r i a l r e l a t i o n s w a s t h a t o f c l o s e r u n i o n , w h i c h h a d its climax w i t h the creation o f the Federation o f R h o d e s i a and Nyasaland. B y the 1950s, h o w e v e r , there w e r e also m a n y m o r e l i n k s b e t w e e n A f r i c a n s a c r o s s t h e r e g i o n , e s p e c i a l l y as a r e s u l t o f t h e m o v e m e n t o f l a b o u r . I n t h e 1 9 5 0 s a l s o , as t h e n a t i o n a l i s t m o v e m e n t s a d v a n c e d , so the n e w nationalist leaders f o r g e d n e w bonds w i t h each other and established n e w , African-oriented political ties, and a significant d e g r e e o f c o o p e r a t i o n . T h e i r a s s o c i a t i o n s fell s h o r t o f p o l i t i c a l u n i o n , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e aspirations for a federation in E a s t A f r i c a , s o that i n d e p e n d e n c e saw a third stage in their relations, w h e n inter-state relations b e c a m e t h o s e o f n e w , s o v e r e i g n states. S o v e r e i g n t y a n d s t a t e h o o d s i g n i f i c a n t l y a l t e r e d t h e p e r s p e c t i v e s f r o m w h i c h i n t e r - s t a t e re­ l a t i o n s n o w w e r e a p p r o a c h e d , a n d i n t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e the d e m a n d s o f national interest b e g a n seriously to c h a l l e n g e earlier P a n - A f r i c a n loyalties. W h i l e the c o m m i t m e n t t o African unity did not disappear, the imperatives o f national d e v e l o p m e n t m a d e it a m o r e difficult o b j e c t i v e t o a c h i e v e . A n e w conflict o f interests e m e r g e d b e t w e e n national and r e g i o n a l associations and loyalties. Independence therefore constituted a significant w a t e r s h e d in inter-state relations w h i c h c o n t r i b u t e d t o m a j o r r e a l i g n m e n t s w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n in t h e y e a r s after 1 9 7 0 . T h e m o s t p o s i t i v e r e g i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t in t h e c o l o n i a l y e a r s w a s t h a t in E a s t A f r i c a , w h i c h s a w t h e e m e r g e n c e o f a u n i q u e regional e c o n o m i c association. A t the outbreak o f the w a r the East African territories already shared a n u m b e r o f interterritorial activities, c o o r d i n a t e d b y an informal annual C o n f e r e n c e o f 451

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g o v e r n o r s a n d its p e r m a n e n t s e c r e t a r i a t . T h o s e c o m m o n a c t i v i t i e s increased greatly during the w a r years, out o f w h i c h there e m e r g e d i n 1948 t h e E a s t A f r i c a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n : a p e r m a n e n t e x e c u t i v e authority created b y O r d e r in C o u n c i l , h a v i n g p o w e r to administer certain specified c o m m o n services o n an all-East A f r i c a n basis. It consisted o f the g o v e r n o r s o f the three territories, w h o met t w o or three times each year, a H i g h C o m m i s s i o n s e c r e t a r i a t , w i t h its h e a d q u a r t e r s i n N a i r o b i , a n d a c e n t r a l L e g i s ­ lative A s s e m b l y , part appointed b y each g o v e r n o r and part elected b y the representative element o f the territorial L e g i s l a t i v e Councils, w i t h limited but n o t insignificant legislative p o w e r s o v e r c o m m o n s e r v i c e s m a t t e r s . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g A f r i c a n fears t h a t t h e E a s t A f r i c a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n w o u l d b e u s e d as a b a s i s f o r s e t t l e r d o m i n a t i o n (a s i g n i f i c a n t i n f l u e n c e u p o n t h e g r o w t h o f nationalist politics in those years), that b o d y p r o v i d e d a positive basis for e c o n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n and for regional d e v e l o p m e n t in t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d e s t a b l i s h e d a set o f i n t e r t e r r i t o r i a l economic institutions o f m o r e positive v a l u e than those o f the Central African federation. T h e three E a s t A f r i c a n territories constituted a c o m m o n m a r k e t w i t h a m o r e o r l e s s u n i f o r m e x t e r n a l tariff. T h e y had a c o m m o n currency. T h e y shared a n u m b e r o f c o m m o n services, jointly administered b y the E A H C , o f w h i c h the m o s t important w e r e the railways and harbours, airways, posts and telecommunications and research services. T h e r e c o u l d be n o d o u b t that the e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t o f the 1950s w a s greatly a s s i s t e d b y t h e s e c o m m o n s e r v i c e s , a n d it w a s t h e a d v a n t a g e s o f that e c o n o m i c association that the n e w nationalist leaders s o u g h t to preserve w h e n Tanzania's independence necessitated changes in its c o n s t i t u t i o n a l b a s e . H e n c e t h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n w a s t r a n s f o r m e d in 1962 i n t o the E a s t A f r i c a n C o m m o n S e r v i c e s O r g a n i s a t i o n , created b y the terms o f an agreement entered into by the three East A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s . In the 1950s A f r i c a n nationalists a c h i e v e d a s e c o n d significant level o f political cooperation t h r o u g h the Pan-African F r e e d o m M o v e m e n t o f E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a ( P A F M E C A ) set u p at M w a n z a in T a n z a n i a b y the E a s t A f r i c a n nationalist leaders in 1 9 5 8 . P A F M E C A e m e r g e d as a l o o s e b u t e f f e c t i v e g r o u p i n g o f t h e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s o f all t h e E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s . L e a d e r s m e t regularly in an annual c o n f e r e n c e . T h e i r c o m m o n front w a s a significant political f o r c e in the p e r i o d o f d e c o l o n i s -

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ation; and they w e r e able also to p r o v i d e an important degree o f assistance to territorial nationalist m o v e m e n t s . P A F M E C A p r o ­ v i d e d s i g n i f i c a n t a s s i s t a n c e f o r U N I P i n t h e first g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s in N o r t h e r n R h o d e s i a in 1962, and for K A N U in the K e n y a n elections the f o l l o w i n g year. Its nationalist i d e o l o g y w a s s y m ­ b o l i s e d b y t h e c o m m o n r e c o g n i t i o n o f K e n y a t t a ( w h i l e still i n r e s t r i c t i o n ) as l e a d e r a n d its o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c a p a c i t y w a s a s s u r e d b y t h e d o m i n a n t r o l e s o f N y e r e r e a n d M b o y a . I n 1 9 6 2 , w h e n its regional e m b r a c e w a s enlarged t o take in n o t o n l y E t h i o p i a and S o m a l i a b u t a l s o t h e n a t i o n a l i s t o r g a n i s a t i o n s o f S o u t h A f r i c a , it was renamed P A F M E C S A , and U N I P ' s President, K e n n e t h K a u n d a , w a s elected c h a i r m a n , s y m b o l i s i n g n o t least the c o m m o n c o m m i t m e n t to the liberation o f southern Africa. O n c e T a n ­ g a n y i k a b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t in 1 9 6 1 , D a r es S a l a a m b e c a m e the natural base for the g r o w i n g liberation m o v e m e n t s o f Central and s o u t h e r n A f r i c a , a n d P A F M E C S A , w i t h N y e r e r e as its l e a d i n g figure, b e c a m e increasingly identified w i t h the liberation o f white-ruled southern Africa. I n t h e e a r l y 1960s P A F M E C A w a s g e n e r a l l y c o m m i t t e d t o t h e c o n c e p t o f a n E a s t A f r i c a n f e d e r a t i o n , as N y e r e r e first s e t it o u t to the M b a l e ( U g a n d a ) P A F M E C A m e e t i n g in O c t o b e r i960, and a g a i n t o the C o n f e r e n c e o f I n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n States at A d d i s A b a b a in the same year. N y e r e r e offered t o delay T a n g a n y i k a ' s i n d e p e n d e n c e u n t i l all t h r e e E a s t A f r i c a n s t a t e s c o u l d a c h i e v e i n d e p e n d e n c e , s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , as a f e d e r a t i o n , b u t T a n g a n y i k a had in fact already b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t w h e n , w i t h K e n y a t t a and O b o t e , N y e r e r e p l e d g e d h i m s e l f in the Federation D e c l a r a t i o n o f A u g u s t 1963. F r o m 1961 until 1964, East African relations w e r e focussed essentially u p o n the federation issue. T h e causes o f f a i l u r e w e r e c o m p l e x , b u t u l t i m a t e l y t h e a t t e m p t at f e d e r a t i o n i n t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s f o u n d e r e d o n t h e fears o f e a c h s t a t e f o r its n a t i o n a l interest, p e r c e i v e d increasingly f r o m the v a n t a g e p o i n t o f sovereignty and statehood. U g a n d a e s p e c i a l l y i n 1 9 6 3 f e a r e d h e r f u t u r e s u b o r d i n a t i o n as the smallest o f the three states, b u t the central issue w a s and r e m a i n e d t h e b e l i e f t h a t K e n y a h a d a c h i e v e d h e r d e v e l o p m e n t at Uganda's and Tanganyika's expense. East Africa's c o m m o n market had w i t h o u t d o u b t made a positive and significant impact o n the r e g i o n ' s e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t in the years after 1 9 4 5 . It had p r o d u c e d a substantially unified m a r k e t and a g o o d deal o f

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d e v e l o p m e n t o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g . B u t the benefits o f that d e v e l o p ­ m e n t s e e m e d to m a n y in the 1950s t o be u n e v e n l y distributed, w i t h K e n y a r e c e i v i n g t h e l i o n ' s s h a r e . W h e t h e r o r n o t it w a s t h e c o m m o n market that g a v e K e n y a the distinct a d v a n t a g e that she enjoyed in the 1950s (rather than the accidents o f g e o g r a p h y and history and the attractions o f the E u r o p e a n c o m m u n i t y for international capital), U g a n d a and T a n g a n y i k a had increasingly b e c o m e r e s e n t f u l at h e r g r e a t e r d e v e l o p m e n t . H e n c e t h e r e f o l ­ l o w e d a succession o f attempts to reorganise the basis o f the e c o n o m i c association, to p r o v i d e for a great equality o f d e v e l o p ­ ment. In i960 the Raisman C o m m i s s i o n p r o p o s e d a n u m b e r o f c h a n g e s , principally the i n n o v a t i o n o f the Distributable P o o l to facilitate redistribution b e t w e e n the three territories; a n d in 1964 the K a m p a l a A g r e e m e n t attempted to add n e w rules for an equitable distribution o f industrial d e v e l o p m e n t . T h a t agreement had not been implemented, h o w e v e r , w h e n Tanzania's decision to w i t h d r a w from the c o m m o n currency and to establish her o w n C e n t r a l B a n k set i n t r a i n a s e q u e n c e o f e v e n t s t h a t s e e m e d t o presage the end o f the association. In 1965, a c k n o w l e d g i n g the benefits for d e v e l o p m e n t for e a c h o f t h e m , b u t a w a r e o f the d a n g e r s o f d i s i n t e g r a t i o n , t h e t h r e e states set u p t h e P h i l i p s C o m m i s s i o n to e v o l v e a m o r e equitable basis for c o o p e r a t i o n . O u t o f that e m e r g e d the E a s t A f r i c a n T r e a t y for C o o p e r a t i o n , a n e w a g r e e m e n t , s i g n e d in D e c e m b e r 1967 b e t w e e n three s o v e r e i g n i n d e p e n d e n t states s e e k i n g t o re-establish the o l d e c o n o m i c a s s o c i a t i o n f r o m w h i c h t h e y all d e r i v e d s t r e n g t h o n a m o r e equitable and acceptable basis. In spite o f the statesmanship o f that decision, the 1970s s a w the s t e a d y g r o w t h o f d i s i n t e g r a t i v e p r e s s u r e s f r o m w i t h i n e a c h state. U g a n d a n s , K e n y a n s and T a n z a n i a n s m a d e d e m a n d s u p o n their g o v e r n m e n t s w h i c h required a national rather than an inter­ national solution. F o r e i g n migrant labour, for example, became a t h r e a t t o c i t i z e n s s e e k i n g e m p l o y m e n t : K e n y a n s w h o h a d tra­ ditionally s o u g h t e m p l o y m e n t in U g a n d a b e c a m e ' alien A f r i c a n s ' , as d i d U g a n d a n s i n K e n y a , o r K e n y a n s i n T a n z a n i a . T h e m o s t serious pressures u p o n the n e w East African C o m m u n i t y e m e r g e d after t h e U g a n d a c o u p . O n t h e o n e h a n d T a n z a n i a ' s r e f u s a l t o r e c o g n i s e G e n e r a l A m i n as H e a d o f S t a t e m e a n t t h a t t h e E a s t African A u t h o r i t y , the e x e c u t i v e b o d y c o m p o s e d o f the three heads o f state, w a s u n a b l e t o m e e t . O n the o t h e r h a n d U g a n d a ' s

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g r o w i n g isolation p r o d u c e d n e w difficulties for c o n t i n u i n g e c o ­ n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n . I n 1 9 7 2 A m i n ' s e x p u l s i o n o f all A s i a n s , c i t i z e n s as w e l l as n o n - c i t i z e n s , as p a r t o f h i s ' e c o n o m i c w a r ' , had serious repercussions e l s e w h e r e in the r e g i o n ; b u t m o r e serious w a s the abortive invasion o f U g a n d a attempted b y former President O b o t e ' s s u p p o r t e r s f r o m T a n z a n i a in S e p t e m b e r o f that year. M o s t fundamental, h o w e v e r , w e r e the g r o w i n g differences o f o u t l o o k b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e s t a t e s . N a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t s as p e r c e i v e d b y l e a d e r s s e e k i n g t o satisfy t h e i r c i t i z e n s ' a s p i r a t i o n s p u l l e d t h e t h r e e s t a t e s a p a r t , a n d b y 1 9 7 5 t h e s e h a d m a d e it a g o o d d e a l m o r e difficult t o c o n t e m p l a t e t h e r e g i o n a l s t r a t e g y f o r d e v e l o p m e n t o n w h i c h ultimately the C o m m u n i t y ' s future d e p e n d e d . T h e C o m ­ munity's attempts to regulate c o m p e t i t i o n for resources w i t h i n the region increasingly foundered o n the d o m e s t i c pressures exerted u p o n national leaders w i t h i n e a c h state. W h i l e there w a s an increasing and understandable t e n d e n c y to identify the differences b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e states i n t e r m s o f t h e i r i d e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n s , t h e r o o t o f t h e i r d i s s e n s i o n w a s in t h e final a n a l y s i s t h e c o m p e t i t i o n for scarce r e s o u r c e s b e t w e e n states w i t h significant disparities o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t as w e l l as d i f f e r i n g p o l i t i c a l a s p i r a t i o n s and priorities. T h e central f o c u s o f inter-state relations in C e n t r a l A f r i c a in the post-colonial years remained the struggle for i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m w h i t e - m i n o r i t y r u l e in t h e s o u t h . R h o d e s i a ' s U D I h i g h l i g h t e d Z a m b i a ' s c r i t i c a l p o s i t i o n as a f r o n t l i n e s t a t e , s e e k i n g t o b r e a k t h e e c o n o m i c dominance o f South Africa and reorient her e c o n o m i c as w e l l as h e r p o l i t i c a l l i n k s t o t h e n o r t h . A s e a r l y as 1 9 6 2 U N I P ' s party manifesto had included a c o m m i t m e n t to build a railway to East Africa. T h e T a n Z a m railway, l i n k i n g the C o p p e r b e l t to the East African coast, built w i t h Chinese assistance b e t w e e n 1967 and 1 9 7 5 , w a s thus a significant l a n d m a r k in inter-state relations for the region. B u t b y the time the T A N Z A M railway w a s finished in 1 9 7 5 , Z a m b i a had paid a h i g h price for her stand a g a i n s t R h o d e s i a a n d h e r c o n s i s t e n t s u p p o r t o f s a n c t i o n s as w e l l as o f t h e l i b e r a t i o n m o v e m e n t s . H e r e c o n o m y h a d s u f f e r e d increasingly f r o m the constraints i m p o s e d u p o n her b y her land­ locked position, and her security w a s o n successive occasions e n d a n g e r e d b y h e r c o n s i s t e n t s u p p o r t as t h e f r o n t l i n e s t a t e f o r t h e liberation m o v e m e n t s . P A F M E C S A d i s a p p e a r e d as e a c h p a r t i c i p a t i n g c o l o n y g a i n e d

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independence, but a n e w organisation o f East and Central African heads o f state, a n d heads o f g o v e r n m e n t m e e t i n g s , a t t e m p t e d to create a n e w institutional base for regional relations and to coordinate their policies, especially o n southern Africa. T h e L u s a k a Manifesto o f 1969 m a d e their position o n southern Africa c l e a r , b a s e d as it w a s o n a r e j e c t i o n o f r a c i a l i s m a n d a c o m m i t m e n t t o n o n - r a c i a l g o v e r n m e n t ; b u t w h e r e a s it w a s t h e n h o p e d t h a t a peaceful solution to the p r o b l e m s o f the white-ruled south m i g h t be found, the M o g a d i s h u Declaration o f 1971 a c k n o w l e d g e d there w a s n o w a y left f o r l i b e r a t i o n e x c e p t t h r o u g h a r m e d s t r u g g l e ; a p o s i t i o n t o w h i c h all states s a v e M a l a w i c o m m i t t e d t h e m s e l v e s . Paradoxically the continuing c o m m i t m e n t to the liberation o f southern Africa and the active support g i v e n to the liberation m o v e m e n t s i m p o s e d serious and increasing strains u p o n the relations b e t w e e n the n o w i n d e p e n d e n t states o f the r e g i o n . T h i s r e f l e c t e d c h a n g i n g i d e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n s as w e l l as d i f f e r i n g national interests. E c o n o m i c realities m a d e President B a n d a reject a break w i t h white-ruled Africa, and M a l a w i established diplo­ matic relations w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a in 1967 and P o r t u g a l in 1969. H i s c o n c i l i a t o r y p o l i c y t o w a r d s t h e s o u t h , h o w e v e r m u c h it m i g h t b e b a s e d u p o n a realistic assessment o f the constraints o f d e p e n d e n c y , nevertheless earned h i m a g o o d deal o f o p p r o b r i u m f r o m his neighbours, and o n successive occasions meetings o f the East and Central A f r i c a n heads o f state s a w an a t t e m p t t o e x p e l M a l a w i from that b o d y . Z a m b i a , T a n z a n i a a n d U g a n d a d r e w c l o s e r t o g e t h e r in the late 1960s, i n w h a t w a s k n o w n as t h e M u l u n g u s h i C l u b , i n f o r m a l m e e t i n g s o f l e a d e r s at p a r t y c o n f e r e n c e s , w h i c h t o o k p l a c e between 1967 and 1973. T h e 1971 c o u p b r o u g h t U g a n d a ' s association to an end for the time b e i n g . M o r e o v e r the need t o coordinate their policies o n R h o d e s i a , especially f r o m 1974, meant that the C l u b itself w a s superseded b y a similarly informal alliance o f front-line states: Z a m b i a , T a n z a n i a , M o z a m b i q u e and B o t s w a n a and later A n g o l a . T h e c h a n g e s in s o u t h e r n A f r i c a f o l l o w i n g the P o r t u g u e s e c o u p in 1974 meant therefore that the focus o f i n t e r s t a t e r e l a t i o n s m o v e d m o r e firmly t o t h e s o u t h . 4

Rhodesia e v a d e d a solution, notwithstanding successive talks b e t w e e n the minority r e g i m e and a British g o v e r n m e n t not un­ f a i r l y d e s c r i b e d b y Z a m b i a ' s H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r t o L o n d o n as a ' t o o t h l e s s b u l l d o g ' . B y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s m u c h o f the failure had 456

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to the internal crises w i t h i n the

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M u c h m o r e t h a n m o s t p a r t s o f s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a , t h e H o r n is a r e g i o n w i t h a h i s t o r i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y o f its o w n , c r e a t e d b y the interactions - and often

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d i g e n o u s peoples, rather than b y the imposition o f an external c o l o n i a l i s m . T h e f o r c e s w h i c h s o d r a s t i c a l l y affected A f r i c a d u r i n g the mid-twentieth century certainly had their impact o n the H o r n . B u t this i m p a c t w a s m e d i a t e d t h r o u g h

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p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s w h i c h s o f t e n e d s o m e o f its effects, a n d a d a p t e d it t o l o c a l f o r m s . T H E

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T h e geographical configurations and historical d e v e l o p m e n t s w h i c h e n d o w e d t h e H o r n w i t h its p e c u l i a r c h a r a c t e r h a v e b e e n e x a m i n e d in earlier v o l u m e s in this series. In s u m m a r y , t h e y c o m p r i s e the tensions b e t w e e n the social and political systems derived from the central E t h i o p i a n highlands and those d e r i v e d from the R e d Sea, G u l f o f A d e n and Indian O c e a n littoral, w i t h a buffer z o n e o f g r e a t l y v a r y i n g w i d t h b e t w e e n the t w o . E t h n i c a l l y , these tensions d i v i d e the A m h a r a and T i g r e a n peoples o f the highlands f r o m the n o m a d i c A f a r and S o m a l i o f the littoral, w i t h t h e O r o m o ( G a l l a ) b y far t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f t h e i n t e r m e d i a t e peoples. In religion, an a n a l o g o u s t h o u g h b y n o means identical d i v i s i o n s e p a r a t e s t h e O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n h i g h l a n d s f r o m its M u s l i m periphery. Politically the long-established E t h i o p i a n state, w i t h a s t r e n g t h f o u n d e d o n a r a b l e a g r i c u l t u r e , h a s c o n ­ tinuously attempted to i m p o s e itself o n s u r r o u n d i n g peoples with smaller or m o r e decentralised political structures. T h e s e tensions did not c h a n g e w i t h the introduction into the region either o f direct colonial rule, o r o f the technological, social and e c o n o m i c concomitants o f E u r o p e a n penetration. M o s t * T h e s p e l l i n g o f p r o p e r n a m e s in t h i s c h a p t e r is in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h c u r r e n t R o m a n usage.

4 5

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24 Ethiopia, Somalia and the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e E t h i o p i a n e m p i r e w a s a b l e t o c o m b i n e its indigenous capacity for large-scale military and administrative o r g a n i s a t i o n w i t h t h e r a p i d a c q u i s i t i o n o f i m p o r t e d firearms i n o r d e r b o t h t o m a i n t a i n its i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d t o e x p a n d its c o n t r o l o v e r l a r g e areas t o the east, s o u t h and w e s t o f the h i g h l a n d c o r e . A n A f r i c a n s t a t e t h u s r e m a i n e d i n d e p e n d e n t at t h e c e n t r e o f t h e r e g i o n until the i n v a s i o n and c o n q u e s t o f E t h i o p i a b y Italy in 1 9 3 5 - 6 . A r o u n d it, t h e f r a g m e n t e d l i t t o r a l fell t o v a r i o u s c o l o n i a l

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p o w e r s . T h e R e d Sea coast and the n o r t h e r n tip o f the E t h i o p i a n plateau b e c a m e the Italian c o l o n y o f Eritrea. T h e short stretch b e t w e e n the B a b - e l - M a n d e b and the G u l f o f Tajura w a s acquired b y F r a n c e as t h e F r e n c h S o m a l i C o a s t ( C F S ) . T h e B r i t i s h Somaliland Protectorate o c c u p i e d m o s t o f the Somali shore facing the G u l f o f A d e n . A n d the Indian O c e a n coast d o w n to the frontier w i t h British K e n y a b e c a m e Italian Somalia. N o n e o f these t e r r i t o r i e s , h o w e v e r , w a s t o a c q u i r e a n y a p p r e c i a b l e i d e n t i t y o f its o w n , a n d n o n e - at l e a s t u n t i l after t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d - w a s to f o l l o w the path usual in other parts o f Africa b y d e v e l o p i n g i n t o an i n d e p e n d e n t state w i t h i n the f o r m e r c o l o n i a l b o u n d a r i e s . R e g i o n a l linkages - especially the pull o f Ethiopia o n the o n e hand and o f Somali unification o n the other - w e r e to p r o v e t o o strong. A t the same time, d e v e l o p m e n t s w e r e taking place w h i c h c o u l d n o t s i m p l y b e r e g a r d e d as e x t e n s i o n s o f t h e o l d r e g i o n a l r i v a l r i e s . E u r o p e a n penetration created resources w h i c h could be used by local actors to c h a n g e , drastically, the nature and location o f political p o w e r . Western-style education w a s the m o s t o b v i o u s o f these, but equally important w e r e the organisational technologies w h i c h c o u l d b e used t o b u i l d p e r m a n e n t and differentiated structures o f g o v e r n m e n t o f a sort w h i c h the E t h i o p i a n empire, i n all its c e n t u r i e s o f e x i s t e n c e , h a d n e v e r b e e n a b l e t o d e v e l o p . T h o s e w h o controlled these structures - w h e t h e r parties, bu­ reaucracies or armies — b e c a m e the automatic wielders o f political p o w e r , a n d w e r e able t o differentiate t h e m s e l v e s f r o m o t h e r sections o f the p o p u l a t i o n . A n d e v e n t h o u g h the area remained, e c o n o m i c a l l y , o n e o f the least d e v e l o p e d in A f r i c a , s o m e c h a n g e s h a d a p p r e c i a b l e effects. T h e t h e m e o f t h i s c h a p t e r is t h e i n t e r a c t i o n in the m i d d l e years o f the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y b e t w e e n these i n n o v a t i o n s and the u n d e r l y i n g features o f the H o r n o f Africa. A t the b e g i n n i n g o f o u r period, the w h o l e r e g i o n (except for the F r e n c h enclave) had the fortuitous and transient unity i m p o s e d b y Italian c o n q u e s t . T h e Italian o c c u p a t i o n o f E t h i o p i a after t h e w a r o f 1 9 3 5 - 6 l e d t o t h e s e t t i n g u p o f a u n i f i e d g o v e r n m e n t for the w h o l e o f Italian East Africa (Eritrea, E t h i o p i a a n d S o m a l i a ) . T h i s w a s b a s e d at A d d i s A b a b a , a n d d i v i d e d i n t o six p r o v i n c e s w i t h h e a d q u a r t e r s i n A s m a r a , G o n d a r , A d d i s A b a b a , Jimma, Harar and M o g a d i s h u . In A u g u s t 1940, shortly after I t a l y ' s e n t r y i n t o t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , t h e I t a l i a n s a l s o overran the British Somaliland Protectorate. 460 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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T h e m a j o r l e g a c y o f this p e r i o d , in material t e r m s , w a s the system o f roads w h i c h the Italian administration built t h r o u g h o u t E t h i o p i a t o link w i t h t h o s e in Eritrea a n d - m o r e t e n u o u s l y Somalia. T h o u g h a l l o w e d to d e c a y d u r i n g the 1940s, they remained h i g h l y important for the maintainance o f central c o n t r o l . T h e political legacy w a s m o r e ambivalent. O n the o n e hand, Italian c o n q u e s t h e l p e d t o stimulate a n e w sense o f E t h i o p i a n nationalism, especially a m o n g s o m e o f those w h o had benefited f r o m s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n b e f o r e the Italian i n v a s i o n , w h i l e at the same time breaking d o w n local a u t o n o m y m o r e ruthlessly than an i n d i g e n o u s g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d h a v e d o n e . T h e E t h i o p i a n resistance - the ' P a t r i o t s ' - h e l p e d t o sustain a b e l i e f in E t h i o p i a n independence, e v e n t h o u g h the Patriot forces themselves w e r e politically fragmented and localised in leadership and o u t l o o k . A s against that, the Italians attempted t o m o b i l i s e local ethnic and r e l i g i o u s i n t e r e s t s s o as t o w e a k e n t h e o l d h i g h l a n d h e g e m o n y . T h e y e n c o u r a g e d I s l a m at t h e e x p e n s e o f O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n i t y and, to the rudimentary extent that a non-participant political s t r u c t u r e p e r m i t t e d , p r e s e n t e d t h e m s e l v e s as t h e p r o t e c t o r s o f f o r m e r l y s u b j e c t p e o p l e s a g a i n s t A m h a r a d o m i n a t i o n . F o r t h e first time, the great majority o f Somalis w e r e b r o u g h t under c o m m o n rule. I t a l y ' s e n t r y i n t o t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , h o w e v e r , left t h e Italian forces in the H o r n isolated f r o m the m e t r o p o l i t a n c o u n t r y , a m o n g a generally hostile p o p u l a t i o n . T h e rout o f the Italian armies in N o r t h A f r i c a in D e c e m b e r 1940 c o m p l e t e d their isolation, and released A l l i e d troops under British c o m m a n d for an assault o n Italian East Africa. O n e a r m y i n v a d e d Eritrea f r o m the Sudan, w h i l e another attacked Somalia f r o m K e n y a , and the E m p e r o r H a i l e S e l a s s i e , w h o h a d flown f r o m e x i l e i n E n g l a n d t o the S u d a n in D e c e m b e r 1940, entered E t h i o p i a t h r o u g h G o j j a m p r o v i n c e w i t h a small A n g l o - S u d a n e s e and Ethiopian force. T h e Italian forces w e r e s w i f t l y defeated, t h o u g h o n l y after h e a v y fighting at K e r e n i n E r i t r e a , a n d t h e last I t a l i a n g a r r i s o n , i n G o n d a r , surrendered in N o v e m b e r 1 9 4 1 .

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T h e B r i t i s h g o v e r n m e n t h a d already m a d e clear, in F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 1 , t h a t it w o u l d

w e l c o m e the

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throne. Haile Selassie m a d e g o o d this c l a i m b y his p r e s e n c e o n the spot and the allegiance he received f r o m the principal Patriot l e a d e r s . F i v e d a y s after e n t e r i n g A d d i s A b a b a , h e a s s e r t e d h i s p o s i t i o n b y m a k i n g h i s first m i n i s t e r i a l a p p o i n t m e n t s . T h e r e ­ after, h e p r o c e e d e d s t e a d i l y t o e x t e n d h i s p o w e r at t h e e x p e n s e o f any potential rival. Haile Selassie, w h o had b e c o m e regent o f E t h i o p i a in 1 9 1 6 a n d e m p e r o r in 1 9 3 0 , w a s a l r e a d y n e a r l y 50 y e a r s o l d w h e n h e r e t u r n e d t o h i s t h r o n e in 1 9 4 1 . H e w a s t o r u l e E t h i o p i a f o r a n o t h e r 33 y e a r s , u n q u e s t i o n a b l y t h e o u t s t a n d i n g i n d i v i d u a l in the H o r n t h r o u g h o u t this p e r i o d , a n d o n e o f the best k n o w n a n d r e s p e c t e d A f r i c a n s i n t h e c o n t i n e n t as a w h o l e as w e l l as o u t s i d e it, n o t least as ' R a s T a f a r i ' . T h a t h e w a s o u s t e d f r o m p o w e r in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s is n o t p e r h a p s s o r e m a r k a b l e as t h e f a c t t h a t h e h e l d it s o l o n g . O n l y p a r t l y c o u l d t h i s fact b e a s c r i b e d t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e i m p e r i a l o f f i c e : e m p e r o r s in t h e past had been u n d e r constant threat f r o m w o u l d - b e rivals, and H a i l e S e l a s s i e g a i n e d p o w e r , as h e l o s t it, b y coup d'etat. It w a s d u e q u i t e as m u c h t o h i s o w n p o l i t i c a l s k i l l s , w h i c h h a d e n a b l e d h i m t o g a i n first t h e r e g e n c y a n d t h e n t h e t h r o n e f r o m a c o m p a r a t i v e l y junior p o s i t i o n in the imperial family. H i s particular s t r e n g t h w a s in r e c o g n i s i n g p o t e n t i a l l y d a n g e r o u s s o u r c e s o f political influence, and in r e d u c i n g these to d e p e n d e n c e o n h i m b y p l a y i n g o f f r i v a l f a c t i o n s a n d i n d i v i d u a l s . It e n a b l e d h i m t o accommodate himself both to changing circumstances within E t h i o p i a and to the complexities o f international politics, until he w a s into his eighties. H i s first t a s k i n 1 9 4 1 w a s t o r e g u l a t e h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e British military forces, w h i c h effectively c o n t r o l l e d the c o u n t r y p e n d i n g the formation o f a civil administration. T h i s w a s achieved b y the A n g l o - E t h i o p i a n A g r e e m e n t o f January 1942, u n d e r w h i c h Britain recognised E t h i o p i a n independence, but retained special p r i v i l e g e s w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e d in E t h i o p i a n eyes an irritating slight o n national s o v e r e i g n t y . T h e s e included the p r o v i s i o n that n o foreign advisers be appointed w i t h o u t British g o v e r n m e n t c o n ­ sent, and that a British j u d g e s h o u l d hear any c o u r t case i n v o l v i n g f o r e i g n e r s . T h i s s p e c i a l s t a t u s w a s a b a n d o n e d in a s e c o n d a g r e e ­ m e n t o f D e c e m b e r 1 9 4 4 , t h o u g h B r i t a i n still c o n t i n u e d t o administer the S o m a l i - i n h a b i t e d H a u d and O g a d e n areas o f s o u t h - e a s t E t h i o p i a . T h e r e c r u i t m e n t o f f o r e i g n a d v i s e r s - at first British and subsequently o f several nationalities, including notably 462

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a number o f Americans - had been intended to promote the extension o f the administrative reforms w h i c h Haile Selassie h a d i n i t i a t e d b e f o r e 1 9 3 5 . T o s o m e e x t e n t , it d i d . M u c h o f t h e f o r m a l administrative structure dating from the liberation period w a s t o r e m a i n i n f o r c e o v e r t h e s u b s e q u e n t t h r e e d e c a d e s . A n official g o v e r n m e n t g a z e t t e , Negarit Ga%eta w a s e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f a p p o i n t m e n t s , l e g i s l a t i o n a n d o t h e r official n o t i c e s . T h e p o w e r s o f g o v e r n m e n t ministries w e r e defined in 1943, and other imperial orders at the same p e r i o d regulated p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t , t h e j u d i c i a r y , a n d t h e official s t a t u s o f t h e O r t h o d o x C h u r c h . A start w a s m a d e at f o r m a l b u d g e t i n g . B u t t h e s e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a r r a n g e m e n t s m a d e little d i f f e r e n c e t o t h e e f f e c t i v e allocation o f political p o w e r , w h i c h remained tightly concentrated in t h e e m p e r o r ' s h a n d s . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c y o f t h e 1940s a n d e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s w a s t h e office o f t h e e m p e r o r ' s s e c r e t a r y , t h e tsahafe te^at^ w h o u n d e r h i s n e w title o f M i n i s t e r o f the P e n w a s responsible for sending o u t the imperial orders o n w h i c h the administration entirely d e p e n d e d . T h e h o l d e r o f this office f r o m 1 9 4 1 t o 1 9 5 5 , T s a h a f e T e z a z W a l d a - G i y o r g i s , w a s Haile Selassie's closest confidant, a n d the principal manipulator o f the court factions w h i c h m a n o e u v r e d for place and influence under the throne. T h e prime minister o f the period, R a s B i t w o d e d M a k o n n e n E n d a l k a c h e w , w a s b y c o n t r a s t little m o r e t h a n a dignified figurehead. y

1

W h i l e the re-establishment o f imperial control at the centre w a s a comparatively straightforward matter, the provinces presented m o r e o f a p r o b l e m . M a n y o f them, especially in the north, had well-established traditions o f local a u t o n o m y , a n d in m a n y areas also the Patriot leaders retained appreciable f o l l o w i n g s . Dissatis­ fied f o r m e r P a t r i o t s w e r e t o l e a d m o s t o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n m o v e m e n t s against H a i l e Selassie in t h e 1940s a n d early 1950s. T h e e m p e r o r ' s first m o v e w a s t o s y s t e m a t i s e t h e p a t c h w o r k o f p r e - w a r g o v e r n a t e s i n t o 1 2 p r o v i n c e s , d i v i d e d i n t o s o m e 75 s u b - p r o v i n c e s , a p p o i n t m e n t s t o all o f w h i c h w e r e m a d e f r o m t h e centre. T h e g o v e r n o r s w e r e deprived o f military initiative b y the creation o f a central standing army in place o f the o l d provincial l e v i e s , a n d o f financial c o n t r o l b y a c e n t r a l i s e d t a x c o l l e c t i o n a n d e x p e n d i t u r e s t r u c t u r e . H o w e v e r , it w a s still n e c e s s a r y t o a p p o i n t to some o f the governorships m e n w i t h local prestige and 1

C . C l a p h a m , Halle-Selassie's government ( L o n d o n , 1969), 1 1 0 - 7 .

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c o n n e x i o n s . T h e first t r o u b l e s a r o s e i n 1 9 4 2 i n G o j j a m , a n A m h a r a p r o v i n c e and centre o f Patriot resistance, a n d w e r e led b y a Patriot, D e j a z m a c h Belay Zeleke, w h o w a s evidently displeased with the sub-provincial governorship w h i c h he had been given, but could also d r a w o n discontents w i t h the n e w taxation system. H i s rebellion w a s defeated w i t h o u t difficulty, b u t t o secure local quiescence taxation w a s restored t o the pre-war level. T h e T i g r e r e b e l l i o n o f 1942—3 w a s m o r e s e r i o u s , b o t h b e c a u s e it r e c e i v e d m u c h greater s u p p o r t , a n d b e c a u s e s o m e o f its leaders aspired t o separate f r o m E t h i o p i a a n d unite w i t h Eritrea, then u n d e r British military administration. G o v e r n m e n t t r o o p s sent t o c o n t r o l the u p r i s i n g w e r e c u t off, a n d r e s c u e d o n l y after b o m b i n g b y B r i t i s h aircraft b a s e d in A d e n . I n s o u t h e r n E t h i o p i a , t h e central g o v e r n m e n t h a d a f r e e r h a n d t o e s t a b l i s h its o w n n o m i n e e s , a n d g o v e r n o r s h i p s c o u l d b e u s e d as r e w a r d s f o r i m p e r i a l p r o t e g e s o r n o r t h e r n Patriots w h o m it w i s h e d t o r e m o v e f r o m their h o m e bases. M u c h o f the exploitation w h i c h h a d characterised earlier E t h i o p i a n administration in the area c o n t i n u e d , m o s t n o t o r i o u s b e i n g the acquisition o f land b y R a s Mesfin Sileshi, g o v e r n o r o f K a f f a p r o v i n c e f r o m 1 9 4 6 t o 195 5. 1

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T h e I t a l i a n c o l l a p s e i n t h e H o r n left t h e w h o l e a r e a ( e x c e p t f o r the F r e n c h S o m a l i Coast) u n d e r British c o n t r o l , a n d o n c e E t h i o p i a n i n d e p e n d e n c e h a d b e e n r e - e s t a b l i s h e d , B r i t a i n w a s left with responsibility for the periphery. British military adminis­ trations w e r e established in Eritrea, former Italian S o m a l i a , a n d British S o m a l i l a n d , w i t h an A d m i n i s t r a t o r at Jigjiga, in E t h i o p i a , in c h a r g e o f t h e S o m a l i - i n h a b i t e d areas o f E t h i o p i a w h i c h h a d been reserved for British administration. After the w a r , the military administrations w e r e gradually replaced b y civilian ones, but the q u e s t i o n o f w h a t s h o u l d b e d o n e w i t h the f o r m e r Italian colonies remained open. Their disposal w a s undertaken b y the four 'great p o w e r s ' - the U S A , U S S R , Britain and France - w h o , f a i l i n g t o a g r e e , left i t t o t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s . E s s e n t i a l l y , t h e r e w e r e t w o a l t e r n a t i v e s . T h e first, association in s o m e form w i t h Ethiopia, w a s energetically pressed b y t h e E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t f o r S o m a l i a as w e l l a s f o r E r i t r e a . 1

P. G i l k e s , The dying lion ( L o n d o n , 1975), 1 8 7 - 9 1 .

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O v e r and a b o v e the f o r m a l reasons g i v e n for this c l a i m - the alleged historic boundaries o f Ethiopia, the invasions from the I t a l i a n c o l o n i e s i n 1896 a n d 1935, t h e d e s i r e f o r a c c e s s t o t h e s e a - it reflected an intensely held historic m i s s i o n t o maintain and e x t e n d the frontiers o f the state, w h i c h H a i l e Selassie shared w i t h his p r e d e c e s s o r s as e m p e r o r a n d r u l e r o f S h o a , as w e l l as w i t h h i s military successors. T h e s e c o n d w a s s o m e f o r m o f trusteeship, l e a d i n g e v e n t u a l l y t o i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n t h e e v e n t , o n e t e r r i t o r y fell into each category. In Eritrea, the question w a s complicated b y the territory's ethnic and religious divisions, and b y the connexions b e t w e e n these and outside actors. T h e r e w e r e strong historic links b e t w e e n the highland Christians, w h o comprised a b o u t half o f the p o p u ­ lation, and Ethiopia, and the Unionist Party (favouring union w i t h E t h i o p i a ) w a s first i n t h e field. I t w a s h e a v i l y s u p p o r t e d b y t h e E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t , a n d o r g a n i s e d at l o c a l l e v e l t h r o u g h the O r t h o d o x C h u r c h . Christian support for u n i o n w i t h E t h i o p i a w a s h o w e v e r offset b y t h e a n c i e n t r i v a l r y b e t w e e n t h e T i g r e a n northern part o f the E t h i o p i a n plateau and the A m h a r a and especially S h o a n south, w h i c h controlled the Ethiopian g o v e r n ­ ment. T h i s a m b i v a l e n c e w a s e m b o d i e d in the Christian Separatists, later called the L i b e r a l P r o g r e s s i v e P a r t y ( L P P ) , w h o w a n t e d an independent Eritrea, ideally in association w i t h the T i g r e p r o v i n c e o f Ethiopia. T h e M u s l i m g r o u p s w h i c h comprised the other half o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n c o a l e s c e d i n 1946 i n t o t h e M u s l i m L e a g u e , w h i c h l i k e w i s e c a m p a i g n e d for i n d e p e n d e n c e , and briefly joined w i t h t h e L P P i n 1949-50 t o f o r m t h e I n d e p e n d e n c e B l o c . T h e B l o c s o o n fragmented, h o w e v e r , and the Unionists w e r e able to present a s t r o n g e n o u g h front t o help the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y decide, in D e c e m b e r 1950, t h a t E r i t r e a s h o u l d b e f e d e r a t e d w i t h E t h i o p i a under the sovereignty o f the Ethiopian C r o w n . T h e L P P leader, W o l d e a b W o l d e m a r i a m , and several M u s l i m politicians, w e n t into e x i l e . T h e f e d e r a l a r r a n g e m e n t s c a m e i n t o effect i n S e p t e m b e r 1952, w i t h t h e E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t a s s u m i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r d e f e n c e , c u r r e n c y a n d e x t e r n a l affairs, w h i l e a l o c a l l y e l e c t e d g o v e r n m e n t in A s m a r a , headed initially b y the U n i o n i s t leader T e d l a B a y r u , held residual p o w e r s . W h i l e the main p r o b l e m in Eritrea w a s the territory's frag­ m e n t a t i o n b e t w e e n h o s t i l e g r o u p s , i n S o m a l i a it w a s q u i t e t h e o p p o s i t e : the spread o f Somalis across several territories. Since

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the Somali-inhabited parts o f E t h i o p i a remained u n d e r British administration b y the 1944 A g r e e m e n t , the administrative unit established b y the Italians w a s n o t upset. T h e British adminis­ tration w a s for the m o s t part willingly received b y the Somalis, b o t h as a d e l i v e r a n c e f r o m F a s c i s m a n d b e c a u s e o f t h e s t r o n g S o m a l i s y m p a t h i e s o f m a n y o f t h e officials i n v o l v e d i n i t , a n d a S o m a l i p o l i c e force w a s recruited u n d e r B r i t i s h officers. D i s t r i c t a n d p r o v i n c i a l a d v i s o r y councils w e r e created in 1946, a n d a n u m b e r o f clubs and associations w e r e f o r m e d t o express S o m a l i aspira­ tions, m o s t important b e i n g the Somali Y o u t h C l u b o p e n e d in M a y 1943. W h e n the disposal o f Italian Somalia c a m e u p before the four p o w e r s in 1946, the British F o r e i g n Secretary, Ernest B e v i n , s u g g e s t e d that the existing u n i o n o f Somali territories b e continued b y creating a trusteeship, preferably under British supervision. T h i s ' B e v i n Plan', frequently to be i n v o k e d b y supporters o f Somali unification, found n o f a v o u r w i t h the other t h r e e p o w e r s - w h o r e g a r d e d it m e r e l y a s a p r e t e x t f o r e x t e n d i n g British control - and w a s v i g o r o u s l y o p p o s e d b y Ethiopia. Since Britain h a d a c k n o w l e d g e d E t h i o p i a n s o v e r e i g n t y in the H a u d a n d O g a d e n r e g i o n s , t h e r e w a s little s h e c o u l d d o t o s a t i s f y t h e S o m a l i aspirations w h i c h the B e v i n Plan had aroused, and in September 1948 t h e s e r e g i o n s w e r e t r a n s f e r r e d t o E t h i o p i a n c o n t r o l . T h e p r o v i s i o n a l administrative line established b y the British b e c a m e , in t h e a b s e n c e o f a n y d e m a r c a t e d b o u n d a r y , t h e de facto f r o n t i e r b e t w e e n E t h i o p i a a n d S o m a l i a . T h e d i s p o s a l o f S o m a l i a itself, m e a n w h i l e , w a s referred t o the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y o f the United N a t i o n s , w h i c h decided in N o v e m b e r 1 9 4 9 - i n defiance o f the w i s h e s o f m o s t S o m a l i s - t o e n t r u s t it f o r t e n y e a r s t o I t a l i a n trusteeship. T h e S o m a l i territories w e r e thus o n c e more dismembered. 1

T h e last a n d l e a s t s i g n i f i c a n t o f t h e m a l l , t h e F r e n c h S o m a l i Coast, w a s i n v o l v e d o n l y v e r y indirectly w i t h these d e v e l o p m e n t s . Its g o v e r n o r s s u c c e e d e d i n m a i n t a i n i n g i t s a u t o n o m y f r o m b o t h t h e I t a l i a n s a n d t h e B r i t i s h i n 1 9 4 0 - 2 , t h o u g h it c h a n g e d a l l e g i a n c e from the V i c h y g o v e r n m e n t t o the Free French in D e c e m b e r 1942. After the w a r , the absolute authority o f the French g o v e r n o r w a s modified b y the formation o f a Representative Council, to w h i c h members w e r e partly appointed, and partly elected o n an extremely restricted franchise. Seats in the c o u n c i l w e r e restricted, t o o , t o 1

I. M . L e w i s , The modern history of Somaliland ( L o n d o n , 1965), 1 1 6 - 3 8 .

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m e m b e r s o f specified ethnic g r o u p s - F r e n c h m e n , A f a r s , A r a b s a n d I s s a - S o m a l i s - a n d t h i s a r r a n g e m e n t p e r s i s t e d e v e n after t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f m e m b e r s w a s a b o l i s h e d i n 1 9 5 0 . It h e l p e d t o ensure that politics in the territory w e r e closely b o u n d u p w i t h local ethnic rivalries, and scarcely concerned w i t h w i d e r d e v e l o p ­ m e n t s in t h e r e g i o n as a w h o l e . 1

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T h r o u g h o u t s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a , t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r a n d its aftermath helped, directly o r indirectly, to f o m e n t the g r o w t h in African political awareness w h i c h led to the formation o f nationalist m o v e m e n t s and ultimately to independence. In the H o r n , w h i c h a l o n e in B l a c k A f r i c a w a s actually f o u g h t o v e r d u r i n g t h e w a r , t h e effects m i g h t h a v e b e e n e x p e c t e d t o b e especially m a r k e d . S o , in m a n y w a y s , t h e y w e r e . H o w e v e r , w h i l e m a n y o f t h e b a s i c p r o c e s s e s at w o r k w e r e v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h o s e in o t h e r p a r t s o f t h e c o n t i n e n t , t h e s e n e c e s s a r i l y i n t e r a c t e d b o t h w i t h the u n d e r l y i n g conflicts in the r e g i o n and w i t h the a d m i n ­ istrative structures already outlined. T h e results w e r e varied. In s o m e parts o f the r e g i o n , the g r o w t h o f political awareness c o u l d be directed t h r o u g h existing structures to p r o d u c e an o u t c o m e w h i c h reflected the aspirations o f the p e o p l e s c o n c e r n e d ; here, the channels o f politicisation m i g h t b e said to b e ' o p e n ' . In o t h e r territories, they w e r e ' c l o s e d ' b y structures w h i c h intervened either to p r e v e n t political awareness from arising, or to p r e v e n t it f r o m f u l f i l l i n g t h e a s p i r a t i o n s t o w h i c h it w a s d i r e c t e d , a n d w h i c h led eventually to violence. T h e clearest e x a m p l e o f o p e n politicisation w a s in Somalia and B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d , w h e r e t h e first s t i r r i n g s o f m o d e r n S o m a l i n a t i o n a l i s m w e r e e v i d e n t s o o n after t h e I t a l i a n d e f e a t . A m e a s u r e o f S o m a l i c o n s c i o u s n e s s and o p p o s i t i o n to alien rule had b e e n present t h r o u g h o u t the colonial period, m o s t o b v i o u s l y in the campaigns o f Sayyid M u h a m m a d A b d i l l e Hasan. In the p o s t - w a r p e r i o d , t h i s w a s f a n n e d b y t h e e v e n t s w h i c h b r o u g h t a l m o s t all S o m a l i territories u n d e r c o m m o n rule, and r e o p e n e d the q u e s t i o n o f their disposition. T h e n e w m o v e m e n t , w h i c h m a y be dated f r o m the f o u n d a t i o n o f the S o m a l i Y o u t h C l u b in 1 9 4 3 , differed c

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f r o m t h e o l d i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s t m e a n s t h r o u g h w h i c h it p u r s u e d its e n d s , i n its r e a d i n e s s t o a c c e p t i n n o v a t i o n s s u c h as western education w h i c h traditionalists had regarded w i t h sus­ p i c i o n , a n d i n its c o n s c i o u s a t t e m p t t o r e p u d i a t e t h e c l a n d i v i s i o n s o n w h i c h nomadic Somali society w a s based. T h e club's support spread rapidly, especially a m o n g educated Somalis, and b y the t i m e it c h a n g e d its n a m e t o t h e S o m a l i Y o u t h L e a g u e ( S Y L ) i n 1947 it h a d a d h e r e n t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e S o m a l i t e r r i t o r i e s , i n c l u d i n g the H a u d and O g a d e n and north-east K e n y a . In k e e p i n g w i t h the e g a l i t a r i a n s p i r i t o f S o m a l i n o m a d i s m , it h a d n o s i n g l e d o m i n a n t leader, u n l i k e m o s t nationalist m o v e m e n t s e l s e w h e r e in the continent. Inevitably, the S Y L c a m e to be associated w i t h s o m e g r o u p s m o r e than others in S o m a l i society, and especially w i t h the D a r o d w h o , as t h e l a r g e s t a n d m o s t w i d e l y s p r e a d o f t h e S o m a l i c l a n f a m i l i e s , h a d t h e g r e a t e s t c o n c e r n f o r u n i f i c a t i o n . T h i s left t h e w a y o p e n for the formation o f other parties based o n sectarian interests, the m o s t important o f w h i c h in S o m a l i a itself w a s the H i z b i a D i g i l - M i r i f l e S o m a l i ( H D M S ) f o u n d e d i n 1947 t o r e p r e s e n t t h e sedentary D i g i l and R a h a n w e y n peoples o f the J u b a and Shebele basin. A n u m b e r o f small pro-Italian g r o u p s w e r e also f o r m e d , w i t h active Italian s u p p o r t , t o press for the restoration o f S o m a l i a to Italy. T h e S Y L had s t r o n g l y o p p o s e d Italian trusteeship, and several clashes b e t w e e n the L e a g u e and the n e w Italian admin­ i s t r a t i o n t o o k p l a c e b e t w e e n 1950 a n d 1952. H o w e v e r , t h e I t a l i a n s w e r e strictly limited b y the terms o f their trusteeship, w h i c h w a s t o last for o n l y t e n y e a r s , a n d b o t h sides e v e n t u a l l y realised t h e benefits o f c o o p e r a t i o n . T h e a d v i s o r y territorial c o u n c i l f o r m e d i n 1950 w a s t r a n s f o r m e d i n 1956 i n t o a n e l e c t e d l e g i s l a t u r e . T e n o f t h e 70 s e a t s w e r e r e s e r v e d f o r s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s , a n d o f t h e r e m a i n d e r t h e S Y L w o n 43 a n d t h e H D M S 13. T h e S Y L f o r m e d a g o v e r n m e n t under 'Abdillahi 'Ise from the H a w i y e clan family. A f t e r t h i s s u c c e s s , t h e S Y L w a s a b l e t o e x p a n d its s u p p o r t a m o n g t h e D i g i l a n d R h a n w e y n g r o u p s . B u t as w i t h m a n y o t h e r s u c c e s s f u l p a r t i e s , t h e m o r e its s u p p o r t e r s i n c r e a s e d , t h e g r e a t e r t h e d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n it b e c a m e . T h e s e d i v i s i o n s e n c o m p a s s e d t h e w h o l e range o f issues facing Somalia, i n c l u d i n g clan rivalries, attitudes t o w a r d s Somali unification and the S o m a l i script, and relations w i t h the A r a b w o r l d . T h e y w e r e increased rather than d i m i n i s h e d b y t h e 1959 e l e c t i o n s , w h i c h s a w t h e S Y L w i n 83 o u t

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o f 90 seats i n arl e n l a r g e d A s s e m b l y a n d i n c o r p o r a t e m a n y f o r m e r m e m b e r s o f t h e H D M S . H o w e v e r , S o m a l i s w e r e at l e a s t a b l e t o discuss these issues w i t h i n a constitutional structure w h i c h represented them, a n d w h i c h they h a d a large share in d e v i s i n g . W i t h i n British Somaliland there w a s none o f the u r g e n c y imparted b y the ten-year trusteeship in Somalia, and in b o t h political and social d e v e l o p m e n t s the territory tended t o l a g behind. T h e S Y L spread into the territory and w a s especially s t r o n g a m o n g the D a r o d clans in the east, b u t the d o m i n a n t party was the Somaliland National L e a g u e ( S N L ) , w h o s e strength lay a m o n g m e m b e r s o f the Isaq clan family w h i c h c o m p r i s e d m o s t o f the population. N o b u r n i n g issue appeared t o f o m e n t political p a r t i c i p a t i o n u n t i l 1 9 5 4 , w h e n t h e r e l i n q u i s h i n g o f t h e last v e s t i g e s o f B r i t i s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n t h e H a u d left t h e g r a z i n g lands o n w h i c h m a n y n o m a d s in the territory relied under Ethiopian control. This caused an immediate outcry, and the political consciousness w h i c h had been aroused did n o t disappear, t h o u g h e v e n as l a t e a s 1 9 5 9 t h e L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l still h a d a m a j o r i t y o f a p p o i n t e d official m e m b e r s . I n t h e F e b r u a r y i 9 6 0 e l e c t i o n s , t h e S N L g a i n e d 20 o f t h e 33 s e a t s , i t s a l l y t h e U n i t e d Somali Party ( U S P ) 12 o f the remainder, and the S N L leader M u h a m m a d Haji I b r a h i m Igal b e c a m e L e a d e r o f G o v e r n m e n t Business. A l l parties f a v o u r e d unification w i t h Somalia in the cause o f Somali unity, and there w a s considerable grass-roots pressure f o r this t o take p l a c e as s o o n as p o s s i b l e . B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s h u r r i e d l y a c h i e v e d o n 26 J u n e i960, and w h e n Somalia became independent o n the ending o f Italian trusteeship o n 1 July, the t w o countries i m m e d i a t e l y united as t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c . G o v e r n m e n t p o s t s w e r e d i s t r i b u t e d a m o n g leading politicians f r o m b o t h territories, under the premiership o f ' A b d al-Rashid ' A l i Shirmarke, a D a r o d S Y L leader from the south. 1

F o r Somalis in other territories, this painless route t o nation­ h o o d w a s n o t a v a i l a b l e . T h e fact t h a t E t h i o p i a w a s i n d e p e n d e n t already, and K e n y a w a s eventually t o b e c o m e s o , w a s scarcely t o the point. Somali aspirations w e r e n o t only * tribalist' - w h i c h did n o t b a r t h e m f r o m political p a r t i c i p a t i o n , at a n y rate in K e n y a - b u t separatist, w h i c h d i d . K e n y a lies o u t s i d e t h e s c o p e o f this c h a p t e r . I n E t h i o p i a , s o m e efforts w e r e m a d e t o w i n a t l e a s t t h e s e m b l a n c e 1

L e w i s , Somaliland, 139-65.

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o f support from locally resident Somalis, largely t h r o u g h the m a n i p u l a t i o n o f factional disputes in w h i c h o n e side w o u l d receive E t h i o p i a n s u p p o r t in e x c h a n g e for a declaration o f allegiance. A f e w S o m a l i s r e c e i v e d g o v e r n m e n t j o b s in A d d i s A b a b a or w e r e elected to the E t h i o p i a n parliament, and m a n y m o r e w e r e g i v e n E t h i o p i a n titles. T h e m e a n s available for e x p r e s s i n g political participation o f the k i n d that o b t a i n e d in Somalia or British Somaliland did not, h o w e v e r , exist, and the possibility o f a l l o w i n g the area to secede t o join the o t h e r S o m a l i t e r r i t o r i e s , r e p u g n a n t as it w a s t o t h e h i s t o r i c n a t i o n a l m i s s i o n w h i c h H a i l e S e l a s s i e felt h i m s e l f t o e m b o d y , w a s e n t i r e l y excluded. In the F r e n c h S o m a l i C o a s t , the political aspirations o f the Issa Somalis remained for m a n y years detached from those o f the other territories, and w e r e pressed t h r o u g h local institutions. T h e territory v o t e d h e a v i l y t o r e m a i n w i t h F r a n c e in the 1958 R e f e r e n d u m , a n d the Issa leader w h o h a d c a m p a i g n e d for u n i o n w i t h S o m a l i a , M u h a m m a d H a r b i , fled t o M o g a d i s h u . I n t h e f o l l o w i n g years, the F r e n c h helped to bring A f a r s to p r o m i n e n c e in territorial p o l i t i c s , s o that b y the t i m e the Issas h a d b e e n fully mobilised to the cause o f S o m a l i nationalism they found the possibility o f u n i o n w i t h the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c b l o c k e d b y an A f a r majority, supported b y the French and Ethiopians w h o had a c o m m o n interest in p r e v e n t i n g S o m a l i c o n t r o l o v e r the J i b u t i A d d i s A b a b a railway. Differences b e t w e e n Afars and Issa-Somalis w e r e further polarised w h e n G e n e r a l de G a u l l e , visiting the t e r r i t o r y in A u g u s t 1 9 6 6 , w a s c o n f r o n t e d b y S o m a l i d e m a n d s f o r independence. H e reacted b y calling a referendum o n the t e r r i t o r y ' s future in M a r c h 1 9 6 7 , in w h i c h the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , b y m o b i l i s i n g the A f a r v o t e and e x p e l l i n g i m m i g r a n t S o m a l i s , s u c c e e d e d i n o b t a i n i n g a 61 p e r c e n t m a j o r i t y f o r r e m a i n i n g w i t h F r a n c e . T h e territory, r e n a m e d the F r e n c h A f a r a n d Issa T e r r i t o r y ( T F A I ) , w a s g o v e r n e d b y this F r e n c h - A f a r alliance until 1 9 7 6 , w h e n t h e F r e n c h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n r e v e r s e d its p o l i c y b y s e e k i n g a b r o a d l y based coalition to take the territory to i n d e p e n d e n c e in 1 9 7 7 . T h e m o r e n u m e r o u s A f a r l i v i n g w i t h i n E t h i o p i a w e r e left almost entirely unadministered, and consequently unpoliticised, u n d e r the Sultan A l i M i r r a o f A u s s a . W h e r e a s d e c o l o n i s a t i o n in S o m a l i a a n d B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d l e d t o u l t i m a t e u n i o n a n d i n d e p e n d e n c e , it w a s v e r y d i f f e r e n t i n 470

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Eritrea. F o r a start, the p r o c e s s o f politicisation u n d e r the B r i t i s h administration o f 1 9 4 1 - 5 2 had s h o w n h o w d i v e r g e n t w e r e the aspirations o f different g r o u p s w i t h i n the p o p u l a t i o n . I n a d d i t i o n , association w i t h E t h i o p i a u n d e r the 1 9 5 2 f e d e r a t i o n g a v e little o p p o r t u n i t y f o r a n y o f t h e s e a s p i r a t i o n s t o b e satisfied. T h e E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t f r o m the start r e g a r d e d the a u t o n o m o u s E r i t r e a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n as a d a n g e r , b o t h i n its o w n r i g h t as a source o f p o w e r independent o f the h i g h l y centralised imperial r e g i m e , a n d f o r its p o s s i b l e effects o n o t h e r a r e a s o f t h e e m p i r e . It t h e r e f o r e s e t i t s e l f t o r e d u c e E r i t r e a t o c e n t r a l c o n t r o l , a p r o c e s s achieved o v e r the ten years to 1962, w h e n the Eritrean assembly w a s i n d u c e d t o d i s s o l v e itself. E r i t r e a w a s t h e n r e d u c e d t o t h e status o f an ordinary E t h i o p i a n p r o v i n c e , ruled b y a g o v e r n o r general appointed from A d d i s A b a b a . In the process, r o o m w a s found for quite a n u m b e r o f individual Eritreans loyal to the g o v e r n m e n t t o be a p p o i n t e d t o h i g h p o s i t i o n s in A d d i s A b a b a . T h e machinery for g r o u p representation, o n the other hand, w a s d i s m a n t l e d . P o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s d i s a p p e a r e d . T h i s left o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t h o s e p o l i t i c i a n s w h o h a d fled f r o m E r i t r e a at t h e t i m e o f f e d e r a t i o n t o r e - e n t e r p o l i t i c a l life i n t h e p r o v i n c e as l e a d e r s o f an u n d e r g r o u n d m o v e m e n t w h i c h o p p o s e d E t h i o p i a n rule b y means o f terrorism and guerrilla warfare. T h i s m o v e m e n t , the E r i t r e a n L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t ( E L F ) , w a s f o r m e d in the early 1960s a n d f r o m a b o u t 1965 m a d e its p r e s e n c e felt i n E r i t r e a . I t s a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e e a r l y y e a r s d e p e n d e d h e a v i l y o n t h e s u p p o r t it r e c e i v e d f r o m A r a b states, especially Syria and Iraq, and w e r e largely confined to the M u s l i m l o w l a n d s o f the p r o v i n c e . F r o m the early 1970s, t h o u g h d i v i d e d i n t o t w o a n d l a t e r t h r e e f a c t i o n s , it g r e w t o b e a considerable threat to the central g o v e r n m e n t , t y i n g d o w n large numbers o f Ethiopian troops, and extending operations to the Eritrean highlands. I n E t h i o p i a itself, f i n a l l y , p o l i t i c i s a t i o n w a s c o n s i s t e n t l y i n ­ hibited b o t h positively b y the imperial g o v e r n m e n t , and negatively b y the absence o f the stimulus to participation p r o v i d e d e l s e w h e r e b y decolonisation. W h e r e a s in e v e r y other territory in the r e g i o n t h e r e w a s at l e a s t s o m e p e r i o d d u r i n g w h i c h p o l i t i c i a n s w e r e a l l o w e d to form parties, and to appeal for electoral s u p p o r t o n the strength o f their p r o g r a m m e s o r ethnic identity, this w a s n o t the case in E t h i o p i a o u t s i d e Eritrea. U n d e r the r e v i s e d c o n s t i ­ t u t i o n o f 1 9 5 5 , p r o m u l g a t e d p a r t l y at l e a s t i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e 47i

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Eritrean federation, the l o w e r house o f parliament w a s from 1957 elected b y p o p u l a r suffrage; b u t since parties w e r e n o t permitted and the C h a m b e r o f D e p u t i e s exercised n o control o v e r the e x e c u t i v e , it r e m a i n e d l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a s o u n d i n g b o a r d f o r l o c a l g r i e v a n c e s . U n l i k e the p o s i t i o n in Eritrea, there w a s neither the rural political consciousness n o r the g r o u p o f exiled politicians needed to m o u n t a guerrilla challenge to the g o v e r n m e n t . In these circumstances, demands for increased political participation c a m e largely from the centre: from the students and y o u n g e r educated officials w h o w e r e t r a i n e d t o m a n t h e n e w c e n t r a l i s i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s o f g o v e r n m e n t . T h e s e , rather than provincial politicians, consti­ tuted the immediate potential opposition to the regime. M a n y o f t h e m w e r e educated abroad, and returning h o m e from the early 1950s o n w a r d s , c a m e t o see their o w n g o v e r n m e n t , presided o v e r b y a n a g e i n g e m p e r o r a n d h i s c o u r t i e r s , as u n c o m m i t t e d t o t h e goals o f d y n a m i c modernisation w h i c h they s a w their c o n t e m ­ poraries in the nationalist m o v e m e n t s p u r s u i n g in o t h e r parts o f Africa. M a n y o f the same ideas spread to the a r m e d forces, w h i c h H a i l e S e l a s s i e h a d b u i l t u p r a p i d l y after t h e l i b e r a t i o n , u n t i l b y t h e late 1 9 5 0 s it c o m p r i s e d t h r e e i n f a n t r y d i v i s i o n s , a n I m p e r i a l B o d y g u a r d , a n d a s m a l l air f o r c e a n d n a v y . A m i l i t a r y a c a d e m y established w e s t o f A d d i s A b a b a before the Italian i n v a s i o n w a s r e a c t i v a t e d , a n d a s e c o n d o n e set u p at H a r a r in 1 9 5 8 . I n k e e p i n g w i t h Haile Selassie's p o l i c y o f r e d u c i n g his reliance o n any single outside p o w e r , advisers w e r e s o u g h t from several countries, i n c l u d i n g India, Israel, N o r w a y and S w e d e n , but the main role from 1951 w a s taken b y the U n i t e d States. T h e military constituted a n o b v i o u s d a n g e r t o t h e r e g i m e , p a r t i c u l a r l y as m a n y o f t h e j u n i o r officers w e r e directly c o n s c r i p t e d i n t o the a r m y f r o m the s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s , w h i c h Haile Selassie tried to c o u n t e r b o t h b y b i n d i n g officers t o h i m t h r o u g h g r a n t s o f land and o t h e r f a v o u r s , a n d b y e n c o u r a g i n g rivalries b e t w e e n units and individuals. B o t h the d a n g e r and the imperial counter-measures w e r e illustrated b y an a b o r t i v e coup d'etat b y t h e I m p e r i a l B o d y g u a r d i n D e c e m b e r i 9 6 0 . A strange mixture o f palace c o u p and w o u l d - b e modernising r e v o l u t i o n , this w a s led b y the b o d y g u a r d c o m m a n d e r and his b r o t h e r , a r a d i c a l y o u n g official r e c e n t l y r e t u r n e d f r o m a b r o a d . T h e rest o f the a r m e d forces r e m a i n e d l o y a l t o H a i l e Selassie, w h o h a d b e e n a b r o a d o n a state v i s i t , a n d t h e r e v o l t w a s c r u s h e d a n d

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its l e a d e r s k i l l e d . I t h e l p e d , h o w e v e r , t o s e t a p a t t e r n o f politicisation at t h e centre, at v a r i a n c e w i t h t h e p r o c e s s o f party formation in s u r r o u n d i n g territories.

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B y t h e early 1960s then, t h e w h o l e r e g i o n e x c e p t f o r t h e perennially anomalous French Somali Coast had been b r o u g h t under the control o f t w o indigenous independent governments. T w o m o r e contrasting regimes c o u l d scarcely b e imagined. T h e Somali Republic c o u l d justly claim t o b e o n e o f the v e r y f e w A f r i c a n states w h i c h w a s b u i l t o n a s e n s e o f n a t i o n h o o d s h a r e d b y all i t s p e o p l e . T h e r e w e r e i n t e r n a l d i f f e r e n c e s , c e r t a i n l y , d e r i v e d partly f r o m the legacies o f British a n d Italian administration, a n d partly from divisions b e t w e e n Somali clan families, b u t these w e r e contained within a c o m m o n culture, language and religion, reinforced b y a national g e n e a l o g y in w h i c h all S o m a l i s h a d a place. It w a s g o v e r n e d b y a system f o u n d e d o n consent a n d participation, in w h i c h c o m p e t i n g political parties m a d e their ambitions relevant t o the mass o f the p e o p l e t h r o u g h their close reflection o f clan interests a n d alliances. S i n c e this s y s t e m w a s f o u n d e d o n a n u n d e r l y i n g n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y , m o r e o v e r , it c o u l d dispense w i t h the highly personalised leadership and intolerance o f d i s s e n t f o u n d i n n a t i o n a l i s t p a r t i e s w h o s e p r i n c i p a l raison d'etre was simply the struggle against colonialism. It could thus, in response t o electoral pressures o r party manoeuvres, change b o t h the prime minister, in 1964 a n d 1967, a n d the president, in 1 9 6 7 , peacefully and b y constitutional means. E t h i o p i a also possessed a strong sense o f n a t i o n h o o d . T h i s , h o w e v e r , w a s n o t c o m m o n property as in t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c , but w a s rather the legacy o f expansion from the highland core. T h o u g h it e n j o y e d s o m e l i m i t e d c a p a c i t y f o r a s s i m i l a t i n g i n d i ­ v i d u a l s , i t m a d e little p r e t e n c e at a s s i m i l a t i n g s o c i a l g r o u p s , w i t h the result that political participation a l w a y s held the risk o f m o b i l i s i n g the identities o f peripheral p e o p l e s in a w a y w h i c h t h r e a t e n e d t h e w h o l e structure o f the state. E v e n d i s r e g a r d i n g t h e 1

R . G r e e n f i e l d , Ethiopia: a new political history ( L o n d o n , 1965), 33 7 - 4 5 2 ; C . C l a p h a m ,

' T h e E t h i o p i a n coup d'etat o f D e c e m b e r 1960', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1968, 6 , 4. 495-507-

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h i s t o r i c i m p e r i a l l e g a c y , t h e r e f o r e , t h e r e g i m e c o u l d n o t afford t h e o p e n and d e m o c r a t i c structure o f g o v e r n m e n t practised in S o m a l i a . I n s t e a d , it c o n t i n u e d t o r e l y o n t h e c e n t r a l i s e d c o n t r o l o f an a g e i n g e m p e r o r . T h e s y s t e m o f direct imperial s u p e r v i s i o n t h r o u g h the Minister o f the P e n w a s to s o m e d e g r e e dismantled after t h e d i s m i s s a l o f T s a h a f e T e z a z W a l d a - G i y o r g i s i n 195 5, a n d administrative supervision w a s increasingly delegated, especially to the P r i m e Minister, A k l i l u H a b t a - W a l d ; but political initiative continued to be reserved to the E m p e r o r , w h o tolerated n o source o f independent authority. N o mechanism therefore existed short o f rebellion b y w h i c h the g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d be c h a n g e d . Y e t these t w o contrasting systems w e r e b o t h to be o v e r t h r o w n n o t m e r e l y b y coups d'etat, b u t b y m i l i t a r y - l e d g o v e r n m e n t s b o t h o f w h i c h c o u l d claim w i t h s o m e justification to be revolutionary. O f t h e t w o , m o r e o v e r , it w a s t h e S o m a l i r e g i m e w h i c h w e n t first. T h e p r o b l e m s w h i c h it f a c e d w e r e c e r t a i n l y c o n s i d e r a b l e . T h e r e w e r e i m m e d i a t e d i f f i c u l t i e s i n i n t e g r a t i n g t h e t w o r e g i o n s , re­ s u l t i n g in d i s c o n t e n t especially in f o r m e r British S o m a l i l a n d , w h i c h as t h e s m a l l e r s e c t i o n n a t u r a l l y h a d m o s t t o l o s e . T h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s c a m e t o a head in an a t t e m p t e d c o u p in the n o r t h in D e c e m b e r 1 9 6 1 . T h e p l o t t e r s l o s t s u p p o r t as s o o n as it b e c a m e c l e a r t h a t t h e i r aim w a s the b r e a k u p o f the R e p u b l i c , but t w o n o r t h e r n ministers felt o b l i g e d t o r e s i g n f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r i n order to preserve their local support. Political integration w a s h o w e v e r eased b y the fact that the p r i n c i p a l clan families straddled the n o r t h - s o u t h d i v i s i o n . A s a result, this d i v i s i o n n e v e r w h o l l y c o i n c i d e d w i t h party lines, and o p p o s i t i o n g r o u p s s o u g h t to o v e r t h r o w the g o v e r n m e n t in M o g a d i s h u rather than d i s m e m b e r the R e p u b l i c . O t h e r p r o b l e m s w e r e n o t so easily settled. T h e e c o n o m y remained extremely p o o r , despite the receipt o f aid f r o m m a n y sources, and attempts to secure the union w i t h the R e p u b l i c o f the S o m a l i - i n h a b i t e d areas o f K e n y a , E t h i o p i a and the C F S / T F A I w e r e all u n s u c c e s s f u l . T h e s e a t t e m p t s w i l l b e d e s c r i b e d in a later section. W h a t w a s i m p o r t a n t t o d o m e s t i c politics w a s the fact that t h e y led n o t o n l y to d o m e s t i c d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t , b u t also to the formation, w i t h S o v i e t aid, o f an a r m y v e r y m u c h larger than the R e p u b l i c w o u l d otherwise h a v e needed. T h i s army, m o r e o v e r , Soviet-trained and c o m m i t t e d to a p o l i c y o f territorial e x p a n s i o n , w a s t o a c q u i r e an i d e o l o g y a n d e t h o s v e r y different f r o m that o f the colonially trained militaries o f m o s t other A f r i c a n states.

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S u p p o r t w a s equally alienated b y a succession o f increasingly frantic f a c t i o n a l c r i s e s i n M o g a d i s h u , w h i c h a p p e a r e d t o r e f l e c t less t h e m a j o r i s s u e s f a c i n g t h e c o u n t r y , t h a n t h e m a n o e u v r e s o f i n d i v i d u a l s a n x i o u s t o m a i n t a i n t h e i r h o l d o n office. I n t h e first e l e c t i o n s after i n d e p e n d e n c e , i n M a r c h 1 9 6 4 , t h e S Y L w o n a c l e a r m a j o r i t y w i t h 69 s e a t s , f o l l o w e d b y 22 a n d 15 f o r i t s t w o m a i n rivals, the Somali National C o n g r e s s and Somali D e m o c r a t i c Union, and 17 for independents, most o f w h o m joined the g o v e r n m e n t . E v e n then, h o w e v e r , a l o n g g o v e r n m e n t crisis f o l l o w e d , h e l p e d b y splits in t h e S Y L a n d t h e practice o f secret ballot in the N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y , a n d t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t o f ' A b d a l - R a z a k H a j i H u s a i n w a s n o t c o n f i r m e d i n office u n t i l S e p t e m b e r . T h e r e w e r e f u r t h e r c r i s e s i n t h e first h a l f o f 1 9 6 6 , leading to the dismissal o r resignation o f several ministers. In July 1967, f o l l o w i n g the unexpected election o f ' A b d al-Rashid * A l i S h i r m a r k e as p r e s i d e n t t h e p r e v i o u s m o n t h , M u h a m m a d H a j i I b r a h i m Igal b e c a m e p r i m e minister, a n d tried t o i m p o s e s o m e o r d e r o n t h e p a r t y , at t h e c o s t o f w e a k e n i n g its r e p r e s e n t a t i v e capacity. T h e elections o f M a r c h 1969, f o u g h t b y 64 parties a n d o v e r 2000 c a n d i d a t e s , s a w a f u r t h e r s t e p t o w a r d s b r e a k d o w n a n d l e d t o s o m e 25 d e a t h s . T h e S Y L w o n 73 seats a n d its o p p o n e n t s 5 1 , all b u t t w o o f w h o m i m m e d i a t e l y c r o s s e d t o t h e g o v e r n i n g party in a search for posts. T h e d e n o u e m e n t c a m e w h e n President ' A b d al-Rashid w a s assassinated b y a p o l i c e m a n — m o t i v a t e d , apparently, b y clan rivalries - in O c t o b e r 1969. A s the S Y L caucus met to choose a successor, the army t o o k control o f M o g a d i s h u , and turned o v e r the g o v e r n m e n t to a military council headed b y Major-General M u h a m m a d Siyad Barre. 1

I n s o f a r as t h e E t h i o p i a n r e g i m e t h a t fell i n 1 9 7 4 h a d b e e n i n p o w e r f o r o v e r 30 y e a r s , a n d c o u l d b e s e e n a s t h e last r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f an imperial system o f g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h had ruled Ethiopia f o r m a n y c e n t u r i e s , a m o r e g e n e r a l a n a l y s i s o f its d e c l i n e is c a l l e d f o r t h a n i n t h e c a s e o f t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c . C e r t a i n l y it w a s n o t j o l t e d t o its e n d b y s u c c e s s i v e c r i s e s l i k e its S o m a l i c o u n t e r p a r t . T h e years b e t w e e n 1961 a n d 1973 w e r e generally uneventful, a s t o n i s h i n g l y s o b y c o m p a r i s o n w i t h m o s t o t h e r A f r i c a n states during the same period. T h e same Prime Minister, A k l i l u HabtaW a l d , r e m a i n e d i n office t h r o u g h o u t , a n d m i n i s t e r i a l p o s t s circulated a m o n g m u c h the same g r o u p o f imperial proteges, 1

I. M . L e w i s , ' T h e p o l i t i c s o f t h e 1969 S o m a l i c o u p ' , Journal of Modern Studies, 1972, 10, 3, 383-408.

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extended towards the e n d o f the period t o take in s o m e o f the y o u n g e r generation o f graduates returned from abroad. These m i n i s t e r s w e r e n o t f o r t h e m o s t p a r t a n y less c o m p e t e n t o r w e l l educated, n o r a n y m o r e corrupt, than their c o n t e m p o r a r i e s e l s e w h e r e . W h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e d t h e m w a s t h e fact that they h a d c o m e to p o w e r within the imperial patronage n e t w o r k rather than t h r o u g h a n y s o u r c e o f s u p p o r t in t h e c o u n t r y at l a r g e , a n d n e e d e d t o adapt t h e m s e l v e s t o this n e t w o r k i f t h e y w e r e t o s u r v i v e . A s a result, t h o u g h capable o f m a n a g i n g the administrative m a c h i n e r y o f g o v e r n m e n t , they were quite unable to perform the political function o f rallying and associating social g r o u p i n g s — w h e t h e r m o d e r n o r traditional, central o r regional - w i t h the regime. W h e n t h e crisis c a m e in 1 9 7 4 , t h e y c o u l d b e b r u s h e d aside, i m p r i s o n e d , a n d in m a n y cases s u m m a r i l y e x e c u t e d , w i t h o u t b e i n g able t o m a k e a n y substantial difference t o the m a r c h o f e v e n t s . T h e r e g i m e ' s m o s t critical w e a k n e s s w a s its lack o f links w i t h Ethiopian society outside a narrow g r o u p in A d d i s A b a b a . T h e centralising m e a s u r e s i n t r o d u c e d b y H a i l e Selassie after his restoration had decisively undermined the old provincial autonomy, and reduced the provinces to dependence o n A d d i s A b a b a . P r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n o r s , as a r e s u l t , b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y central appointees. I n the process, they lost the capacity, w h i c h t h e y h a d p o s s e s s e d u p t o 1 9 3 5 , t o a c t as p r o v i n c i a l s p o k e s m e n a t the centre, b a c k e d i f need b e b y an a r m y d r a w n f r o m their levies and retainers. N o adequate machinery w a s d e v e l o p e d in their place to link the g o v e r n m e n t w i t h provincial o p i n i o n . Political parties w e r e n o t a l l o w e d t o d e v e l o p since they w e r e seen, doubtless c o r r e c t l y , as a t h r e a t t o t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e e m p e r o r : t h i s i n i t s e l f indicates the difficulty o f r e c o n c i l i n g social c h a n g e w i t h t h e imperial regime. T h e C h a m b e r o f Deputies, elected b y popular s u f f r a g e after 1 9 5 7 , d i d c o m e t o s e e i t s e l f as a f o r u m f o r l o c a l i n t e r e s t s , a n d s i n c e e l e c t i o n s w e r e h e l d at f o u r - y e a r l y i n t e r v a l s , i t r e m a i n e d fairly c l o s e l y i n t o u c h w i t h local o p i n i o n ; it v i g o r o u s l y amended, for instance, the Agricultural I n c o m e T a x Proclamation o f 1967. It w a s n o n e t h e l e s s v e r y w e a k at b o t h l o c a l a n d central l e v e l s : at local l e v e l b e c a u s e m e m b e r s h a d t o stand f o r e l e c t i o n o n a purely personal basis, and could n o t organise the sort o f b a c k i n g for w h i c h a party w o u l d h a v e been required; at the centre, because the parliament w a s entirely peripheral t o the court a n d 1

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the bureaucracy t h r o u g h w h i c h the g o v e r n m e n t w a s carried o n . T h e deficiencies o f provincial representation w e r e clearly s h o w n b y a rebellion in G o j j a m p r o v i n c e , in the A m h a r a heartland, in 1968. T h i s w a s sparked off b y o p p o s i t i o n t o assessments for t h e p r o p o s e d agricultural i n c o m e tax, b u t also reflected resentment at t h e a c t i o n s o f t h e S h o a n g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l . T h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s n o t prepared t o face the p r o l o n g e d military action w h i c h w o u l d h a v e been necessary t o defeat the uprising, a n d instead replaced the governor-general. O t h e r small rebellions occurred in t h e s o u t h , especially in B a l e p r o v i n c e . T h e o n e a t t e m p t w h i c h was made to form a semi-political organisation to represent the O r o m o p e o p l e s , n a m e d M e c h a T u l a m a after t w o c l a n a n c e s t o r s , w a s swiftly suppressed b y the g o v e r n m e n t in 1965. A l t h o u g h these attempts t o mobilise rural o p i n i o n against the g o v e r n m e n t w e r e sporadic and o f limited effectiveness, they underline the failure o f integration w h i c h w a s m o s t e v i d e n t in Eritrea. H a v i n g i n effect d e p r i v e d i t s e l f o f p o l i t i c a l s u p p o r t f r o m t h e periphery, the imperial r e g i m e w a s o b l i g e d t o rely o n central i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h it h a d i t s e l f c r e a t e d , b u t w h i c h h a d n o s p e c i a l reason t o remain loyal t o the emperor. O f these, the students w e r e the m o s t v o c a l , a n d the a r m e d forces the m o s t d a n g e r o u s . Student o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e r e g i m e first b e c a m e e v i d e n t w h e n u n i v e r s i t y students in A d d i s A b a b a supported the abortive c o u p in i960. T h e first m a j o r d e m o n s t r a t i o n s t o p r o v o k e a c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e regime t o o k place in 1965. Thereafter they occurred almost annually, most violently in 1969-70, and i n v o l v e d secondaryschool students in A d d i s A b a b a a n d s o m e o f the provincial t o w n s . These demonstrations, expressing an inchoate yearning for socialism and d e m o c r a c y , h a d f e w clearly defined g o a l s a n d presented n o direct threat t o the regime, b u t they d i d m u c h t o w e a k e n t h e a u r a o f s a c r e d a u t h o r i t y w h i c h still s u r r o u n d e d t h e emperor, and hence indirectly helped t o hasten the d a y w h e n a m o r e effective challenge w o u l d b e possible. 1

This could only c o m e from the armed forces, w h i c h b y 1970 had c o m e to include a four-division army, the Imperial B o d y g u a r d , a n d a n a i r f o r c e flying s o p h i s t i c a t e d j e t a i r c r a f t . I n 1 9 6 1 a n d 1 9 6 4 they had demonstrated their capacity t o enforce d e m a n d s for higher p a y o n a reluctant g o v e r n m e n t , b u t a n y direct challenge to the regime required b o t h a belief in alternative political 1

P . S c h w a b , Decision-making in Ethiopia ( L o n d o n , 1972), 158-69.

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objectives and the capacity to surmount divisions within the military. T h e s e requirements w e r e m e t early in 1974. W i t h i n the armed forces, discontent o v e r pay and conditions coalesced w i t h a g r o w i n g political a w a r e n e s s , especially a m o n g j u n i o r officers, w h i c h c o m b i n e d an intense nationalism w i t h a c o n t e m p t for the i m m o b i l i s m o f t h e o l d r e g i m e . I n t h e c o u n t r y at l a r g e , a n e c o n o m i c c r i s i s b r o u g h t a b o u t b y t h e rise i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l o i l prices c o m b i n e d w i t h revelations o f the g o v e r n m e n t ' s i n c o m ­ petence, especially in dealing w i t h a severe famine in W o l l o p r o v i n c e . F r o m J a n u a r y o n w a r d s , a series o f m u t i n i e s , strikes a n d demonstrations progressively challenged the government's c o n t r o l . A k l i l u H a b t a - W a l d r e s i g n e d as p r i m e minister in F e b r u a r y , but his successor E n d a l k a c h e w M a k o n n e n n e v e r succeeded in establishing his authority. T h e e m p e r o r , resorting w i t h his usual skill t o his t i m e - h o n o u r e d tactics o f factional m a n i p u l a t i o n , f o u n d h i m s e l f dealing w i t h social g r o u p i n g s w h i c h these tactics w e r e powerless to control. O v e r the f o l l o w i n g six m o n t h s , political initiative passed increasingly into the hands o f a skilfully m a n a g e d c o m m i t t e e o f the a r m e d forces, k n o w n as t h e D e r g . B y J u l y , the g o v e r n m e n t w a s p o w e r l e s s t o p r e v e n t t h e a r r e s t e v e n o f its o w n m i n i s t e r s . T h e coup de grace w a s d e l i v e r e d w i t h H a i l e S e l a s s i e ' s deposition o n 10 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 4 ; h e died in c o n f i n e m e n t the f o l l o w i n g year. In b o t h the Somali R e p u b l i c and Ethiopia, and especially the latter, the military g o v e r n m e n t s established in 1969 a n d 1 9 7 4 w e r e still t o o n e w at t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d t o m a k e p o s s i b l e a n y t h i n g m o r e than a v e r y p r o v i s i o n a l assessment o f their role in the r e g i o n ' s h i s t o r y . A t first g l a n c e , t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e e n t h e t w o regimes were striking. B o t h claimed to be revolutionary, and a s p i r e d t o c u t t h r o u g h t h e p a r a l y s i s w h i c h h a d afflicted t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s , i n o r d e r t o c r e a t e states w h i c h w e r e b o t h n a t i o n a l i s t and socialist. H o w e v e r , t h e v e r y different structures o f t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s s e v e r e l y affected t h e w a y s i n w h i c h t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s could be achieved. In the Somali R e p u b l i c - renamed the Somali D e m o c r a t i c R e p u b l i c after t h e c o u p - it s o o n b e c a m e c l e a r t h a t t h e S u p r e m e Revolutionary C o u n c i l ( S R C ) w o u l d be more than merely a c a r e t a k e r g o v e r n m e n t , b u t its o b j e c t i v e s w e r e o n l y g r a d u a l l y defined. Its early appeals w e r e directed largely against c o r r u p t i o n 1

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I. M . L e w i s , * K i m II S u n g i n S o m a l i a : t h e e n d o f t r i b a l i s m ? ' , i n P . C o h e n a n d W . S c h a c k ( e d s . ) , Essays in honour of Isaac Shapera ( O x f o r d , 1978).

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and tribalism, a t e r m w h i c h in the S o m a l i c o n t e x t referred t o the identification w i t h clans and clan families o n w h i c h political allegiances had largely been built. G e n e r a l Siyad Barre had also t o e s t a b l i s h h i s p e r s o n a l p o s i t i o n , w h i c h h e a c h i e v e d after t h e e x p o s u r e o f a l l e g e d p l o t s b y his s u c c e s s i v e v i c e - p r e s i d e n t s in 1970 and 1 9 7 1 . In January 1 9 7 2 , the S R C l a u n c h e d a c a m p a i g n for ' scientific s o c i a l i s m ', w h i c h i n v o l v e d state c o n t r o l o f critical areas o f the e c o n o m y , c o m b i n e d w i t h measures for national unification, e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , the sédentarisation o f n o m a d s , and the introduction o f a S o m a l i script, o v e r w h i c h p r e v i o u s civilian g o v e r n m e n t s had a r g u e d i n c o n c l u s i v e l y for the p r e v i o u s decade. T h e s e measures p r o v o k e d s o m e opposition, including a clash w i t h c o n s e r v a t i v e M u s l i m leaders o v e r the emancipation o f w o m e n , but the g o v e r n m e n t w a s able to d r a w o n an existing sense o f S o m a l i identity in o r d e r to sustain s u p p o r t . T h o u g h the i d e o l o g y o f t h e r e g i m e w a s e x p l i c i t l y M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t , a n d officials w e r e sent for training to the S o v i e t U n i o n and N o r t h K o r e a , political c o n t r o l r e m a i n e d in the h a n d s o f senior a r m y officers. D e s p i t e a heavy emphasis on agencies o f public indoctrination and c o n t r o l , n o p o l i t i c a l p a r t y w a s e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l after t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d , in 1 9 7 6 , a n d e v e n then the n e w p o l i t b u r o m i r r o r e d the c o m p o s i t i o n o f the o l d S R C . In E t h i o p i a , the socialist and nationalist objectives o f the r e v o l u t i o n c o u l d n o t be so easily reconciled. T h e early m o n t h s , in m i d - 1 9 7 4 , w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d b y liberalisation m e a s u r e s w h i c h included n o t o n l y press f r e e d o m and the release o f political prisoners, but also the g r a n t i n g o f equal status to Islam w i t h Christianity, and the relaxation o f the o l d r e g i m e ' s insistence o n the s u p r e m a c y o f the A m h a r i c l a n g u a g e . T h i s liberalisation c o u l d n o t l o n g s u r v i v e t h e d e m i s e o f t h e n a i v e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t all g r o u p s had a c o m m o n interest in the creation o f a united, d e m o c r a t i c a n d s o c i a l i s t E t h i o p i a . T h e D e r g , e l e c t e d f r o m all u n i t s i n t h e a r m e d f o r c e s a n d all r a n k s f r o m p r i v a t e t o m a j o r , h a d little internal coherence o n c e the r e m o v a l o f Haile Selassie w a s a c h i e v e d , and the raising o f political expectations and decline o f authority e v i d e n t in the military w a s e q u a l l y clear in relations b e t w e e n landlords and peasants, b e t w e e n ethnic and regional g r o u p i n g s , and a m o n g urban g r o u p s . T h e D e r g d i v i d e d b e t w e e n those led b y the titular head o f state, G e n e r a l A m a n A n d o m , w h o f a v o u r e d a policy o f reconciliation towards regional opposition and social g r o u p s associated w i t h the old r e g i m e , and those led b y M a j o r 479

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M e n g i s t u Haile M a r y a m w h o s o u g h t an extreme E t h i o p i a n nationalism and a decisive break w i t h the past. T h e v i c t o r y o f the l a t t e r f a c t i o n i n N o v e m b e r 1974 w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e e x e c u t i o n o f A m a n a n d o v e r 50 l e a d i n g f o r m e r c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y o f f i c i a l s , and the despatch o f additional t r o o p s t o Eritrea, w h e r e bitter fighting c o n t i n u e d until after the e n d o f o u r p e r i o d . B y the e n d o f 1975, t h e D e r g r e t a i n e d p o w e r b u t h a d y e t t o e s t a b l i s h its authority either in A d d i s A b a b a o r in the p r o v i n c e s , w h e r e c o n d i t i o n s w e r e as u n s e t t l e d , a n d p r o s p e c t s a s u n c e r t a i n , as t h e y had been 35 years before.

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In contrast w i t h m a n y other parts o f Africa, w h e r e foreign relationships c o n t i n u e d e v e n after i n d e p e n d e n c e t o t u r n o n the c o n n e x i o n w i t h the former colonial p o w e r , in the H o r n they h a v e consistently been fuelled b y tensions w i t h i n the r e g i o n . B o t h the intensity o f regional loyalties and rivalries, and the weakness o f extra-regional linkages, helped to a c c o u n t for this. E t h i o p i a , remaining uncolonised, did not acquire those cultural, e c o n o m i c and political b o n d s w i t h a particular E u r o p e a n state w h i c h characterised the colonial relationship. E l s e w h e r e in the region, colonial links, t h o u g h present, w e r e w e a k . In b o t h Eritrea and Italian S o m a l i a , the Italian colonisers w e r e militarily ejected in 1941; t h e B r i t i s h m i l i t a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s w h i c h r e p l a c e d t h e m w e r e n o m o r e than t e m p o r a r y e x p e d i e n t s , and t h o u g h the Italians r e t u r n e d t o S o m a l i a i n 1950, t h e y d i d s o u n d e r a U n i t e d N a t i o n s Trusteeship w h i c h severely restricted b o t h the duration and the nature o f their administration. British Somaliland, a l w a y s a neglected corner o f empire, lost m a n y o f the normal post-colonial l i n k s w i t h B r i t a i n o n its u n i o n w i t h S o m a l i a a t i n d e p e n d e n c e ; a b r e a c h o f d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w i t h B r i t a i n i n 1963, o v e r B r i t i s h policy t o w a r d s the Somali-inhabited part o f K e n y a , further w e a k e n e d the c o n n e x i o n . O n l y in the F r e n c h T e r r i t o r y o f the A f a r s and Issas d i d the m e t r o p o l i t a n link remain critical, t h o u g h e v e n there the F r e n c h remained largely because o f the tensions created b y intra-regional rivalries; for the Afar politicians w h o controlled the territorial assembly, the F r e n c h presence w a s vastly preferable either t o the association w i t h the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c s o u g h t b y their Issa rivals, o r t o the E t h i o p i a n i n v a s i o n w h i c h s e e m e d likely t o follow any French withdrawal.

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T h e s e rivalries turned principally o n the E t h i o p i a n - S o m a l i dispute, and secondarily o n the status o f Eritrea. T h e forms w h i c h they t o o k d e v e l o p e d d u r i n g the period, in k e e p i n g b o t h w i t h changing domestic political structures and consciousness, and w i t h the opportunities available for outside i n v o l v e m e n t . I m ­ m e d i a t e l y after t h e e n d o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , t h e p r i n c i p a l c o n c e r n w a s the disposal o f the f o r m e r Italian c o l o n i e s , c o n s i d e r e d earlier in this a c c o u n t . T h e E t h i o p i a n s u c c e s s at that t i m e in securing control o f Eritrea and fending off the B e v i n Plan for Somali unification m a y be ascribed partly to the international s y m p a t h y E t h i o p i a r e c e i v e d as a n e a r l y v i c t i m o f F a s c i s m , a n d a l s o t o t h e f a c t t h a t , as a n i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e , s h e w a s a b l e t o b e c o m e a founder m e m b e r o f the United N a t i o n s and take part in her o w n r i g h t at i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e s , w h e r e a s t h e S o m a l i s h a d n o such representation. T h e second object o f Ethiopian d i p l o m a c y w a s a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f l i n k a g e s w i t h as m a n y as p o s s i b l e o f t h e w e s t e r n i n d u s t r i a l i s e d s t a t e s , t h u s a v o i d i n g t h e i s o l a t i o n s h e s u f f e r e d at t h e t i m e o f t h e I t a l i a n i n v a s i o n i n 1935. I n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e 1940s, t h i s m e a n t r e d u c i n g h e r d e p e n d e n c e o n B r i t a i n , w h i c h as t h e a u t h o r o f t h e B e v i n P l a n a n d c o n t r o l l e r o f a l m o s t all t h e p e r i p h e r a l t e r r i t o r i e s w a s t h e p r i m e target o f E t h i o p i a n suspicion. In the process, the U n i t e d States became Ethiopia's m o s t important source o f outside aid, par­ ticularly t h r o u g h the Military A i d and Assistance G r o u p w h i c h helped train and e q u i p the n e w E t h i o p i a n a r m y . E t h i o p i a n participation in the U N forces in K o r e a helped t o emphasise these l i n k s , w h i l e at t h e s a m e t i m e p u b l i c i s i n g - i n a n o t h e r l e g a c y o f 1935 — t h e e m p e r o r ' s c o m m i t m e n t t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t i o n a g a i n s t aggression. T h e 1950s w e r e a d e c a d e d u r i n g w h i c h e x t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o o k s e c o n d p l a c e t o d o m e s t i c p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t s . U n t i l i960, E t h i o p i a w a s the o n l y i n d e p e n d e n t state in the r e g i o n , a n d n o t u n t i l t h e l a t e 1950s c o u l d s h e t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s created b y the easing o f the C o l d W a r and the e m e r g e n c e o f other i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n s t a t e s . P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e 1958 A c c r a C o n f e r e n c e o f I n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n S t a t e s w a s E t h i o p i a ' s first venture into the n e w w o r l d o f African d i p l o m a c y . T o g e t h e r w i t h H a i l e Selassie's visits t o the U S S R a n d o t h e r C o m m u n i s t states i n 1959, t h i s c o u l d b e s e e n as a n e x t e n s i o n o f E t h i o p i a ' s t r a d i t i o n a l policy o f multiplying and diversifying her diplomatic linkages. A t t h e s a m e t i m e , it r e f l e c t e d a s k i l f u l a w a r e n e s s o n t h e p a r t o f

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Ethiopia's leaders o f the need to adapt their foreign p o l i c y to a c h a n g i n g international system. International relations b e c a m e vastly m o r e i m p o r t a n t to the r e g i o n w i t h S o m a l i i n d e p e n d e n c e in i960, because the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c ' s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o u n i t e all S o m a l i p e o p l e s u n d e r a s i n g l e flag a u t o m a t i c a l l y b r o u g h t h e r i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h h e r n e i g h b o u r s in E t h i o p i a , K e n y a a n d the C F S / T F A I . T h i s g o a l , p u r s u e d in different w a y s b y s u c c e s s i v e S o m a l i g o v e r n m e n t s , has consistently f o r m e d the base for S o m a l i f o r e i g n p o l i c y . In M a r c h 1963, the Somalis b r o k e diplomatic relations w i t h Britain o v e r her refusal t o a l l o w the N o r t h e r n F r o n t i e r D i s t r i c t o f K e n y a to join the R e p u b l i c ; in M a y the s a m e year, P r e s i d e n t A d a n ' A b d u l l a h O s m a n a t t a c k e d E t h i o p i a at t h e i n a u g u r a l c o n f e r e n c e o f the O A U in A d d i s A b a b a ; and the f o l l o w i n g M a r c h , brief but i n t e n s e fighting b r o k e o u t o n t h e E t h i o p i a n - S o m a l i f r o n t i e r . E t h i o p i a n i n v o l v e m e n t i n A f r i c a n d i p l o m a c y , o f w h i c h t h e 1963 A d d i s A b a b a Conference w a s the outstanding achievement, w a s indeed partly a response to the threat presented to Ethiopia by a p e r m a n e n t l y h o s t i l e state o n h e r s o u t h - e a s t f r o n t i e r . A l t h o u g h the d e m o c r a t i c and anti-colonial S o m a l i R e p u b l i c m i g h t s e e m t o h a v e h a d m o r e i n c o m m o n w i t h t h e o t h e r n e w states i n t h e c o n t i n e n t than did his o w n anachronistic e m p i r e , H a i l e Selassie s o o n appreciated that a l m o s t e v e r y A f r i c a n state shared E t h i o p i a ' s interest in retaining the e x i s t i n g international frontiers, and that this c o u l d b e u s e d t o i s o l a t e t h e S o m a l i s . I n a d d i t i o n , h i s o w n p r e s t i g e as t h e s e n i o r A f r i c a n s t a t e s m a n a n d d e f e n d e r o f E t h i o p i a against Italian F a s c i s m c o u l d be used to p r o m o t e a c o m m o n c o n t i n e n t a l o r g a n i s a t i o n w h i c h o t h e r A f r i c a n l e a d e r s c o u l d n o t at t h a t t i m e a c h i e v e . F o r s o m e t e n y e a r s after 1 9 6 3 , t h r o u g h H a i l e Selassie's tireless travels r o u n d the c o n t i n e n t , his m e d i a t i o n o f disputes b e t w e e n A f r i c a n states, the l o c a t i o n o f the O A U h e a d ­ quarters in A d d i s A b a b a , and the c h a m p i o n i n g o f A f r i c a n causes in the U N a n d e l s e w h e r e , E t h i o p i a c o u l d c l a i m t o b e the diplomatic leader o f Africa. 1

T h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c ' s response to the p o s i t i o n o f w e a k n e s s in w h i c h t h o s e E t h i o p i a n i n i t i a t i v e s left h e r t o o k t w o f o r m s . T h e first, l o n g e r - t e r m o n e , w a s t o i n c r e a s e h e r m i l i t a r y s t r e n g t h , a n d since the major western p o w e r s w e r e already c o m m i t t e d to defend­ i n g the territories she s o u g h t to acquire, in K e n y a , E t h i o p i a and 1

J. D r y s d a l e , The Somali dispute ( L o n d o n , ( C a m b r i d g e , M a s s . , 1963).

1964); S. T o u v a l , Somali nationalism

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t h e C F S / T F A I , h e r n a t u r a l allies l a y i n t h e C o m m u n i s t b l o c . I n N o v e m b e r 1963, the Somalis a n n o u n c e d their acceptance o f S o v i e t m i l i t a r y a i d w o r t h n e a r l y £11 m i l l i o n , a n d b e g a n t o f o r m a large m o d e r n army. In the shorter term, h o w e v e r , the policy o f c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h all h e r n e i g h b o u r s w a s b o t h f r u i t l e s s a n d e x p e n s i v e f o r s o p o o r a c o u n t r y , a n d after M u h a m m a d H a j i Ibrahim Igal became prime minister in July 1967 he cultivated a p o l i c y o f detente. B o t h a s p e c t s o f S o m a l i p o l i c y s u r v i v e d t h e 1969 c o u p , b u t the balance shifted g r a d u a l l y f r o m the s e c o n d b a c k t o w a r d s t h e first. T h e S R C s o u g h t n o c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h E t h i o p i a , p a r t i c u l a r l y w h i l e it w a s e n g a g e d i n l a r g e - s c a l e d o m e s t i c s o c i a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a n d d e a l i n g w i t h t h e effects o f d r o u g h t . B u t as a m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t , it i n c r e a s e d t h e s t r e n g t h o f t h e a r m e d f o r c e s , and at the same time greatly intensified the c o n n e x i o n w i t h the U S S R . T h i s in turn increased the E t h i o p i a n reliance for a r m s o n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w h i c h c o n t i n u e d f o r a y e a r o r t w o after t h e 1 9 7 4 revolution despite the c h a n g e in Ethiopia's domestic political orientation. B y 1977, both A m e r i c a n reluctance to supply arms a n d t h e n e w E t h i o p i a n r e g i m e ' s s e a r c h f o r m o r e c o n g e n i a l allies led t o a dramatic reversal o f alliances in t h e H o r n , w i t h b o t h the U S S R a n d C u b a h e a v i l y s u p p o r t i n g E t h i o p i a d u r i n g t h e 1977—8 Ethiopia-Somali war. T h o u g h the Eritrean p r o b l e m in a sense b e c a m e a domestic o n e , f o l l o w i n g t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f E r i t r e a i n t o E t h i o p i a , it c o n t i n u e d to have international ramifications b o t h t h r o u g h the E L F ' s constant attempts to internationalise the conflict, and t h r o u g h the diplomatic means w h i c h the Ethiopians used to contain it. T h e f o r m e r i n c l u d e d attempted hijackings o f E t h i o p i a n airliners o n i n t e r n a t i o n a l flights, a n d t h e s u p p o r t w h i c h t h e E L F r e c e i v e d f r o m radical A r a b r e g i m e s in Iraq, Syria, a n d L i b y a . T h e latter turned especially o n Ethiopia's relations w i t h the Sudan, w h o s e l o n g frontier w i t h Eritrea w a s critical in a n y attempt t o c o n t r o l supplies r e a c h i n g the E L F , a n d t o a lesser extent those w i t h E g y p t , as t h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t A f r i c a n A r a b s t a t e . T h o u g h t h e r e w a s n o e v i d e n c e o f a p p r e c i a b l e d i r e c t f o r e i g n i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e fighting during the period u p to 1975, the successes o f both Ethiopians and Eritrean guerrillas depended heavily o n the support w h i c h each w a s able to mobilise from the international e n v i r o n m e n t . 1

1

T . J. F a r e r , War clouds on the Horn of Africa: E n d o w m e n t , 1976), 29-35.

a crisis for detente ( N e w Y o r k , C a r n e g i e

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In m o s t o f the H o r n , indigenous social and e c o n o m i c structures retained a resilience w h i c h m a d e t h e m exceptionally resistant t o c h a n g e , a n d as a r e s u l t m a d e t h e s h o c k s w h i c h t h e y s u f f e r e d a t the end o f the period, t h r o u g h d r o u g h t and g o v e r n m e n t action, all t h e m o r e t r a u m a t i c . P a r t o f t h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s w a s t h a t i n E t h i o p i a a n d B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d , at l e a s t , t h e h a n d o f g o v e r n m e n t was light, concerned w i t h basic maintenance functions rather than social transformation; the same c o u l d n o t b e said t o the same d e g r e e o f the Italian territories. M o r e i m p o r t a n t , e x i s t i n g struc­ tures retained a validity because o f their adaptation t o local circumstances, a lesson m o s t clear in the case o f S o m a l i n o m a d i s m . F o r s o l o n g as m o s t S o m a l i s m a d e t h e i r l i v i n g t h r o u g h s e a s o n a l m i g r a t i o n s in search o f pasture for their herds, s o l o n g w o u l d the traditional system be the m o s t appropriate w a y o f o r g a n i s i n g s o c i e t y . T h i s m o d e o f life, i g n o r i n g r o a d s , t o w n s a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s , e q u a l l y p l a c e d g r e a t difficulties in the w a y o f t h o s e w h o s o u g h t to i m p o s e the essentially stationary benefits o f ' m o d e r n ' life: the sedentary S o m a l i o f the J u b a - S h e b e l e basin w e r e far m o r e d i r e c t l y affected b y b o t h s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c change. A l t h o u g h highland Ethiopian social organisation w a s v e r y different f r o m S o m a l i n o m a d i s m , o t h e r e l e m e n t s i n i n d i g e n ­ o u s society contributed to a similar result, especially in the A m h a r a - T i g r e a n heartland from A d d i s A b a b a n o r t h to the Eritrean frontier. Particularly i m p o r t a n t here w e r e the s t r o n g c o n s e r v a t i v e interests v e s t e d in the p o s s e s s i o n a n d use o f land, w i t h w h i c h t h e p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e at t h e l o c a l l e v e l a n d t h e C o p t i c O r t h o d o x C h u r c h w e r e also strongly associated. T h e combination w a s p o w e r f u l e n o u g h t o insulate the area f r o m effective centralg o v e r n m e n t i n t e r v e n t i o n , as is m o s t c l e a r l y s h o w n b y t h e i m p e r i a l g o v e r n m e n t ' s inability to exact taxes from G o j j a m p r o v i n c e , and t h e r e v o l t s w h i c h b r o k e o u t w h e n it a t t e m p t e d t o d o s o . E r i t r e a and the southern and western parts o f Ethiopia, w h e r e local social structures had been w e a k e n e d b y central c o n q u e s t and land alienation, w e r e m o r e o p e n to m o d e r n i s i n g influences. Pressures for c h a n g e , present t h o u g h in s o m e areas r u d i m e n t a r y b e f o r e 1940, c a m e f r o m t h r e e m a i n s o u r c e s . T h e first a n d m o s t direct w a s g o v e r n m e n t , w h e t h e r colonial or indigenous, w h i c h had an interest in a c h i e v i n g certain g o a l s w h i c h c o u l d o n l y b e

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attained t h r o u g h modernisation: notably the establishment o f an i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d s t r u c t u r e o f c o n t r o l , w h i c h c a l l e d f o r a fixed capital h o u s i n g the necessary agencies, b o t h civil and military, the educational systems needed to p r o d u c e appropriately qualified people to man them, the c o m m u n i c a t i o n s systems needed to extend their control to other parts o f the territory, and the cash e c o n o m y n e e d e d t o finance t h e m , w h i c h i n t u r n r e q u i r e d t h e e n c o u r a g e m e n t o f e c o n o m i c linkages w i t h the outside w o r l d . G o v e r n m e n t s v a r i e d in the intensity w i t h w h i c h , a n d the w a y s in w h i c h , they pursued this c o m m o n g o a l . T h e c o l o n i a l g o v e r n m e n t o f British Somaliland w a s unquestionably the m o s t lackadaisical. H a i l e S e l a s s i e ' s g o v e r n m e n t i n E t h i o p i a , t h o u g h i n t e n s e i n its s e a r c h f o r c o n t r o l , w a s l i m i t e d i n t h e w a y s t h r o u g h w h i c h it c o u l d a c h i e v e it b y t h e n a t u r e o f its o w n p o l i t i c a l b a s e , a n d t h e d a n g e r o f c r e a t i n g f o r c e s w h i c h m i g h t — a n d e v e n t u a l l y d i d — s u p p l a n t it. T h e F r e n c h r e g i m e in the C F S / T F A I w a s in a sense t n o r e passive, and w a s n o t u n d e r s u c h pressure as the trustee administrations in the f o r m e r Italian c o l o n i e s t o p r o d u c e a balance sheet o f p r o ­ gress achieved. T h e post-independence Somali g o v e r n m e n t came closest t o the generality o f n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n r e g i m e s in its p u r s u i t o f c o n v e n t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t g o a l s ; w h i l e f r o m t h e t w o military regimes there emanated a g e n u i n e urge, h o w e v e r inarticulately c o n c e i v e d o r inadequately executed, for r e v o l u t i o n ­ ary social transformation. A second impetus for change came from the belief o f individuals e i t h e r i n its i n t r i n s i c d e s i r a b i l i t y , o r at l e a s t i n its c a p a c i t y t o i m p r o v e t h e i r o w n c i r c u m s t a n c e s . O n e i n d i c a t o r is t h e w a y i n w h i c h oppositional m o v e m e n t s to established regimes m o v e d from the conservative to the radical side o f the political spectrum. I n B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d , w h e r e as l a t e as 1935 p r o p o s a l s f o r a g o v e r n m e n t a l s c h o o l at B e r b e r a h a d b e e n a b a n d o n e d i n t h e f a c e o f hostile riots, the p o s t - w a r generation o f S o m a l i nationalists s o u g h t education and criticised the colonial r e g i m e for tardiness i n p r o v i d i n g it. H a i l e S e l a s s i e , w h o s t a r t e d h i s c a r e e r as t h e l e a d e r o f t h e m o d e r n i s i n g f a c t i o n i n E t h i o p i a , h a d f r o m t h e 1950s c o n s t a n t l y t o a d a p t h i m s e l f t o d e m a n d s f o r a faster rate o f c h a n g e , a n d b y t h e 1970s w a s s e e n as t h e p r i n c i p a l o b s t a c l e t o it. E v e n t h e e l e c t e d S o m a l i g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h i n t h e 1960s s a w i t s e l f as b e i n g held back b y the conservatism o f the n o m a d i c clans o n w h i c h it r e l i e d f o r s u p p o r t , w a s o v e r t h r o w n b y a r e g i m e w h i c h

485

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THE

HORN

O F A F R I C A

T a b l e 9 . 1 . Estimated populations of the Horn of Africa,

British Somaliland Somalia

CFS/TFAI

Eritrea

1937

350000

1090000

47000

670000

1954 1958

640000

1269000

63000

1000 000

Ethiopia

19)7-74.

Total

— 15 000 000

17972000

20000000

1 980000 81 200

1961

22 200000

1964

2420000

1970

2 5 50000

95 000

24626000

27271 000

1974

2 707 000

104000

27 239000

30050000

Note:

allfiguresare estimates, and those for Ethiopia are especially subject

to error. Source: United Nations

demographic yearbooks,

1955, 1965, 1974

(New York).

actively sought t o resolve the p r o b l e m b y abolishing b o t h clans and n o m a d i s m altogether. T h u s the desire f o r c h a n g e came t o b e espoused b y important groups within indigenous society. A third impetus for c h a n g e w a s the simple pressure o f population o n resources. T h e total p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e r e g i o n a p p r o x i m a t e l y d o u b l e d b e t w e e n 1 9 4 0 a n d 1975 ( t a b l e 9 . 1 ) . M u c h o f this i n c r e a s e w a s d u e t o c h a n g e s i n h e a l t h c a r e , a g r i c u l t u r e , a n d living conditions. T h e total increase w o u l d in a n y case h a v e placed intolerable strain o n existing structures, e v e n w i t h o u t t h e ' r e v o l u t i o n o f r i s i n g e x p e c t a t i o n s ' b y w h i c h s o m e g r o u p s a t least w e r e affected. I n a d d i t i o n , m a n y p e o p l e h a d t o c o p e w i t h - u n l e s s they s u c c u m b e d t o - the great d r o u g h t in the eastern a n d southern parts o f the H o r n in 1 9 7 2 - 4 , w h i c h caused m a n y thousands o f deaths, especially in Ethiopia, a n d d e s t r o y e d - temporarily at least - t h e b a s i s o f t h e S o m a l i n o m a d i c e c o n o m y . O n e o t h e r s o u r c e o f c h a n g e t h e H o r n o f A f r i c a w a s s p a r e d : it was n o t , unlike m a n y parts o f t h e continent, t h e scene o f deep penetration b y foreign c o m p a n i e s bent o n e x p l o i t i n g its mineral or agricultural resources. N o large-scale mineral extraction t o o k place, and agricultural penetration w a s largely restricted t o a f e w plantations in the A w a s h and J u b a - S h e b e l e basins a n d in highland Eritrea. T h i s in itself w a s a major factor a c c o u n t i n g f o r t h e r e s i l i e n c e o f t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , a n d m e a n t t h a t , after t h e e n d o f the colonial era, social and e c o n o m i c change w a s f o r the most part undertaken under the direction o f indigenous people a n d governments. 486

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T h o u g h the H o r n contained a n u m b e r o f long-established urban s e t t l e m e n t s , at A k s u m , G o n d a r , H a r a r , M o g a d i s h u a n d e l s e w h e r e , n o n e o f these had permanent p o p u l a t i o n s o f m o r e than a f e w thousand. Urbanisation therefore v e r y directly resulted from the establishment o f p e r m a n e n t g o v e r n m e n t a l h e a d q u a r t e r s in the late nineteenth century, and from n e w or i m p r o v e d communications l i n k s w i t h t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d . I n t o t h e first c a t e g o r y c a m e t h e territorial capitals, w h e t h e r built b y an i n d i g e n o u s g o v e r n m e n t at A d d i s A b a b a o r b y c o l o n i a l r e g i m e s at A s m a r a , J i b u t i , Hargeisa and M o g a d i s h u , and the E t h i o p i a n p r o v i n c i a l capitals w h i c h mostly derived from the e n c a m p m e n t s o f regional military g o v e r n o r s . Into the second c a m e the ports o f M a s s a w a , A s s a b and B e r b e r a , as w e l l as J i b u t i a n d M o g a d i s h u , a n d t h e r a i l w a y t o w n of Dire Dawa. A l t h o u g h r e l i a b l e figures f o r u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n s are n o t a v a i l a b l e for m o s t t o w n s until the 1960s, urban g r o w t h appears to h a v e b e e n fairly r a p i d , t h o u g h n o t as m e t e o r i c as i n s o m e p a r t s o f t h e c o n t i n e n t . A d d i s A b a b a , e s t i m a t e d at a b o u t 1 0 0 0 0 0 i n h a b i t a n t s in t h e late 1 9 3 0 s , h a d r e a c h e d 5 6 0 0 0 0 b y t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s a n d o v e r a million by 1974. M o g a d i s h u ' s population similarly nearly d o u b l e d f r o m 1 4 1 000 in 1965 t o a q u a r t e r o f a m i l l i o n i n 1 9 7 4 . T h e E r i t r e a n c a p i t a l o f A s m a r a s t a g n a t e d after its I t a l i a n h e y d a y , o n l y e x p a n d i n g f r o m s o m e 1 0 0 0 0 0 i n t h e late 1 9 3 0 s t o 1 3 2 0 0 0 b y 1 9 6 5 ; t h e p o p u l a t i o n t h e n j u m p e d t o 2 9 6 0 0 0 b y 1 9 7 4 , as d r o u g h t and the w o r s e n i n g security situation d r o v e p e o p l e f r o m the rural areas. M o s t p r o v i n c i a l centres e x p a n d e d m o r e steadily, and b y the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s e l e v e n t o w n s in t h e r e g i o n ( e i g h t i n E t h i o p i a , M o g a d i s h u and H a r g e i s a in S o m a l i a , and Jibuti) had p o p u ­ l a t i o n s o v e r 30000. I n t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , s o m e 12 p e r c e n t o f t h e S o m a l i , and just o v e r 5 per cent o f the E t h i o p i a n , p o p u l a t i o n l i v e d in t o w n s o f o v e r 1 0 0 0 0 , a n d b y 1 9 7 5 t h e s e p e r c e n t a g e s a r e l i k e l y t o h a v e d r a s t i c a l l y i n c r e a s e d , e s p e c i a l l y as a r e s u l t o f d r o u g h t . T w o - t h i r d s o f the total p o p u l a t i o n o f the T F A I l i v e d in 1 9 7 0 in Jibuti. 1

T h e r e a s o n s f o r t h e s e i n c r e a s e s w e r e m u c h t h e s a m e as e l s e w h e r e in A f r i c a : g o v e r n m e n t s e r v i c e s , e c o n o m i c o p p o r t u n i ­ ties, a n d r u r a l drift. T a k i n g E t h i o p i a as a n e x a m p l e , A d d i s A b a b a 1

Demographic yearbooks; R . K . P . P a n k h u r s t , Economic history of Ethiopia ( A d d i s A b a b a , 1968), 6 8 9 - 7 1 5 ; M a r k a k i s , Ethiopia, 1 6 0 - 7 1 .

487 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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had in 1970 a b o u t a third o f the 100000 g o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s in the c o u n t r y , a third o f the s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s , a n d a third also o f the h o s p i t a l b e d s . Its p o s i t i o n at the c e n t r e o f the c o u n t r y a n d o f its c o m m u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k ( t h e r o a d s y s t e m r a d i a t e d o u t f r o m A d d i s A b a b a , and roads b y p a s s i n g the capital w e r e non-existent o r e x t r e m e l y p o o r ) e n s u r e d f o r it a d o m i n a n t t r a d i n g r o l e ; a n d b y far t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t i o n w a s c o n c e n t r a t e d in the city and a string o f smaller t o w n s a l o n g the r a i l w a y line t o t h e s o u t h - e a s t o f it. T h e l a r g e r p r o v i n c i a l c a p i t a l s , s u c h as G o n d a r , D e s s i e , H a r a r a n d J i m m a , s e r v e d i n t h e i r t u r n as m i c r o c o s m s o f A d d i s A b a b a , attracting administrators from the c e n t r e as w e l l as i m m i g r a n t s f r o m t h e s u r r o u n d i n g c o u n t r y s i d e . W h i l e the c o u n t r y s i d e c o n t i n u e d t o retain a considerable resilience, e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e it r e t a i n e d t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s t r u c ­ t u r e s a n d a s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g e c o n o m y , it w a s t h e r e f o r e i n t h e c i t i e s t h a t t h e m a i n effects o f m o d e r n i s a t i o n w e r e felt. B y c o m p a r i s o n w i t h m a n y parts o f Africa, the spread o f formal e d u c a t i o n in the H o r n w a s s l o w . In part, this w a s the result o f an early lack o f g o v e r n m e n t action, since the Italian Fascist administration, the m o s t d y n a m i c o f the colonial g o v e r n m e n t s in the r e g i o n , w a s the least a n x i o u s t o train a rival elite o f S o m a l i s o r Eritreans, w h i l e the British and F r e n c h d i d v e r y little i n d e e d ; the E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t w a s m o r e c o m m i t t e d to educational expansion than any o f the colonial regimes, since from the time o f M e n e l i k it h a d r e c o g n i s e d t h e n e e d f o r a c a d r e o f e d u c a t e d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , b u t t h e m e a n s at its d i s p o s a l w e r e v e r y l i m i t e d , a n d t h e s c h o o l s e s t a b l i s h e d b e f o r e 1935 w e r e c l o s e d d u r i n g t h e I t a l i a n o c c u p a t i o n . I n p a r t , it w a s d u e t o t h e e x i s t e n c e i n m u c h o f the region o f established i n d i g e n o u s religious educational systems w h i c h understandably l o o k e d w i t h suspicion o n an i m p o r t e d alien r i v a l ; this w a s especially m a r k e d in British Somaliland, where local opposition prevented any schools from b e i n g o p e n e d before 1940, and in E t h i o p i a , w h e r e the O r t h o d o x C h u r c h ' s fear o f p r o s e l y t i s a t i o n b y o t h e r C h r i s t i a n s e c t s m e a n t t h a t m i s s i o n a r y activity w a s largely restricted t o the p a g a n areas o f the s o u t h a n d w e s t . I n p a r t , t o o , it w a s d u e t o o t h e r d i f f i c u l t i e s , i n c l u d i n g the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w h i c h severely disrupted e d u c a t i o n in the r e g i o n and, m o r e lastingly, S o m a l i n o m a d i s m . O n e result o f the w a r , h o w e v e r , w a s to m a k e p e o p l e t h r o u g h o u t the H o r n a w a r e o f the efficiency o f w e s t e r n t e c h n o l o g y a n d the c o n s e q u e n t n e e d t o m a s t e r it, s o t h a t o p p o s i t i o n t o f o r m a l 488 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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education o n traditionalist g r o u n d s w a s v e r y m u c h reduced. T h e E t h i o p i a n s c h o o l s y s t e m w a s r e s t a r t e d a f t e r t h e l i b e r a t i o n i n 1941, t h o u g h n o t u n t i l after t h e e n d o f t h e w a r i n 1945 c o u l d m u c h b e d o n e t o e x p a n d it, a n d t h e B r i t i s h m i l i t a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s i n Somalia and Eritrea sympathised with local demands for edu­ cation, and did their best to m e e t t h e m w i t h i n v e r y limited r e s o u r c e s . B y 1952, E r i t r e a h a d t h e h i g h e s t p r o p o r t i o n o f its p o p u l a t i o n at s c h o o l o f a n y t e r r i t o r y i n t h e r e g i o n , e x c e p t f o r the C F S , w h e r e m a n y o f the pupils w e r e F r e n c h o r A r a b . T h e figures for this p e r i o d indicate the p r o g r e s s m a d e o n c e the i m m e d i a t e effects o f t h e w a r h a d f a d e d , a n d s h o w 15 000 s c h o o l ­ c h i l d r e n (90 p e r c e n t p r i m a r y , 1.5 p e r c e n t o f t h e e s t i m a t e d p o p u l a t i o n ) i n E r i t r e a i n 1952; 1700 (91 p e r c e n t p r i m a r y , 0.26 p e r c e n t o f p o p u l a t i o n ) i n B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d i n 1955; 11000 (88 p e r c e n t p r i m a r y , 0.86 p e r c e n t o f p o p u l a t i o n ) i n e x - I t a l i a n S o m a l i a i n 1954; a n d 2100 (85 p e r c e n t p r i m a r y , 3.3 p e r c e n t o f population) in the F r e n c h Somali C o a s t the same year. T h e E t h i o p i a n figures s h o w o v e r 99 p e r c e n t o f t h e 68000 s c h o o l ­ c h i l d r e n c l a i m e d i n 195 2 (0.45 p e r c e n t o f e s t i m a t e d p o p u l a t i o n ) as b e i n g i n p r i m a r y g r a d e s , a n d n o m o r e t h a n 531 i n s e c o n d a r y schools. B y 1962-3, t h e n u m b e r s at s c h o o l h a d m o r e t h a n d o u b l e d i n the Somali territories and m o r e than q u a d r u p l e d in E t h i o p i a (including Eritrea); they d o u b l e d again t h r o u g h o u t the r e g i o n b e t w e e n t h e n a n d 1969-70, b y w h i c h d a t e t h e r e w e r e 713000 p u p i l s at s c h o o l i n E t h i o p i a , 58000 i n t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c a n d 7800 i n T F A I , 2.9, 2.3 a n d 8.2 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n respectively. A l t h o u g h the imperial g o v e r n m e n t in E t h i o p i a w a s t o be criticised in later years for failing t o institute a crash p r o g r a m m e o f e d u c a t i o n , t h e figures s h o w t h a t it d i d r e a s o n a b l y w e l l b y c o m p a r i s o n w i t h its c o l o n i a l n e i g h b o u r s , d e s p i t e t h e intensified e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m m e i n t r o d u c e d b y the Italian trust a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n S o m a l i a a f t e r 1950. T h e s e figures r e p r e s e n t e d o n l y a s m a l l p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e p o t e n t i a l s c h o o l p o p u l a t i o n - 14 per cent o f the appropriate age g r o u p w e r e estimated t o b e in p r i m a r y s c h o o l a n d 1.9 p e r c e n t i n s e n i o r s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l i n E t h i o p i a in 1 9 6 8 - 9 - b u t t h e y n o n e t h e l e s s m a r k e d a v e r y i m ­ portant force for c h a n g e . T e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n at first d e p e n d e d e n t i r e l y o n o p p o r t u n i t i e s 1

1

United Nations Ethiopia, 1 4 3 - 5 9 .

statistical yearbooks,

1956,

1965,

1973

(New York);

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t o study a b r o a d , initially a l m o s t o n l y in A m e r i c a n a n d W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n universities, but subsequently in the S o v i e t b l o c and e l s e w h e r e i n A f r i c a . T h e first s u c h i n s t i t u t i o n w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n , the U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e o f A d d i s A b a b a , w a s f o u n d e d in 1950, and c o m b i n e d w i t h colleges o f agriculture, public health and building to f o r m the Haile Selassie I U n i v e r s i t y in 1 9 6 1 ; the n a m e w a s c h a n g e d t o A d d i s A b a b a U n i v e r s i t y after t h e 1 9 7 4 r e v o l u t i o n . B y 1 9 6 9 , t h e r e w e r e 4600 s t u d e n t s i n t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n i n E t h i o p i a , a n d n e a r l y 2000 a b r o a d . I n S o m a l i a , t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n g o t u n d e r w a y w i t h the establishment o f specialised institutes b y the Italian trust administration in the early 1 9 5 0 s ; the m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f these, the S c h o o l o f Politics and A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , turned o u t a h i g h proportion o f senior Somali administrators and politicians. University education had to wait until the foundation o f the U n i v e r s i t y Institute o f S o m a l i a in i 9 6 0 , and a l t h o u g h t h e r e w e r e nearly a t h o u s a n d students in tertiary e d u c a t i o n in 1 9 7 0 , S o m a l i s d e p e n d e d heavily o n scholarships to study abroad, especially in Italy, E g y p t , and latterly the U S S R . T h i s process o f educational expansion w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y the characteristic p r o b l e m s and deficiencies c o m m o n to the w h o l e continent d u r i n g the period. T h e s e included a h e a v y dependence o n f o r e i g n t e a c h e r s at t h e s e c o n d a r y l e v e l a n d u p w a r d s , a h i g h d r o p - o u t rate, a v e r y l o w p r o p o r t i o n o f female students, a n d a m a r k e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f t h e a v a i l a b l e facilities i n t h e c i t i e s as a g a i n s t t h e r u r a l a r e a s , i n t h e s e d e n t a r y as a g a i n s t t h e n o m a d i c p o p u l a t i o n s , a n d in the m o r e d e v e l o p e d p r o v i n c e s . I n E t h i o p i a in 1 9 6 2 , f o r e x a m p l e , 38 p e r c e n t o f s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n w e r e in A d d i s A b a b a , a n d 67 p e r cent in the t w o p r o v i n c e s o f Shoa (including A d d i s A b a b a ) and Eritrea. T h e problems o f urban d r i f t t o w h i c h t h i s g a v e rise, a n d t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s o f t h e syllabus for largely urban occupations (especially g o v e r n m e n t service) were again c o m m o n ones. In addition, b o t h Ethiopia and S o m a l i a e x p e r i e n c e d difficulties arising f r o m their national languages. T h e desire for centralisation and national integration i n E t h i o p i a l e d t o t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f A m h a r i c as t h e l a n g u a g e o f i n s t r u c t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y , at p r i m a r y l e v e l f r o m 1963 and junior secondary level from 1970. In addition to the resentment t h i s a r o u s e d in n o n - A m h a r i c - s p e a k i n g a r e a s , e s p e c i a l l y i n E r i t r e a a n d s o m e o f t h e s o u t h e r n p r o v i n c e s , it c r e a t e d d i f f i c u l t i e s o v e r t h e availability o f qualified teachers and o v e r transfer to the senior 490

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secondary a n d tertiary levels, in w h i c h the l a n g u a g e o f instruction was English. In Somalia, though the use o f Somali w a s almost u n i v e r s a l , t h e r e w a s n o a g r e e d s c r i p t f o r w r i t i n g it d o w n , a n d t h e rivalry b e t w e e n the three c o n t e n d i n g possibilities - R o m a n script, A r a b i c script, a n d O s m a n i y a , a sophisticated i n d i g e n o u s S o m a l i script i n v e n t e d in a b o u t 1 9 2 0 - w a s s o intense that the elected g o v e r n m e n t before 1969 c o u l d m a k e n o decision o n the issue at all. E v e n t h e m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t d e l a y e d u n t i l O c t o b e r 1 9 7 2 before deciding o n the R o m a n version. A further p r o b l e m , o f a different k i n d , a r o s e f r o m t h e strains in t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n s t u d e n t s a n d t h e s o c i e t y o f w h i c h t h e y formed an a w k w a r d a n d atypical part. T h i s presented itself in an acute form to the imperial regime in Ethiopia, w h e r e the students - initially in the u n i v e r s i t y a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y in the s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s as w e l l - w e r e t h e o n l y g r o u p w h i c h d a r e d e x p r e s s o p e n a n d fairly c o n t i n u o u s o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e e m p e r o r a n d h i s g o v e r n m e n t . T h e m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t after 1 9 7 4 c l o s e d t h e university altogether a n d sent the students t o spread t h e r e v o l u ­ t i o n a r y i d e o l o g y i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e , at t h e s a m e t i m e r e m o v i n g a potential s o u r c e o f o p p o s i t i o n in A d d i s A b a b a , b u t this s c h e m e w a s resented b o t h b y t h e students a n d in t h e c o u n t r y s i d e , a n d its success w a s mixed. A similar scheme t o i m p r o v e rural literacy, a n d i n v o l v i n g s c h o o l c h i l d r e n as w e l l a s s t u d e n t s , w a s i n s t i t u t e d in t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c i n 1 9 7 4 , a n d w a s r a p i d l y c o n v e r t e d , after the scale o f the d r o u g h t b e c a m e apparent, into a d r o u g h t rehabilitation service. B o t h E t h i o p i a and the Somalia territories w e r e fortunate, h o w e v e r , in possessing a rich a n d well-established literary culture w h i c h c o u l d s e r v e as a s o u r c e o f p r i d e a n d a p o i n t o f r e f e r e n c e to educated a n d uneducated alike, in the R e p u b l i c t h r o u g h the S o m a l i l a n g u a g e a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r its p o e t r y , a n d i n E t h i o p i a t h r o u g h t h e l e g a c y o f a n a n c i e n t w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e , G e ' e z , a n d its m o d e r n successor A m h a r i c . A s a result, writers in b o t h countries continued to w o r k in an indigenous m e d i u m w h i c h , e v e n w h e n their w o r k t o o k an i m p o r t e d f o r m s u c h as the n o v e l , c o u l d a d o p t the subtleties o f existing m o d e s o f t h o u g h t ; o n e e x a m p l e perhaps m i g h t b e t h e n o v e l Fikr iska mekebir ( F a i t h f u l t o t h e G r a v e ) b y the E t h i o p i a n a u t h o r a n d politician, H a d i s A l a m a y a h u . A n a l ­ o g o u s l y t h o u g h less d i r e c t l y , s o m e t h i n g o f t h e i n d i g e n o u s ar­ tistic t r a d i t i o n c a r r i e d o v e r i n t o t h e w o r k o f E t h i o p i a n a r t i s t s

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o f t h e 1 9 5 0 s a n d 1 9 6 0 s , s u c h as A f e w o r k T e k l e a n d G a b r e - C h r i s t o s D e s t a . N e w s p a p e r s w e r e a l s o a v a i l a b l e i n A m h a r i c , T i g r i n y a (in E r i t r e a ) a n d S o m a l i , a n d t h o u g h c i r c u l a t i o n as a w h o l e w a s extremely small these outsold the E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e press. A t the s a m e time, the resilience o f A m h a r i c d i d little for n a t i v e s p e a k e r s o f o t h e r l a n g u a g e s w h o h a d first t o l e a r n A m h a r i c t o b e accepted into the national culture, and subsequently to learn a E u r o p e a n t o n g u e in o r d e r to gain access to the outside w o r l d . T h e d a n g e r s o f a n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e a r e , first, t h a t it m a y n o t i n c l u d e all t h e p e o p l e s w i t h i n t h e n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r y , s e c o n d l y t h a t it m a y r e s t r i c t its s p e a k e r s f r o m c o m m u n i c a t i n g o u t s i d e t h a t b o u n d a r y . S o m a l i suffered f r o m the s e c o n d o f these defects, A m h a r i c f r o m both o f them.

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E c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t is p e r h a p s a m i s n o m e r f o r a r e g i o n w h i c h remained a m o n g the p o o r e s t in Africa, and in w h i c h m a n y p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e l o w l a n d s u b s i s t e n c e e c o n o m y , w e r e p o o r e r at t h e e n d o f t h e p e r i o d t h a n t h e y h a d b e e n at t h e s t a r t o f it. E c o n o m i c statistics for the H o r n w e r e a l w a y s unreliable a n d often n o n ­ e x i s t e n t , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e e a r l y p e r i o d a n d a g a i n after t h e m i l i t a r y r e v o l u t i o n s , b u t t h e p e r c a p i t a i n c o m e e s t i m a t e s o f $ U S 90 f o r E t h i o p i a a n d $80 f o r t h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c i n 1 9 7 4 p l a c e d t h e m n o h i g h e r than 36th a n d 39th r e s p e c t i v e l y a m o n g the t h e n 42 independent African states. B o t h countries continued to h a v e a very h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f their populations in the subsistence sector, and relied for their e x p o r t s almost exclusively o n agri­ cultural p r o d u c t s , principally l i v e s t o c k and bananas in the R e ­ p u b l i c , and coffee, hides a n d oilseeds in E t h i o p i a . A l l b u t a v e r y f e w m a n u f a c t u r e d i t e m s still h a d t o b e i m p o r t e d at t h e e n d o f t h e period, t h o u g h s o m e simple import-substitution industries had b y then been established, especially in E t h i o p i a . 1

H o w e v e r underdeveloped the e c o n o m i e s o f the H o r n m i g h t h a v e appeared in 1 9 7 5 , nonetheless b y c o m p a r i s o n w i t h 1940 the c h a n g e s w e r e considerable. O n e difference w i t h the p r e - w a r era w a s that w h e r e a s then o n l y the Italian Fascist administration had a n y f i r m c o m m i t m e n t t o p r o m o t i n g e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , after 1945 t h i s b e c a m e o n e o f t h e r e c o g n i s e d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f g o v e r n 1

Le Monde ( P a r i s ) , 4 F e b r u a r y 1976.

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m e n t , e v e n t h o u g h d i f f e r e n t r e g i m e s p u r s u e d it w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f i n t e n s i t y a n d all o f t h e m h a d t o d e a l w i t h t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f the terrain, the w e a k n e s s o f the infrastructure, and the s o m e t i m e s hostile attitudes o f the p e o p l e . A s a result, the n u m b e r o f g o v e r n m e n t agencies concerned with economic management and d e v e l o p m e n t proliferated, a process m o s t clear in Ethiopia, w h e r e the establishment o f E t h i o p i a n A i r L i n e s in 1948 w a s f o l l o w e d in the 1950s b y the creation o f specialised agencies for h i g h w a y s , telecommunications and electricity; ministries for c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p m e n t , planning, and later land reform w e r e set u p , a n d t h e F i r s t F i v e - Y e a r P l a n , i n a u g u r a t e d i n 1 9 5 7 , w a s s u c c e e d e d b y t h e S e c o n d a n d T h i r d P l a n s ; t h e f o u r t h w a s still o n t h e d r a w i n g b o a r d at t h e t i m e o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n i n 1 9 7 4 . A c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f this activity w a s simply w i n d o w - d r e s s i n g ; the five-year plans n e v e r a c h i e v e d the central position in g o v e r n m e n t e c o n o m i c s t r a t e g y w h i c h w o u l d h a v e b e e n n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e i r full i m ­ plementation, and any substantial land reform p r o g r a m m e w o u l d s o o n have run foul o f the political bases o f the imperial regime. T h e specialised agencies, o n the other hand, did carry o u t n e w and important tasks for w h i c h there had been n o place in the preceding millennia o f independent Ethiopia. A similar process t o o k place in S o m a l i a . In the immediate p o s t - w a r period, n o n e o f the territories o f the H o r n possessed either the capital o r the expertise needed t o d e v e l o p o n their o w n , and t h o u g h the lack o f expertise w a s t o some extent made g o o d by education o v e r the subsequent decades, the capital deficiency remained. D e v e l o p m e n t therefore critically d e p e n d e d o n outside assistance. In the S o m a l i territories, this w a s p r o v i d e d until i960 (or t h r o u g h o u t the p e r i o d in C F S / T F A I ) b y the colonial and trustee administrations. T h e B r i t i s h military a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in the 1940s w a s l a r g e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h m a i n t e n a n c e functions, and e v e n in the 1950s the p a c e o f c h a n g e in British S o m a l i l a n d remained s l o w , b u t the Italian trustee administration in S o m a l i a p r o m o t e d i n v e s t m e n t b y b o t h state a n d p r i v a t e interests, r e v i v e d the b a n a n a i n d u s t r y , a n d e n c o u r a g e d p r o d u c t i o n o f c o t t o n and cereals. E t h i o p i a m e a n w h i l e relied o n advisers o f m a n y nationalities, and o n d e v e l o p m e n t aid w h i c h c a m e principally f r o m the U n i t e d States and from international institutions, w h i c h b e t w e e n them accounted consis­ tently for s o m e three-quarters o f external a i d ; f r o m the late 1950s

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o n w a r d s , E t h i o p i a further diversified the sources o f assistance to include loans from Y u g o s l a v i a and the U S S R , and subsequently C h i n a . E x t e r n a l i n d e b t e d n e s s , h e l d s t e a d y at a b o u t $ U S 5 0 m i n the 1950s, thereafter rose precipitously to $ U S 7 6 m in 1963, J U S 1 3 0 m in 1968, a n d $ U S 240m in 1 9 7 3 , in o r d e r t o m e e t n o t o n l y d e v e l o p m e n t expenditure b u t the increasing costs o f the p u b l i c s e r v i c e . T h e S o m a l i R e p u b l i c , t o o , d i v e r s i f i e d its s o u r c e s o f aid after i n d e p e n d e n c e in i 9 6 0 , a n d b e c a m e o n e o f t h e l a r g e s t recipients p e r capita in the w o r l d . D e s p i t e w e l l p u b l i c i s e d R u s s i a n a n d C h i n e s e p r o j e c t s , m o s t o f it, e v e n after t h e 1 9 6 9 r e v o l u t i o n , continued to c o m e from western and international agencies. A i d w a s largely used o n infrastructural d e v e l o p m e n t s , especially c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . T h e core o f the r e g i o n ' s c o m m u n i c a t i o n s net­ w o r k c o n t i n u e d to b e the Italian road s y s t e m built before 1 9 4 1 . T h i s w a s e x t e n d e d and i m p r o v e d , especially in s o u t h e r n E t h i o p i a , and a n e w road w a s built to the R e d Sea port o f A s s a b , but v e r y f e w f e e d e r r o a d s w e r e c o n s t r u c t e d , a n d in m o s t p a r t s o f E t h i o p i a p r o d u c e had to be b r o u g h t by m u l e to the nearest main road. B u t w h e r e a s E t h i o p i a at l e a s t h a d a f a i r l y c e n t r a l i s e d n e t w o r k r a d i a t i n g from A d d i s A b a b a , the Somali R e p u b l i c had o n l y the m o s t m e a g r e l a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s b e t w e e n its t w o m a j o r c e n t r e s o f p o p u l a t i o n , M o g a d i s h u a n d t h e S h e b e l e - J u b a b a s i n in t h e s o u t h , a n d t h e h i g h l a n d s r o u n d H a r g e i s a in the n o r t h . T h e m o s t direct r o u t e b e t w e e n them, m o r e o v e r , w a s barred b y the great w e d g e o f E t h i o p i a n t e r r i t o r y , a n d a n a l l - w e a t h e r n o r t h - s o u t h r o a d w a s still u n d e r c o n s t r u c t i o n , w i t h C h i n e s e a s s i s t a n c e , at t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d . N o n e w r a i l w a y s w e r e built in the r e g i o n , b u t a n e t w o r k o f l o c a l air s e r v i c e s , e s p e c i a l l y i n E t h i o p i a , l i n k e d o u t l y i n g t o w n s w h i c h w e r e o n l y w i t h d i f f i c u l t y , i f at all, a c c e s s i b l e b y r o a d . T h u s internal c o m m u n i c a t i o n s w e r e appreciably better b y the e n d o f the p e r i o d t h a n t h e y h a d b e e n at t h e b e g i n n i n g . S o w e r e l i n k s w i t h t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d . I n t e r n a t i o n a l a i r p o r t s w e r e b u i l t at A s m a r a , D i r e D a w a a n d A d d i s A b a b a i n E t h i o p i a , at J i b u t i , a n d at H a r g e i s a , M o g a d i s h u a n d (in 1 9 7 4 ) K i s m a y u i n t h e R e p u b l i c . Jibuti c o n t i n u e d to b e the largest p o r t in the r e g i o n , h a n d l i n g m o s t o f E t h i o p i a ' s t r a d e e v e n after t h e 1 9 5 2 F e d e r a t i o n w h i c h g a v e E t h i o p i a d i r e c t a c c e s s t o t h e R e d S e a at M a s s a w a a n d A s s a b , w h e r e a n e w m o d e r n port w a s built. T h e Somalis had n o m o d e r n p o r t f a c i l i t i e s u n t i l 1 9 6 8 - 9 , w h e n t h e R u s s i a n - b u i l t p o r t at B e r b e r a i n t h e n o r t h , a n d t h e A m e r i c a n - b u i l t o n e at K i s m a y u i n t h e s o u t h , 494

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both came into operation. A t M o g a d i s h u a n e w port was nearing c o m p l e t i o n in 1 9 7 5 . Industrial d e v e l o p m e n t within the r e g i o n w a s largely confined to Ethiopia, and within Ethiopia to Shoa province and Eritrea. W h i l e the b e g i n n i n g s o f industrialisation dated from the Fascist a n d l i b e r a t i o n p e r i o d s , its g r o w t h w a s s l o w u n t i l t h e l a t e 1 9 5 0 s ; f r o m t h e n o n w a r d s it e x p a n d e d s t e a d i l y u n t i l b y t h e 1 9 7 0 s it accounted for s o m e 5 per cent o f gross domestic product. Industrial textile p r o d u c t i o n g o t u n d e r w a y w i t h Indian and J a p a n e s e i n v e s t m e n t in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , a n d o t h e r areas o f l a r g e scale p r o d u c t i o n included b u i l d i n g materials, shoes and ciga­ r e t t e s . It is n o t c l e a r w h e t h e r t h e v e r y g e n e r o u s t e r m s o f f e r e d t o f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s h a d a n y s u b s t a n t i a l effect o n t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s . S h o a p r o v i n c e contained 63.4 per cent o f industrial e m p l o y e e s in 1970, f o l l o w e d b y E r i t r e a (23.6 p e r c e n t ) , and b y H a r a r a n d G o j j a m ; the r e m a i n i n g ten p r o v i n c e s had 1 per cent o f the total b e t w e e n t h e m . A n a t t e m p t at r e g i o n a l i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n i n T i g r e province energetically p r o m o t e d b y the G o v e r n o r , Ras M a n g a s h a S e y o u m , after i 9 6 0 , e n d e d i n f a i l u r e . S o m a l i i n d u s t r y w a s l a r g e l y confined to processing agricultural products, including meat canning and sugar refining, t h o u g h a m o r e determined attempt t o p r o m o t e m a n u f a c t u r e o f b a s i c g o o d s s u c h as b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s w a s u n d e r t a k e n after t h e r e v o l u t i o n . T h e m i l i t a r y r e v o l u t i o n s i n b o t h c o u n t r i e s , h o w e v e r , m o r e directly affected o w n e r s h i p t h a n production, since both o f t h e m had a strong ideological hostility to capitalism in g e n e r a l a n d f o r e i g n capitalists in particular. T h e Somali g o v e r n m e n t nationalised banks and petrol companies s o o n after t h e r e v o l u t i o n , a n d i n e a r l y 1 9 7 2 t o o k c o n t r o l o f all s e c t o r s o f the e c o n o m y , i n c l u d i n g m e d i c a l facilities. In E t h i o p i a , b a n k i n g b e c a m e a state m o n o p o l y w i t h the f o u n d a t i o n o f the State B a n k o f E t h i o p i a in 1942, and t h o u g h p r i v a t e E t h i o p i a n - o w n e d b a n k s w e r e later p e r m i t t e d , a n d o n e w a s f o r m e d , b a n k i n g r e m a i n e d o v e r w h e l m i n g l y in state h a n d s , a n d the i n s u r a n c e i n d u s t r y w a s also E t h i o p i a n i s e d f r o m 1 9 7 0 ; the state also o w n e d o r had shares in m a n y o t h e r c o m m e r c i a l v e n t u r e s . F r o m 1 9 7 4 , h o w e v e r , the tone and pace o f nationalisation sharply changed, w i t h the intention o f creating a state-controlled e c o n o m y in the shortest possible time. T h e s e e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s led to social c h a n g e in the f o r m o f n e w kinds o f association created b y the n e w occupational

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structure. T h e earliest a n d m o s t w i d e s p r e a d o f these w e r e the u r b a n v e r s i o n s o f traditional self-help a s s o c i a t i o n s , k n o w n as iqub edir a n d mahaber i n E t h i o p i a , c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f n e w l y u r b a n ­ ised societies. L a b o u r u n i o n s w e r e f o r m e d in Eritrea a n d a m o n g the employees o f the J i b u t i - A d d i s A b a b a railway from the mid-1940s o n w a r d s , a n d t h e first s t r i k e w a s r e p o r t e d a m o n g r a i l w a y w o r k e r s i n 1947. T h e E r i t r e a n u n i o n s w e r e a c t i v e l y i n v o l v e d i n l o c a l p o l i t i c s d u r i n g t h e f e d e r a t i o n p e r i o d , aijd t h e i r leader, W o l d e a b W o l d e m a r i a m , j o i n e d t h e E L F , b u t in t h e rest o f E t h i o p i a t h e y w e r e m u c h less p r o m i n e n t , a n d a legal f r a m e w o r k a l l o w i n g t h e f o r m a t i o n o f u n i o n s w a s n o t p r o m u l g a t e d u n t i l 1962. T h e Confederation o f Ethiopian L a b o u r Unions, w h i c h w a s then f o r m e d , c l a i m e d s o m e 80000 m e m b e r s i n o v e r 160 u n i o n s b y 1973, including n o t o n l y urban b u t also plantation w o r k e r s such as the employees o f the Wonji Sugar Company. Regarded with some suspicion b y the imperial g o v e r n m e n t , they t o o k an important p a r t i n t h e a g i t a t i o n w h i c h l e d t o t h e r e v o l u t i o n o f 1974, a n d w h i c h w a s initially p r o m p t e d b y a strike o f A d d i s A b a b a taxi drivers. y

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A limited n u m b e r o f themes e n c o m p a s s the m a i n issues a n d developments in agricultural change in the H o r n t h r o u g h o u t o u r period. In Ethiopia, characterised b y settled agriculture practised under archaic tenure systems in the northern highlands a n d generally exploitative ones elsewhere, the main issue w a s land r e f o r m ; in the S o m a l i territories, w i t h their precarious n o m a d i c e c o n o m i e s , it w a s s é d e n t a r i s a t i o n . O v e r l y i n g b o t h o f t h e s e w a s the m o v e m e n t f r o m subsistence t o cash farming. W h e r e a s in the last r e s p e c t t h e r e w a s c o n t i n u o u s t h o u g h u n e v e n c h a n g e t h r o u g h o u t t h e p e r i o d , i n t h e first t w o c h a n g e c a m e , w i t h dramatic suddenness, at the e n d . Commercial agriculture developed through a variety o f agencies, b o t h external and indigenous. W h a t these h a d in c o m m o n was a form o f socio-economic organisation capable o f operating a sustained c o m m e r c i a l enterprise, c o m b i n e d w i t h the essentially political ability t o maintain c o n t r o l o v e r a suitable area o f land. T h e result, intriguingly, w a s that in b o t h E t h i o p i a a n d the S o m a l i region cash c r o p p i n g developed o n the peripheries o f the locally d o m i n a n t social a n d political g r o u p i n g s . I n S o m a l i a , this m a y

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o b v i o u s l y be ascribed in part t o the ecological inadequacy o f the S o m a l i h e a r t l a n d s , t h o u g h it m a y a l s o b e p a r t l y a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e resilience o f the n o m a d i c social structure; S o m a l i agriculture thus d e v e l o p e d principally a m o n g the atypical and s o m e w h a t despised Sab g r o u p s o f the S h e b e l e - J u b a basin, and also in the highlands o f the extreme north-west, a r o u n d Hargeisa and B o r a m a . In E t h i o p i a t h e p a t t e r n is still m o r e s t r i k i n g , s i n c e t h e c e n t r a l A m h a r a highlands had been inhabited b y arable agriculturalists for m a n y centuries, yet remained almost entirely uncommercialised to the e n d o f o u r p e r i o d . O n e i m p o r t a n t p o i n t e r is t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e p e o p l e o f this area, c o m p r i s i n g n o r t h e r n S h o a a n d m u c h o f the p r o v i n c e s o f G o j j a m , W o l l o , B e g e m d e r a n d T i g r e , t o resist the p a y m e n t o f taxes, and thus the need for a cash i n c o m e from w h i c h tax p a y m e n t s c o u l d be m e t ; they thus a v o i d e d o n e o f the m a i n pressures for c o m m e r c i a l agriculture in m a n y parts o f Africa. Equally important, peasant cultivators entrenched behind ancient systems o f land tenure w e r e able to prevent incursion by central l a n d l o r d s , s u c h as h a p p e n e d i n m u c h o f s o u t h e r n E t h i o p i a , o r b y foreign enterprises. A n y threat to tax e x e m p t i o n or the land-tenure system w a s m e t b y armed revolt, m o s t clearly in the G o j j a m rebellion o f 1968. T h e areas o f c o m m e r c i a l c u l t i v a t i o n t h u s f o r m e d a ring r o u n d the central h i g h l a n d s , f r o m the Italian farms o f Eritrea to the c o m p a n y plantations o f the A w a s h valley, the coffee g r o w i n g a r e a s o f t h e s o u t h a n d w e s t , a n d t h e H u m e r a district o n the B e g e m d e r - S u d a n e s e b o r d e r . T h e use o f political p o w e r to generate agricultural d e v e l o p m e n t is m o s t o b v i o u s i n t h e I t a l i a n c o l o n i a l p l a n t a t i o n s . T h o u g h t h e s e w e r e f o u n d e d b e f o r e o u r p e r i o d , t h e y w e r e r e v i v e d after t h e w a r , and continued to be an important source o f vegetable and dairy products in Eritrea, and o f bananas in S o m a l i a ; the bananas enjoyed a protected h i g h price m a r k e t in Italy, w h i c h c o n t i n u e d t o t a k e a v e r y h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e c r o p e v e n after it h a d b e e n b r o u g h t u n d e r S o m a l i state c o n t r o l t h r o u g h a N a t i o n a l B a n a n a B o a r d f o r m e d in 1970. T h e o n l y o t h e r i m p o r t a n t area o f f o r e i g n m a n a g e d agriculture w a s the A w a s h valley in eastern E t h i o p i a , site o f t h e s u g a r p l a n t a t i o n s o f t h e D u t c h H V A c o m p a n y d a t i n g from 1 9 5 1 , and o f a British c o t t o n plantation. C o n d i t i o n s in the s u g a r plantations, in w h i c h the E t h i o p i a n g o v e r n m e n t h a d a large h o l d i n g , led to the formation o f o n e o f the m o s t militant trade u n i o n s in E t h i o p i a , w h i l e at the s a m e t i m e the c o m p a n y , t h r o u g h 497

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its m o n o p o l y o f t h e d o m e s t i c s u g a r m a r k e t , w a s a b l e t o s e c u r e profits a m o u n t i n g t o s o m e 24 p e r c e n t o f t u r n o v e r . E l s e w h e r e , commercialisation t o o k place under indigenous control, t h o u g h it m a d e a v e r y g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e w h e t h e r t h i s r e f e r r e d t o t h e l o c a l peasantry o r t o landlords. A g r i c u l t u r e in the w h o l e southern half o f E t h i o p i a , f r o m H a r a r in t h e east t h r o u g h s o u t h e r n S h o a t o W a l e g a in the w e s t , w a s d o m i n a t e d b y l a n d l o r d s , a n d this area p r o d u c e d b y far t h e greatest part o f E t h i o p i a n e x p o r t s . T h e land-tenure system resulted from the Ethiopian conquest in the late n i n e t e e n t h a n d early t w e n t i e t h centuries, w i t h t h e g r a n t i n g o f rights o v e r land, w h i c h eventually became s y n o n y m o u s w i t h o w n e r s h i p , t o b o t h h i g h officials a n d i n d i v i d u a l s e t t l e r s f r o m t h e n o r t h ; m u c h land also remained in the hands o f the emperor, and o f s o m e leading southern families. L a n d in southern E t h i o p i a continued t o b e alienated from the i n d i g e n o u s p o p u l a t i o n t h r o u g h ­ o u t t h e r e i g n o f H a i l e Selassie, as a result b o t h o f e x p r o p r i a t i o n by grasping g o v e r n o r s , and o f land grants made b y the emperor as r e w a r d s f o r l o y a l t y ; m a n y a r m y o f f i c e r s w e r e i n t h i s w a y g i v e n an e c o n o m i c stake in the maintenance o f the r e g i m e . In the s o u t h e r n p r o v i n c e s as a w h o l e , s o m e 50 t o 55 p e r c e n t o f l a n d h o l d i n g s w e r e r e n t e d i n t h e l a t e 1 9 6 0 s , c o m p a r e d w i t h less t h a n 20 p e r c e n t i n t h e n o r t h e r n h i g h l a n d s . T h e s e l a n d o w n e r s naturally w i s h e d t o reap a cash profit f r o m their h o l d i n g s , a g o a l m o s t easily a c h i e v e d in the Kaffa r e g i o n b y e x p l o i t i n g the existing w i l d coffee forest, a n d e l s e w h e r e b y p l a n t i n g coffee, oilseeds, pulses, peppers, bananas and other crops. Coffee alone accounted for o v e r half o f Ethiopia's exports in e v e r y year from 1954 t o 1972. T h o u g h attempts w e r e made, principally b y foreign-aid agencies, t o e n c o u r a g e a g r i c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t b y s m a l l h o l d e r s , t h e effect w a s generally t o increase the payments t o landlords, and, b y p r o m o t i n g cost-effective mechanised agriculture, t o p r o m o t e e v i c t i o n s ; this w a s t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e C h i l a l o A g r i c u l t u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t Unit run b y S w e d i s h aid in A r u s i p r o v i n c e , and a similar process o f landlord c o n t r o l started t o o v e r t a k e the v e r y rapid d e v e l o p m e n t o f c a s h - c r o p f a r m i n g at H u m e r a o n t h e Sudanese b o r d e r . T h e p r o b l e m w a s r e c o g n i s e d sufficiently f o r the 1

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G i l k e s , Dying lion, 150-2. J. M . C o h e n , ' E t h i o p i a a f t e r H a i l e S e l a s s i e : t h e g o v e r n m e n t l a n d f a c t o r * , African Affairs, 1973, 7 2 , 289, 365-82. G i l k e s , Dying lion, 1 2 4 - 3 1 ; M . S t â h l , Ethiopia: political contradictions in agricultural development ( S t o c k h o l m , 1974). 2

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imperial g o v e r n m e n t t o set u p a M i n i s t r y o f L a n d R e f o r m in 1966, but since this w a s c a u g h t b e t w e e n t h e v e s t e d interests o f t h e regime's supporters in the south and the intense hostility t o c e n t r a l i n t e r f e r e n c e i n l a n d o f a l l g r o u p s i n t h e n o r t h , it is n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t it a c h i e v e d little b e y o n d s o m e v e r y u s e f u l s u r v e y w o r k . T h e total nationalisation o f land a n n o u n c e d b y the military g o v e r n m e n t after t h e 1 9 7 4 r e v o l u t i o n w a s t h e r e f o r e g r e e t e d w i t h enthusiasm in parts o f the south, a n d w i t h m u c h greater reserve i n t h e n o r t h , b u t its effects fall o u t s i d e t h e p e r i o d c o v e r e d b y t h i s chapter. In Somalia, a measure o f commercialisation f o l l o w e d the g r a d u a l drift o f n o m a d i c h e r d s m e n i n t o a g r i c u l t u r e in b o t h n o r t h and south, but for the great majority n o m a d i s m remained the only p r a c t i c a b l e f o r m o f life, as w e l l as o n e c h e r i s h e d f o r its o w n s a k e , until the great d r o u g h t o f the early 1970s. D r o u g h t w a s a recurrent danger t h r o u g h o u t the l o w - l y i n g parts o f the H o r n , w i t h d r o u g h t s o f great severity perhaps o n c e in a generation ; in B r i t i s h S o m a l i l a n d , 1 9 2 7 - 8 a n d 1950—1 w e r e p a r t i c u l a r l y b a d years. T h e d r o u g h t w h i c h spread f r o m n o r t h t o s o u t h t h r o u g h the eastern part o f the H o r n in 1 9 7 2 - 5 w a s e x c e p t i o n a l n o t o n l y f o r its i n t e n s i t y b u t a l s o f o r t h e e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s w i t h w h i c h it c o i n c i d e d . F o r t h e first t i m e a m a j o r d r o u g h t w a s s e e n n o t m e r e l y as a d i v i n e l y i n f l i c t e d p u n i s h m e n t o r as a c a t a s t r o p h e t o b e p a s s i v e l y e n d u r e d , b u t as s o m e t h i n g which governments might, and should be expected to, relieve. M o r e o v e r , it c a u g h t t h e t w o m a i n g o v e r n m e n t s o f t h e r e g i o n i n v e r y different p o s t u r e s . I n E t h i o p i a , w h e r e m a n y t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e d i e d , e s p e c i a l l y i n W o l l o p r o v i n c e , i n 1973—4, t h e g o v e r n m e n t g r e e t e d it w i t h e m b a r r a s s m e n t , c o n c e a l m e n t , a n d then an ineffective display o f imperial g e n e r o s i t y ; this picture o f n e g l e c t , as it e m e r g e d f r o m t h e r e v e l a t i o n s o f f o r e i g n j o u r n a l i s t s , w a s v e r y effectively used t o discredit the m o n a r c h y d u r i n g 1974. In the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c , w h i c h w a s w o r s t struck in 1 9 7 4 - 5 , the m i l i t a r y g o v e r n m e n t u s e d it as a n o p p o r t u n i t y b o t h t o a p p e a l f o r f o r e i g n h e l p , a n d t o p r o m o t e i n d r a s t i c f a s h i o n its p l a n s f o r sédentarisation. D e s t i t u t e n o m a d s w e r e settled b o t h o n arable l a n d s a n d — a g r e a t i n n o v a t i o n — i n fishing c o m m u n i t i e s a r o u n d the coast. T h e s e c h a n g e s h a d scarcely g o t u n d e r w a y at the e n d o f o u r p e r i o d , a n d it w a s n o t y e t c l e a r w h e t h e r t h e y r e p r e s e n t e d 1

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the Somali drought ( L o n d o n , 1975).

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M u c h o f the experience o f the H o r n d u r i n g the central third o f the twentieth century derived from d e v e l o p m e n t s w h i c h w e r e c o m m o n t o t h e w h o l e o f A f r i c a a n d , i n d e e d , t o m u c h o f t h e rest o f the g l o b e . T h e g r o w t h o f population, the extension o f a monetary e c o n o m y geared principally to export p r o d u c t i o n , the introduction o f formalised educational systems and their p r o v i s i o n o f trained m a n p o w e r t o n e w l y created state and p r i v a t e institutions w h o s e m e m b e r s c a m e in c o n s e q u e n c e t o f o r m an ' elite superior i n w e a l t h , p o w e r a n d s t a t u s t o t h e i r f e l l o w s , w e r e all o f t h e m familiar processes elsewhere. R u d i m e n t a r y in 1940, these processes had b y 1975 reached s u c h a level that the contrast m u s t h a v e b e e n staggering to any Somali or Ethiopian w h o had lived t h r o u g h the entire period, m o r e s o perhaps than in m a n y other parts o f the continent w h e r e the e q u i v a l e n t processes had b e g u n earlier and c o n t i n u e d m o r e e v e n l y ; b u t in this respect the H o r n m a y b e said to h a v e experienced n o m o r e than an accelerated f o r m o f a familiar revolution. 9

W h a t w a s distinctive a b o u t the H o r n w a s the absence o f the c o l o n i a l a n d p o s t - c o l o n i a l s t a t e as a m e c h a n i s m f o r e n s u r i n g at least an administrative a n d t o s o m e extent also a n o r m a t i v e continuity t h r o u g h a period o f social and e c o n o m i c change. In E t h i o p i a a n d the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c , the state w a s n o t , as e l s e w h e r e , an alien f r a m e w o r k externally i m p o s e d but subsequently a c c e p t e d - i n d e e d , l a r g e l y t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d - as t h e m a t r i x w i t h i n w h i c h the various permutations o f domestic political competition c o u l d be w o r k e d out. It e m b o d i e d , rather, an internal and e x p a n s i o n i s t d y n a m i c , f o r S o m a l i s as t h e a g e n c y f o r a c h i e v i n g n a t i o n a l u n i f i c a t i o n , i n E t h i o p i a as t h e e x p r e s s i o n o f a c e n t r a l a n d i m p e r i a l h e g e m o n y o v e r s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a s , w h i c h m a d e it p a r t and parcel o f domestic political conflict. In b o t h countries, the t a k e o v e r o f the state b y military r e g i m e s m o r e clearly r e v o l u t i o n ­ a r y t h a n a n y f o u n d e l s e w h e r e i n A f r i c a w a s p r o m p t e d - it is n o t t o o f a n c i f u l t o s u g g e s t - b y its f a i l u r e t o l i v e u p t o t h e d y n a m i c w h i c h w a s h e l d t o j u s t i f y its e x i s t e n c e . B e n e a t h t h e i r M a r x i s t rhetoric, b o t h o f the revolutionary g o v e r n m e n t s expressed an

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intensified f o r m o f an existing national i d e o l o g y : in the R e p u b l i c that o f unification, in E t h i o p i a that o f assimilation t o an essentially central c o n c e p t i o n o f n a t i o n h o o d . W h e r e t h e t w o states d i f f e r e d f r o m o n e a n o t h e r w a s i n t h e implications o f this i d e o l o g y for the identities o f o t h e r g r o u p s w i t h i n the w o u l d - b e nation. In the S o m a l i R e p u b l i c , the N R C s attempted destruction o f clan identities w a s balanced b y an emphasis o n a h o m o g e n i s e d S o m a l i n a t i o n h o o d in w h i c h m e m b e r s o f all c l a n s h a d a p a r t . I n a w a y , t h e p r o c e s s w a s t h e r e v e r s e o f that w h i c h had o c c u r r e d d u r i n g the p e r i o d o f party c o m p e t i t i o n , w h e n clan identities had b e e n emphasised b y politicians s e e k i n g s u p p o r t : since clans f o r m e d part o f a S o m a l i p e o p l e , unified b y l a n g u a g e , literature, religion and traditional descent, neither the e n c o u r a g e m e n t nor the suppression o f clan directly threatened the national identity. B y suppressing the clan, the N R C s o u g h t to r e m o v e an i m p o r t a n t s o u r c e o f d o m e s t i c f e u d i n g o v e r political and e c o n o m i c allocations, but because o f the c o m m o n S o m a l i h e r i t a g e it d i d n o t r u n t o o g r e a t a r i s k o f p o p u l a r r e a c t i o n . T h e c o m b i n e d process o f sédentarisation and h o m o g e n i s a t i o n w a s indeed v e r y similar, in a m u c h s p e e d e d - u p f o r m , t o that w h i c h had existed o v e r a l o n g period a m o n g the S a b g r o u p s o f the J u b a - S h e b e l e basin. C o n v e r s e l y in E t h i o p i a , just as the m o b i l i s a t i o n o f e t h n i c i d e n t i t i e s h a d b e e n s e e n i n t h e p r e - r e v o l u t i o n a r y p e r i o d as p o s i n g a s e r i o u s t h r e a t t o n a t i o n a l u n i t y , as w a s s h o w n b y t h e s u p p r e s s i o n o f the M e c h a T u l a m a association, so the accession o f a r e v o l ­ utionary nationalist g o v e r n m e n t in A d d i s A b a b a p r o m p t e d a localist reaction a m o n g m a n y o f the peripheral peoples. In the case o f the cultivators o f southern and w e s t e r n E t h i o p i a , c o m m i t m e n t to the regime c o u l d be purchased t h r o u g h a p o l i c y o f land nationalisation w h i c h c o n f o r m e d w i t h the D e r g ' s socialist aspir­ a t i o n s w i t h o u t c o n f l i c t i n g w i t h its n a t i o n a l i s t o n e s . E l s e w h e r e , t h e policy o f assimilation to the centralist ethic implicit in E t h i o p i a n n a t i o n a l i s m w a s n o t s o e a s i l y a c c o m p l i s h e d , t h o u g h its o u t c o m e at t h e e n d o f t h e p e r i o d w a s still e x t r e m e l y u n c l e a r . W h a t w a s c l e a r w a s that the processes o f social, e c o n o m i c and political c h a n g e in the r e g i o n in the three d e c a d e s after the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r had in m a n y respects reinforced the tensions implicit in the m a k e - u p o f the H o r n .

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H i s t o r i c a l l y n o r t h - e a s t A f r i c a is r i v a l l e d i n i m p o r t a n c e b y n o o t h e r r e g i o n o f the continent. E g y p t , the focal p o i n t o f this r e g i o n , w h i c h also comprises L i b y a and the Sudan, has successively been o n e o f the cradles o f western civilisation, a major centre o f M u s l i m c u l t u r e , a n d in m o r e recent times a base for P a n - A r a b a n d Pan-Islamic resistance to political or cultural d o m i n a t i o n b y the w e s t . I t w a s i n E g y p t t h a t t h e first p o l i t i c a l a n d , m o r e i m p o r t a n t , p h i l o s o p h i c a l reaction against w e s t e r n tutelage in A f r i c a t o o k place. L i b y a and the Sudan, E g y p t ' s western and southern n e i g h b o u r s , h a v e b e e n c l o s e l y l i n k e d t o its d e s t i n y . T h i s w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e case d u r i n g o u r p e r i o d , w h e n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a n g e in E g y p t t h a t t o o k p l a c e after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r h a d p e r c u s s i v e effects o n t h e s o c i a l , e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l life o f h e r n e i g h b o u r s . Historical links w e r e reflected in similarities in the political a n d social s p h e r e . T h e three states are p r e d o m i n a n t l y M u s l i m a n d h a d all s u f f e r e d u n d e r s o m e f o r m o f w e s t e r n c o n t r o l , f r o m w h i c h t h e y o n l y finally e s c a p e d d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d u n d e r r e v i e w . T h e y s h a r e d a b a c k g r o u n d o f anti-imperialist agitation and an identity w i t h Pan-Islamism and A r a b nationalism. T h e y also e x p e r i e n c e d ten­ sions b e t w e e n secular political ideologies and traditional M u s l i m notions o f the polity. M a n y o f these tensions w e r e attributable to the rapid s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c h a n g e s t a k i n g place t h r o u g h o u t the r e g i o n b u t , b e c a u s e o f the v e r y different g e o g r a p h i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e t h r e e s t a t e s c o m p r i s i n g it, t h e y w e r e v a r i e d in their nature. W i t h a c o m b i n e d area o f s o m e t w o m i l l i o n s q u a r e m i l e s (c. five m i l l i o n s q . k m ) a n d a p o p u l a t i o n o f less t h a n 60 m i l l i o n i n 1 9 7 5 , t h e r e s h o u l d h a v e e x i s t e d a v e r y l o w p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y . I n r e a l i t y , h o w e v e r , t h i s w a s n o t t h e c a s e , as m o s t o f the land w a s u n i n h a b i t a b l e o r unfit for c u l t i v a t i o n . E g y p t , w i t h s o m e 40 m i l l i o n inhabitants, w a s the m o s t p o p u l o u s o f t h e t h r e e s t a t e s . A l t h o u g h it h a d a n a r e a o f 386 t h o u s a n d s q u a r e 502

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miles, o n l y 3 p e r cent o f the land w a s arable, w h i c h m e a n t in real t e r m s t h a t it h a d o n e o f t h e h i g h e s t p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t i e s i n t h e w o r l d . L i b y a , a l t h o u g h m o s t o f its 6 7 9 t h o u s a n d s q u a r e m i l e s w a s also desert, had a p o p u l a t i o n o f o n l y s o m e t w o million. T h e Sudan, w i t h 967 thousand square miles and a p o p u l a t i o n o f s o m e 18 m i l l i o n , h a d a m u c h m o r e v a r i e d t o p o g r a p h y t h a n its n o r t h e r n n e i g h b o u r s . E a c h d i f f e r e d g r e a t l y i n its e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . L i b y a , b y far t h e r i c h e s t o f t h e t h r e e o n a c c o u n t o f its h u g e o i l r e s e r v e s , t h e i m p a c t o f w h i c h w a s felt o n l y after i 9 6 0 , w a s h a m p e r e d i n its d e v e l o p m e n t b y l a c k o f p o p u l a t i o n . E g y p t , less favourably e n d o w e d w i t h natural resources, especially minerals, w a s i m p e d e d i n its e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s b y a r a t e o f p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h that negated m a n y o f the gains m a d e t h r o u g h increased i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a n d i r r i g a t i o n . T h e S u d a n r e m a i n e d b y far t h e poorest r e g i o n o f the three. A l t h o u g h t h e e c o n o m i e s o f t h e t h r e e s t a t e s g r e w at d i f f e r e n t rates i n t h e p e r i o d 1 9 4 0 - 7 5 , t h e i r s o c i a l effects w e r e s i m i l a r . E c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , in particular industrialisation, stimulated b o t h the increasing prolétarisation o f the urban masses and the increasing secularisation o f the élite, w i t h the p o l i t y in e a c h case b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y p o l a r i s e d as a r e s u l t . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f trade unions, but m o r e especially the g r o w i n g i m p o r t a n c e o f the m i l i t a r y , j o i n e d at t h e l e v e l o f t h e e x e c u t i v e o r o f f i c e r c l a s s b y precisely those w h o had been politicised and w h o had political experience, reflected this polarisation. F r o m c o n s e r v a t i v e M u s l i m s to Marxists, the armies w e r e inundated b y y o u n g idealists, w h o w a n t e d n o t o n l y t o d e f e n d the nation and the state, b u t also t o s t e p i n t o t h e p o l i t i c a l a r e n a . A f t e r 1 9 5 2 , t h e y e a r o f E g y p t ' s coup d'état, t h e l i n e s b e t w e e n c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y p o l i t i c s b e c a m e blurred and the military eventually b e c a m e the mainstay o f the p o l i t y i n all t h r e e s t a t e s . A further c o m m o n political experience o f the three countries in o u r period w a s the nature o f their relations w i t h the great p o w e r s . A l t h o u g h b y m i d - 1 9 5 0 t h e y h a d all o b t a i n e d p o l i t i c a l independence, they remained economically dependent o n one or the other o f the great p o w e r s , particularly the U n i t e d States o f A m e r i c a and the U n i o n o f S o v i e t Socialist R e p u b l i c s . E g y p t a t t e m p t e d t o steer a ' n o n - a l i g n e d ' c o u r s e , b u t failed t o d o s o because the c o u n t r y n e e d e d b o t h e c o n o m i c and military aid f r o m external sources. Finally, the Palestinian p r o b l e m , and the repeated 503

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w a r s b e t w e e n t h e A r a b s t a t e s a n d I s r a e l left a p r o f o u n d , i f n o t devastating, mark o n the region. A p a r t from the massive h u m a n a n d m a t e r i a l l o s s e s , t h e r e g i o n o n t h e w h o l e w a s , as a r e s u l t , ideologically traumatised, resulting in a p e r i o d o f self-criticism d u r i n g w h i c h the causes o f w e a k n e s s and defeat w e r e s o u g h t . O n the other hand the I s r a e l i - A r a b conflict contributed to the p o l i t i c i s a t i o n o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f all t h r e e c o u n t r i e s , a n d b r o u g h t t o p o w e r , o r facilitated the e m e r g e n c e of, n e w social a n d political elements. Y e t despite c o m m o n religious and historical links and the shared struggle against colonialism and Z i o n i s m , the three s t a t e s w e r e m a r k e d b y c o n s i d e r a b l e p o l i t i c a l a n d i d e o l o g i c a l , as w e l l as s o c i o - e c o n o m i c , d i f f e r e n c e s .

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T h e A n g l o - E g y p t i a n T r e a t y o f 1936 had been intended b o t h to s e c u r e E g y p t as a n a l l y o f B r i t a i n i n c a s e o f w a r b e c a u s e o f h e r vital strategic position, and to assuage nationalist criticism o f Britain's role in the c o u n t r y . E v e n s o , the c o u n t r y c o n t i n u e d t o e x p e r i e n c e s e r i o u s p o l i t i c a l u n r e s t u n t i l w e l l after t h e o u t b r e a k o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . G o v e r n m e n t s w e r e frequently reshuffled, as t h e y o u n g a n d i n e x p e r i e n c e d K i n g F a r u q ( F a r o u k ) , w h o h a d o n l y c o m e to the t h r o n e in A p r i l 1936, attempted to exert his o w n authority in relation b o t h t o the r u l i n g W a f d Party and the British H i g h C o m m i s s i o n b y s u p p o r t i n g radical politicians o r m o v e m e n t s . In the t o w n s , the y o u n g e r and politically articulate generation, organised into various political g r o u p s o f conflicting ideological orientations - s o m e nationalist and s o m e ardently Islamist battled against each other, and continued their agitation against t h e still c o n s i d e r a b l e B r i t i s h m i l i t a r y a n d p o l i t i c a l p r e s e n c e . T h i s political unrest reflected a g r o w i n g politicisation o f society, if n o t a nascent class conflict. Since the 1 9 1 9 ' r e v o l u t i o n ' , a n d e s p e c i a l l y as a r e s u l t o f t h e d e p r e s s i o n , t h e s o c i o - e c o n o m i c structure o f the country had u n d e r g o n e considerable changes. D u r i n g t h e 1 9 2 0 s , efforts at i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n h a d c r e a t e d a n e n l a r g e d c l a s s o f w o r k e r s , as t h e g r o w i n g n u m b e r s o f t r a d e u n i o n s indicated. M o r e important, the nationalist m o v e m e n t had p r o m p t e d the E g y p t i a n b o u r g e o i s i e t o i n v e s t in industry, h e a d e d 504

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25 Egypt. b y the a l l - E g y p t i a n B a n q u e al-Misr, in o r d e r t o g a i n greater independence from Great Britain and other foreign investors. B y the early 1930s this e c o n o m i c n a t i o n a l i s m also b e g a n t o manifest itself in radical student g r o u p s and trade u n i o n s , w h i c h called for the b o y c o t t o f foreign, and especially British, g o o d s . E q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t at t h a t t i m e , a n d a c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r t o t h e p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l , w a s t h e r e v i v a l o f I s l a m as a p o l i t i c a l f o r c e . T o b e s u r e this r e v i v a l also t o o k different f o r m s — literary o r e c o n o m i c , f o r i n s t a n c e - b u t its t h r u s t w a s t h e r e s u s c i t a t i o n o f p r i s t i n e I s l a m . T h e political expression o f this r e v i v a l w a s the M u s l i m B r o t h e r ­ h o o d (al-Ikwan al-Muslimun) headed b y the popular S h a y k h 505

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H a s s a n a l - B a n n a ' , w h i c h , in the eyes o f s o m e o b s e r v e r s , repres­ e n t e d t h e first m a s s - s u p p o r t e d a n d o r g a n i s e d , e s s e n t i a l l y u r b a n o r i e n t e d effort t o c o p e w i t h t h e p l i g h t o f I s l a m i n t h e m o d e r n world. Intrinsically the I k w a n f o l l o w e d earlier (especially nineteenth-century) Islamic reform m o v e m e n t s , but w a s activist w h e r e earlier o n e s had b e e n m o r e p h i l o s o p h i c a l in nature. O t h e r g r o u p s a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s , s u c h as M i s r a l - F a t a t ( t h e G r e e n Shirts) and the Y o u n g M e n ' s M u s l i m A s s o c i a t i o n , w e r e also part o f this r e v i v a l , and a l t h o u g h politically i m p o r t a n t d u r i n g the 1930s, they n e v e r attained the same d e g r e e o f w i d e s p r e a d s u p p o r t as I k w a n . A p a r t f r o m a c o m m o n I s l a m i c o u t l o o k , extreme nationalist fervour and considerable political popularity a m o n g s t the m a s s e s , e l e m e n t s in these m o v e m e n t s also shared the belief that violence w a s a legitimate tool for the attainment o f their objectives. T h u s b e t w e e n 1936 and 1939, w h e n martial law w a s declared, riots and attempted assassinations b e c a m e c o m m o n p l a c e , and w e r e indicative b o t h o f the u n d e r l y i n g unrest in society, especially a m o n g the y o u n g e r generation and the urban proletariat, and the continued o p p o s i t i o n to the presence o f the British and their E g y p t i a n collaborators. T h i s unrest w a s exploited b y foreign p o w e r s s u c h as G e r m a n y a n d I t a l y , w h i c h w e r e t h e m s e l v e s heading towards a conflict w i t h G r e a t Britain and France. A g e n t s o f the Fascist p o w e r s w e r e a c t i v e l y e n g a g e d in soliciting political support against British and French control. 1

N e i t h e r the pro-British g o v e r n m e n t s n o r the British H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r , Sir M i l e s L a m p s o n , w e r e able to p r e v e n t these developments. Considerable diplomatic pressure w a s , h o w e v e r , exerted b y the British o n the W a f d and the interim g o v e r n m e n t at l e a s t t o c u r t a i l v i o l e n c e , a n d t h e r e w e r e fears t h a t t h e B r i t i s h m i g h t i n t e r v e n e t o p r o t e c t t h e i r i n t e r e s t s . I n effect B r i t i s h t h r e a t s i m p o s e d a secret and unilateral limitation o n E g y p t ' s s o v e r e i g n t y , w h i c h in the eyes o f the British g o v e r n m e n t w a s quite warranted. A f t e r 1936 e v e n t s in E u r o p e p o i n t e d t o an international military conflict, and therefore 'imperial c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ' had to be secured. F u r t h e r m o r e , the M i d d l e East t h r o u g h o u t that period w a s e x p e r i e n c i n g an increasingly v i o l e n t nationalist reaction against A n g l o - F r e n c h c o n t r o l , especially in Palestine, Iran and Syria, w h i c h spilled o v e r to other areas. 1

F o r a h i s t o r y o f t h e m o v e m e n t , see R i c h a r d P . M i t c h e l l , The Society of Muslim Brothers ( O x f o r d , 1969).

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T h e s e events did not escape the notice o f the m o r e radical n a t i o n a l i s t p o l i t i c i a n s , s u c h as ' A l l M a h i r a n d G e n e r a l ' A z i z a l - M i s r l , a n d t h e i r f o l l o w e r s . It w a s t h e y w h o t u r n e d E g y p t i n c r e a s i n g l y t o w a r d its A r a b n e i g h b o u r s b y s u p p o r t i n g P a n - A r a b nationalism, and espousing a collective a n t i - A n g l o - F r e n c h stance. A l t h o u g h the British realised the implications o f these d e v e l o p ­ m e n t s , t h e r e w a s little t h a t c o u l d b e d o n e o t h e r t h a n t o c a j o l e a n d t h r e a t e n , o r i n t h e last r e s o r t t o i n t e r v e n e m i l i t a r i l y , as w a s t o b e d o n e in F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 2 , a n e v e n t t h a t w a s o n l y t o f u e l n a t i o n a l i s t o p p o s i t i o n further. I n A u g u s t 1 9 3 9 , as E u r o p e h e a d e d t o w a r d s w a r , ' A H M a h i r , t h e n the c h i e f o f the royal cabinet and an o p e n l y p r o - A x i s nationalist, w a s a p p o i n t e d p r i m e m i n i s t e r after y e t a n o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t c r i s i s . W h i l e nationalist forces w e r e pleased, the British g o v e r n m e n t w a s v e r y c o n c e r n e d b y this d e v e l o p m e n t , n o t necessarily b e c a u s e o f M a h i r ' s p r o - A x i s leanings, b u t o n a c c o u n t o f his association w i t h t h e p a l a c e , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r h i s c l o s e ties w i t h S h a y k h a l - M a r a g h l , the rector o f A l - A z h a r since 1 9 3 5 . A l - M a r a g h l , a f o r m e r supporter o f the W a f d , had b e c o m e the m e n t o r o f e x t r e m e Islamic e l e m e n t s , j u s t as a l - M i s r l , t h e n E g y p t i a n c o m m a n d e r - i n - c h i e f , w a s the inspirational leader o f the e x t r e m e nationalists, especially a m o n g t h e y o u n g o f f i c e r s . T h e r e f o r e it w a s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e r e c t o r , as w e l l as t h e p r e m i e r , r e s i s t e d B r i t a i n ' s p r e s s u r e s o n E g y p t to declare w a r o n G e r m a n y . U n d e r the 1936 treaty, E g y p t appeared t o h a v e had an o b l i g a t i o n t o d o just that, b u t o t h e r than the declaration o f martial l a w , the g o v e r n m e n t refused t o c o m ­ ply. A t the same time the premier b e g a n to i m p l e m e n t several important n e w policies. A territorial a r m y (al-Jaysh al-Murabit) w a s c r e a t e d , h e a d e d b y ' A b d a l - R a h m a n ' A z i z , as w e l l as a S o c i a l Affairs M i n i s t r y , w h o s e e s t a b l i s h m e n t h a d b e e n r e p e a t e d l y d e m a n d e d b y n a t i o n a l i s t s . I n effect t h i s b r o u g h t i n t o b e i n g a n armed force outside the c o n t r o l o f the British military mission. M o r e o v e r , the Ministry o f W a r w a s g i v e n to another p r o - A x i s and staunch pan-Islamic sympathiser, Salih H a r b . T h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e c a b i n e t , t h e r e f o r e , a u g u r e d ill f o r B r i t i s h i n t e r e s t s , b u t a p p e a r e d t o reflect p o p u l a r o p i n i o n . I n t e r m s o f E g y p t ' s f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s , it w a s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e p r e m i e r v i s i t e d t h e S u d a n - t h e first E g y p t i a n p r e m i e r t o d o s o - i n 1 9 4 0 , t h e r e b y e m p h a s i s i n g 1

1

F o r a c l o s e r s t u d y o f *A l l M a h i r ' s role in the crisis a n d his relations w i t h the p a l a c e , see P . J. V a t i k i o t i s , Nasser and his generation ( L o n d o n , 1978).

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E g y p t ' s rights in the area. G r e a t Britain o b j e c t e d v e h e m e n t l y t o this initiative. I n t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h e W a f d , f e a r f u l o f l o s i n g its p o p u l a r i t y , p u b l i s h e d a manifesto in A p r i l 1940. W h i l s t a p p e a r i n g to p r o v i d e an alternative to the g o v e r n m e n t ' s nationalist position b y taking a n a n t i - B r i t i s h s t a n c e , i n r e a l i t y it d i d little m o r e t h a n i n s i s t u p o n E g y p t ' s political i n d e p e n d e n c e . It implicitly offered c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h the British in return for m o r e satisfactory c o n c e s s i o n s in p o s t - w a r A n g l o - E g y p t i a n relations. T h e W a f d tried t o capitalise o n B r i t a i n ' s p r e c a r i o u s p o s i t i o n i n E g y p t w h i l e at t h e s a m e t i m e exploiting the angry m o o d o f the peasants and urban p o o r w h o w e r e suffering u n d e r w a r t i m e e c o n o m i c restrictions and the generally abject e c o n o m i c situation. C o t t o n exports, the principal source o f foreign i n c o m e , had already been severely curtailed. D u r i n g t h e w a r , real i n c o m e a n d p r o d u c t i o n p e r c a p i t a fell t o t h e l o w e s t levels r e c o r d e d in the t w e n t i e t h century. F u r t h e r internal dissatisfaction and a g r o w i n g m o o d o f rebellion w e r e the result. E v e n before ' A l l M a h i r ' s and a l - M i s r f s r e m o v a l b y the British in the spring o f 1940, the I k w a n and Y o u n g E g y p t Party ( k n o w n as t h e N a t i o n a l I s l a m i c P a r t y - a l - H i z b a l - W a t a n l a l - I s l a m i - f r o m 1 9 4 0 ) , as w e l l as m a n y o f t h e r a d i c a l y o u n g o f f i c e r s , w e r e s a i d t o h a v e e v e n c o n t e m p l a t e d a r e v o l u t i o n , o r at l e a s t a coup d'etat. ' A H M a h i r ' s dismissal w a s f o l l o w e d b y t w o ineffective cabinets, b o t h h e a d e d b y i n d e p e n d e n t s w h o a t t e m p t e d t o steer a c o u r s e o f neutrality. M e a n w h i l e the W a f d w a s w a i t i n g in the w i n g s t o take p o w e r . T h i s m o m e n t a r r i v e d in F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 2 after t h e m i l i t a r y situation had deteriorated, and w h e n the A x i s forces w e r e o n the v e r g e o f c o n q u e r i n g E g y p t . W i t h her o w n interests in E g y p t about to collapse, Britain decided to intervene directly by pres­ enting an u l t i m a t u m to the k i n g d e m a n d i n g that N a h h a s Pasha, the leader o f the W a f d Party, should immediately f o r m a cabinet, and b a c k i n g this u p w i t h the threat o f a r m e d force. 1

T h e F e b r u a r y 4 i n c i d e n t o f 1 9 4 2 , as it b e c a m e k n o w n , c o n s t i ­ t u t e d a t u r n i n g p o i n t i n t h e a n n a l s o f E g y p t i a n as w e l l as A r a b h i s t o r y . Y e a r s l a t e r , after t h e J u l y c o u p o f 1 9 5 2 , G a m a l ' A b d a l Nasir, A n w a r Sadat and General N a g l b ( N e g u i b ) w e r e to declare that this e v e n t , t o g e t h e r w i t h the s u b s e q u e n t d i s a r m i n g o f the E g y p t i a n military, w a s a r o o t cause o f their determination to o v e r t h r o w F a r u q ' s r e g i m e and rid the c o u n t r y o f the British 1

V a t i k i o t i s , Nasser.

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military presence. E q u a l l y important, and politically o f particular c o n s e q u e n c e at t h e t i m e , w a s t h e d i s c r e d i t i n g o f t h e W a f d P a r t y b e c a u s e o f its a l l i a n c e w i t h B r i t i s h i n t e r e s t s a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g g r o w t h in r e v o l u t i o n a r y elements, especially the l e f t - w i n g o n e s , t h o u g h most o f them had o f course to operate underground. A s a result o f the w a r t i m e situation E g y p t i a n society w a s thus e v e n further polarised, w i t h these n e w s o c i o - e c o n o m i c and political forces undermining the already important liberal-bourgeois par­ liamentary institutions. M o r e o v e r , the W a f d , placed in p o w e r w i t h the help o f the British, w a s increasingly estranged f r o m b o t h the palace and the extreme nationalist and Islamic forces. A l t h o u g h t h e W a f d r e g i m e i n t r o d u c e d l e g i s l a t i o n , s u c h as a n e w b u d g e t , the suspension o f penalties for hoarders, the intro­ d u c t i o n o f a g r i c u l t u r a l s u b s i d i e s a n d t h e l e g a l i s a t i o n o f A r a b i c as t h e official l a n g u a g e , all o f w h i c h w e r e i n t e n d e d as p a l l i a t i v e s t o t h e m a s s e s , it f a i l e d t o r e c o g n i s e t h e n e e d f o r l a n d r e f o r m . M e a n w h i l e , extreme nationalists, including G e n e r a l ' A z i z al-Misrl, maintained contacts w i t h the A x i s p o w e r s . T h o s e k n o w n to be publicly p r o - A x i s w e r e either interned o r politically isolated. B e t w e e n 1943 a n d 1945 t h e s t r u g g l e b e t w e e n t h e p r o - p a l a c e factions and the W a f d c o n t i n u e d , leading to internal party divisions and accusations o f corruption. O n 9 O c t o b e r 1944 the k i n g d i s m i s s e d N a h h a s P a s h a , u n d o u b t e d l y i n p a r t as r e v e n g e f o r the F e b r u a r y 4 incident, a n d a p p o i n t e d A h m a d M a h i r as p r i m e minister. A h m a d M a h i r , the brother o f ' A l l , headed a g r o u p o f f o r m e r W a f d i s t s , k n o w n as t h e S a ' a d i s t s , w h o h a d u r g e d E g y p t to declare w a r o n the Fascists and w h o favoured progressive r e f o r m s at h o m e . G e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s w e r e h e l d i n e a r l y 1 9 4 5 , b u t the W a f d b o y c o t t e d t h e m and m a n y m e m b e r s transferred their support either to the Sa'adists o r to the liberals. A s a result the Sa'adists w o n their largest v i c t o r y e v e r , g a i n i n g 42 p e r c e n t o f the p o p u l a r v o t e , w h i l e t h e l i b e r a l s g a i n e d 24.1 p e r c e n t . H o w e v e r , i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 5 , w h e n E g y p t finally d e c l a r e d w a r o n G e r m a n y , Premier A h m a d M a h i r w a s assassinated. H e w a s succeeded b y M a h m u d F a h m i al-Nuqrashl, another Sa'adist. T h e death o f M a h i r , unlike his b r o t h e r a n o t e d liberal, signalled a n e w w a v e o f political v i o l e n c e and assassinations. Despite the political vicissitudes that f o l l o w e d o n the February 4 incident, the W a f d had initiated o n e important, and ultimately m o m e n t o u s , p o l i c y . T h r o u g h o u t t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f t h e 1 9 3 0 s it h a d 509

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b e c o m e increasingly apparent that the radical elements supported P a n - A r a b i s m . U n t i l then their principal c o n c e r n had been E g y p t i a n nationalism, but w i t h the u n f o l d i n g o f the Palestinian c r i s i s , a n d I r a q ' s a p p a r e n t c h a m p i o n s h i p o f t h e A r a b c a u s e as ' t h e most independent' o f A r a b countries, E g y p t also embraced P a n - A r a b i s m . T h r o u g h o u t t h e w a r it b e c a m e c l e a r , e v e n t o t h e British, that s o m e sort o f regional organisation w a s needed, if n o t h i n g else, to channel g r o w i n g P a n - A r a b i s t sentiment. T h u s , after p r o l o n g e d n e g o t i a t i o n s , t h e A l e x a n d r i a P r o t o c o l w a s s i g n e d in O c t o b e r 1944 a n d b e c a m e the basis for the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f the A r a b L e a g u e . Significantly, C a i r o b e c a m e the seat o f the organisation. T h e years f o l l o w i n g the w a r u p to the c o u p o f 1952 s a w the rapid disintegration o f the E g y p t i a n polity. W i t h the W a f d o u t o f p o w e r , the v a r i o u s splinter g r o u p s dissipated their political energies o n inter-party squabbles, w i t h n o n e o f t h e m able to rule the c o u n t r y effectively. T h e I k w a n and radical nationalists o n the right were confronted by considerably strengthened left-wing organisations, especially the trade u n i o n s . T h i s w a s in line w i t h the g e n e r a l trend in the A r a b w o r l d in w h i c h the S o v i e t U n i o n h a d g a i n e d e x p o s u r e a n d s o m e p o p u l a r i t y , a n d i n w h i c h leftist literature had b e c o m e increasingly available. A m o n g the m o r e important o f the left-wing g r o u p s w a s the N a t i o n a l C o m m i t t e e o f W o r k e r s and Students, f o u n d e d early in 1945. It w a s t h i s p o p u l a r l y s u p p o r t e d m o v e m e n t t h a t w a s l a r g e l y responsible for the mass demonstrations against the British and t h e g o v e r n m e n t , s u c h as t h e l a r g e - s c a l e r i o t s a n d d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f February 1946, during w h i c h scores o f people w e r e killed. A s a consequence Nuqrashl's g o v e r n m e n t w a s forced to resign. After further political v i o l e n c e Isma'Il S i d q l Pasha, w h o f o r m e d the n e w g o v e r n m e n t , dissolved m a n y o f the left-wing organisations and ordered the arrest o f m a n y o f their leaders in July 1946. P o l i t i c a l u n r e s t d i d n o t a b a t e . W i t h t h e left s u p p r e s s e d , t h e r i g h t - w i n g political parties continued the struggle against the British and the g o v e r n m e n t . A w a v e o f assassinations f o l l o w e d , t o w h i c h m a n y p r o m i n e n t p o l i t i c a l figures fell v i c t i m . A s a r e s u l t frequent c h a n g e s o f cabinets and g o v e r n m e n t s b e c a m e a feature o f the p e r i o d ; b e t w e e n 194 5 a n d 1950 there w e r e n o less t h a n s e v e n different a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s . A g a i n s t this b a c k g r o u n d o f disinte­ g r a t i o n , t h e r a d i c a l i s a t i o n o f p r a c t i c a l l y all p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s , a n d t h e 510

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disastrous Palestine w a r o f 1948-9, w h i c h n o t o n l y e x p o s e d the weakness o f the A r a b armies, but clearly revealed the level o f E g y p t i a n domestic corruption and political decay, the E g y p t i a n a r m y p r e p a r e d i t s e l f f o r a coup d'etat. T w o i m p o r t a n t p o l i t i c a l t r e n d s w e r e n o w c r y s t a l l i s e d . O n e w a s t h e g r o w t h o f leftist organisations, and the other the d e v e l o p m e n t o f an ' A r a b - I s l a m i c dimension o f nationalist a g i t a t i o n ' , w h i c h w a s t o p r o v i d e the basis o f G a m a l N a s i r ' s p r o g r a m m e . T h i s p r o g r a m m e , as P r o f e s s o r V a t i k i o t i s has noted, w a s m o r e a m e n a b l e t o e x p l o i t a t i o n b y v a r i o u s p o l i t i c a l g r o u p s b e c a u s e it w a s m o r e e a s i l y u n d e r s t o o d a n d m o r e readily adhered to e m o t i o n a l l y b y the masses than an already discredited, complex, and essentially alien, constitutional democracy. 1

T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t issues in the i m m e d i a t e p o s t - w a r p e r i o d , then, w e r e the v e r y nature o f the c o u n t r y ' s political institutions, the g r o w i n g p o v e r t y o f the masses, the need for social and e c o n o m i c r e f o r m , a n d a b o v e all B r i t a i n ' s c o n t i n u e d c o l o n i a l r o l e i n t h e c o u n t r y . T h i s last i s s u e w a s f o c u s s e d i n t h e e y e s o f t h e masses o n E g y p t ' s claims in the A n g l o - E g y p t i a n S u d a n . W h i l e E g y p t insisted o n the unity o f the N i l e V a l l e y , Britain refused t o a c k n o w l e d g e that E g y p t had a n y t h i n g m o r e than a n o m i n a l interest in the S u d a n . A f t e r the disputed o u t c o m e o f the A n g l o E g y p t i a n n e g o t i a t i o n s in 1946, the m a t t e r w a s referred t o the United N a t i o n s , w h i c h did n o t resolve the issue. E g y p t in t h i s p e r i o d w a s t h u s c l e a r l y h e a d i n g t o w a r d s a c r i s i s t h a t s u c c e s s i v e g o v e r n m e n t s h a d d o n e little m o r e t h a n p o s t p o n e . N o n e o f the social and e c o n o m i c reforms they i n t r o d u c e d constituted significant c h a n g e . In 1950 the W a f d returned to p o w e r w i t h a majority in parliament. In o r d e r t o appease the u r b a n proletariat and the peasants, several labour l a w s and land-reform acts w e r e p a s s e d ; n o n e , h o w e v e r , increased the p a r t y ' s p o p u l a r i t y sufficiently f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o r u l e e f f e c t i v e l y . N o r w e r e t h e radical nationalists appeased b y the unilateral and s u d d e n a b r o g a t i o n o f t h e 1 9 3 6 t r e a t y i n O c t o b e r 1 9 5 1 , after r e n e g o t i a t i o n s had failed and the w e s t e r n p o w e r s h a d a t t e m p t e d t o enlist E g y p t into an a n t i - S o v i e t d e f e n c e alliance. I n d e e d the nationalists s a w t h i s as a p o l i t i c a l v i c t o r y o v e r t h e o l d l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e u p p e r b o u r g e o i s i e , and intensified their s t r u g g l e against Britain, es­ pecially in the C a n a l Z o n e . 1

V a t i k i o t i s , Nasser; see a l s o h i s The modern history of Egypt ( L o n d o n , 1969).

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E a r l y in 1 9 5 2 the political crisis c a m e t o a h e a d w h e n British troops clashed w i t h E g y p t i a n police units in an attempt t o take c o n t r o l o f G o v e r n m e n t H o u s e i n I s m a i l i a , a n d k i l l e d o v e r 50 policemen. In the f o l l o w i n g days, amidst strikes, mass d e m o n strations a n d a g o v e r n m e n t threat t o establish ' friendship ties ' w i t h t h e U S S R , t h e c e n t r e o f C a i r o w e n t u p i n flames. W h i l e it h a s n e v e r been established for certain w h o the arsonists w e r e , sevetal m e m b e r s o f the G r e e n Shirts and other extreme nationalist organisations w e r e arrested a n d tried. O n c e again a r e v o l u t i o n a r y s i t u a t i o n h a d a r i s e n . S i x m o n t h s l a t e r , after c o n t i n u o u s a n d i n e f f e c t i v e g o v e r n m e n t r e s h u f f l e s , t h e F r e e O f f i c e r s a c t e d . O n 23 J u l y 1 9 5 2 , after f o u r m o r e g o v e r n m e n t s , a n d after a futile a t t e m p t b y the k i n g t o c o n t r o l the officers, the a r m y seized p o w e r . A f e w d a y s later K i n g F â r û q w a s exiled. T h e m e m b e r s h i p o f the Free Officers' m o v e m e n t , ostensibly led by the grandfatherly and popular General M u h a m m a d N a g ï b , w h o c o n v e n i e n t l y lent t h e y o u n g officers political l e g i t i m a c y , w a s indicative o f the ideological fragmentation o f the Egyptian polity. M a n y o f t h e m h a d at o n e time o r a n o t h e r b e e n associated w i t h radical g r o u p s o f all the i d e o l o g i c a l p e r s u a s i o n s . I n later years these early political c o m m i t m e n t s w e r e reflected in their style o f l e a d e r s h i p as w e l l as i n their e c o n o m i c p o l i c i e s . I n t h e initial p h a s e o f the ' revolution ', h o w e v e r , the Free Officers did n o t follow any particular ideological orientation other than nationalism, v a g u e n o t i o n s o f social egalitarianism a n d justice, as w e l l as Islamic piety. In fact, the c o u p initially represented a rebellion b y frustrated (and defeated) y o u n g officers w h o in the m a i n c a m e f r o m t h e ' r e a s o n a b l y affluent m i d d l e c l a s s ' . 1

The ' Revolutionary C o m m a n d Council ' appointed a temporary cabinet, headed b y none other than ' A l l Mâhir, complemented b y t w o other extreme nationalist and erstwhile G r e e n Shirt leaders, Fathï R i d w à n and D r N û r al-Dïn Tarrâf. T h e regime w a s primarily b o u r g e o i s nationalist i n character, as w a s indicated b y the s u p p r e s s i o n o f all C o m m u n i s t as w e l l as extremist Islamic a n d ultra-nationalist factions, s u c h as the G r e e n Shirts, b y then k n o w n as t h e I s l a m i c S o c i a l i s t P a r t y . O b v i o u s l y t h e o f f i c e r s d i d n o t f e e l sufficiently secure t o p e r m i t t h e existence o f o p p o s i t i o n parties, let a l o n e i n v o l v e t h e m i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f E g y p t , a s t h e y 1

Additional biographical material on the Free Officers is available in A. Abdel-Malek,

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themselves w e r e politically d i v i d e d o v e r their principal objectives. Instead, the council contented itself w i t h seeking n e w solutions to old p r o b l e m s : for instance, w h a t form o f political institutions should the R e p u b l i c a d o p t ? B e f o r e the c o m m i s s i o n s that w e r e c o n v e n e d t o s u p p l y s o l u t i o n s c o u l d s u b m i t t h e i r findings, all parties w e r e b a n n e d in J a n u a r y 1 9 5 3 , and replaced b y a p o p u l a r ' L i b e r a t i o n R a l l y ' , t h e first o f t h r e e a t t e m p t s b y t h e F r e e O f f i c e r s to mobilise mass political support. W h i l e they enjoyed widespread popularity, b o t h inside and outside E g y p t , there existed in m a n y quarters and a m o n g s o m e elements o f the a r m y considerable disquiet, mainly o v e r the position o f G e n e r a l N a g l b , but also o v e r the shape o f future political institutions and the nature o f t h e p o l i t y itself. I n t h e s p r i n g o f 1 9 5 4 , i n o r d e r t o p l a c a t e t h e o p p o s i t i o n , the R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o m m a n d C o u n c i l ( R C C ) lifted the ban o n parties and d e c i d e d t o h o l d a general election. T h i s decision, h o w e v e r , divided the council, and had e v e n elicited s o m e p u b l i c o p p o s i t i o n , mainly f r o m the trade u n i o n s . A s a result t h e R C C felt j u s t i f i e d i n p u r g i n g t h e s u p p o r t e r s o f t h e ancien regime, b o t h a m o n g officers a n d m e m b e r s o f the p u b l i c . W i t h the e x c l u s i o n o f the I k w a n this p r o c e s s w a s therefore c o m p l e t e d . H o w e v e r , the I k w a n ' s continued opposition to the military regime f o u n d its e x p r e s s i o n i n its a t t e m p t e d a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f N a s i r i n l a t e 1 9 5 4 , w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t it w a s d r i v e n u n d e r g r o u n d , a n d all r e m a i n i n g o p p o s i t i o n e l e m e n t s b a n n e d . Despite the b a n n i n g o f opposition to the n e w regime, the s u c c e s s o f t h e * r e v o l u t i o n ' h a d n o t b e e n a s s u r e d , as t h e l e a d e r s h i p w a s beset b y rivalries w i t h i n and continued public disturbances w i t h o u t . E v e n the soldiers w e r e d i v i d e d in their loyalties. In the e n d it w a s L t - C o l o n e l G a m a l ' A b d a l - N a s i r a n d h i s s u p p o r t e r s w h o s u c c e e d e d in establishing effective leadership. N a s i r , b o r n in J a n u a r y 1 9 1 8 , w a s a s h r e w d , s t u d i o u s a n d r e s e r v e d officer w h o h a d p l a n n e d a n d l e d t h e c o u p . A f t e r t h e e v e n t h e e m e r g e d as t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l a m o n g the original eleven conspirators. O n l y N a g l b , w h o e n j o y e d m a s s i v e p o p u l a r a c c l a i m as a h e r o o f t h e 1 9 4 8 - 9 w a r w i t h Israel, and w h o , in contrast t o the officers, appeared m o d e r a t e in his a p p r o a c h , o v e r s h a d o w e d Nasir. M o r e ­ over, N a g l b favoured a return to parliamentary politics, w h i c h b r o u g h t h i m i n t o direct conflict w i t h the ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y * officers. C o n s e q u e n t l y he w a s placed u n d e r h o u s e arrest in N o v e m b e r 1954 a n d N a s i r e m e r g e d as l e a d e r o f E g y p t . 513

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Y e t , w h i l e N a s i r s u c c e e d e d in e l i m i n a t i n g o p p o s i t i o n w i t h i n the r u l i n g c i r c l e s a n d in t h e p u b l i c a r e n a , t h e ' y o u n g o f f i c e r s ' still lacked p o p u l a r legitimacy. A l t h o u g h in S e p t e m b e r 1952 the Agrarian Reform L a w had been implemented and some modest egalitarian measures (anti-corruption laws, rent control, etc.) had b e e n d e c r e e d , it w a s a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e officers h a d f e w , i f a n y , p r e c i s e e c o n o m i c o r p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e s . I f a n y t h i n g , it w a s t h e retention o f p o w e r w h i c h w a s their main c o n c e r n . T h e r e m o v a l o f G e n e r a l N a g l b in N o v e m b e r 1 9 5 4 w a s a m a j o r s t e p i n t h i s direction. T h e year 1955, therefore, p r o v e d to be o f critical i m p o r t a n c e , as t h e ' y o u n g o f f i c e r s ' set o u t t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h e i r c o n t r o l . Political e v e n t s in the r e g i o n c a m e t o their aid. H a v i n g just successfully c o n c l u d e d the negotiations w i t h G r e a t Britain a b o u t t h e w i t h d r a w a l o f B r i t i s h f o r c e s f r o m E g y p t , it w a s i m p o s s i b l e for Nasir's g o v e r n m e n t to join a western-sponsored defence alliance, the so-called B a g h d a d Pact, w h i c h Iraq and T u r k e y had agreed to enter. In any case the A n g l o - E g y p t i a n T r e a t y o f 1954 p r o v i d e d for the return o f B r i t i s h t r o o p s in case o f g l o b a l hostilities. M o r e o v e r , this N A T O - r e l a t e d security a r r a n g e m e n t w a s , in the e y e s o f the E g y p t i a n r e g i m e , d e s i g n e d to maintain w e s t e r n h e g e m o n y in t h e area. F o r E g y p t , w e s t e r n i n t e r e s t s in t h e N i l e V a l l e y a n d t h e S i n a i h a d a l w a y s b e e n a t h o r n i n t h e flesh. A p a r t from nationalist and anti-imperialist sympathies, E g y p t i a n leaders w e r e keenly a w a r e o f the strategic i m p o r t a n c e o f their c o u n t r y , a fact r e p e a t e d l y s t r e s s e d b y h i s t o r y as w e l l as b y c o n t e m p o r a r y W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n politicians and military leaders. A s t h e d r a m a i n P a l e s t i n e u n f o l d e d a n d as I s l a m i c - c u m - n a t i o n a l i s t f o r c e s c h a l l e n g e d w e s t e r n c o l o n i a l i n t e r e s t s , a n d as Z i o n i s t f o r c e s s u c c e e d e d in e s t a b l i s h i n g a state o f I s r a e l , E g y p t , as t h e m o s t p o p u l o u s , p o w e r f u l and e c o n o m i c a l l y a d v a n c e d A r a b state in the r e g i o n , a s s u m e d its l e a d e r s h i p . I t w a s f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t t h e A r a b L e a g u e headquarters h a d b e e n situated in C a i r o , a n d that the n e w ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' leaders o f E g y p t n o w assumed such a forceful role in M i d d l e E a s t e r n relations w i t h the s u p e r - p o w e r s . In s u c h circumstances a direct security arrangement w i t h the western powers was anathema. T h i s r e j e c t i o n w a s t a k e n as a s e r i o u s a n d u n a c c e p t a b l e r e b u f f b y the partners in the w e s t e r n alliance a n d h a d serious i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r E g y p t , as t h e w e s t n o w h e l d u p t h e s u p p l y o f a r m s a n d

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r e s t r i c t e d t h e financial a n d o t h e r a i d s o u r g e n t l y n e e d e d b y t h e r e g i m e t o c a r r y o u t its p l a n s f o r m o d e r n i s a t i o n . D u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d o f w o r s e n i n g relations w i t h the west, the g o v e r n m e n t continued w i t h t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f its p o w e r b a s e . O n 16 J a n u a r y 1956 a presidential r e p u b l i c a n s y s t e m w a s instituted. T h e constitution formally linked E g y p t to the A r a b n a t i o n , a n d f o r t h e first t i m e p r o v i d e d f o r s u s t a i n e d e c o n o m i c planning. T h e constitution w a s a p p r o v e d , and the Liberation Rally w a s replaced b y the N a t i o n a l U n i o n , the o n l y legal political organisation. T h e president b r o a d e n e d his n e w g o v e r n m e n t b y including a greater n u m b e r o f civilians and also r e m o v e d several officers f r o m t h e r e g i m e , i n c l u d i n g A n w a r a l - S a d a t . A p a r t f r o m the international pressures faced b y Nasir, and the i n a b i l i t y t o s e c u r e l a r g e financial a i d f r o m t h e w e s t e r n p o w e r s f o r his d e v e l o p m e n t s c h e m e s , in particular the A s w a n H i g h D a m project, the g o v e r n m e n t ' s m o s t pressing p r o b l e m internally remained economic development. Population g r o w t h had over­ t a k e n e c o n o m i c g r o w t h a n d it h a d b e c o m e c l e a r t h a t E g y p t m u s t rapidly industrialise. W i t h the end o f the K o r e a n w a r and the resultant s l u m p in c o t t o n e x p o r t s , the c o u n t r y ' s already un­ f a v o u r a b l e trade balance b e c a m e w o r s e . It w a s for these reasons, and the g r o w i n g association w i t h the socialist countries, that the g o v e r n m e n t became increasingly attracted to the notion o f a socialist, o r rather a planned, e c o n o m y . D u r i n g t h e first t h r e e y e a r s o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n t h e o l d c a p i t a l i s t e c o n o m y w a s p e r m i t t e d t o f u n c t i o n , m a i n l y b y d e f a u l t , as t h e F r e e Officers h a d little, i f any, particular e c o n o m i c p h i l o s o p h y t o h a n d w h e n they seized p o w e r . W h i l e a w a r e o f the inequities existing i n s o c i e t y , a n d d r i v e n b y a fair a m o u n t o f i d e a l i s m , t h e y h a d f e w practical answers. M a r x i s m , m o r e o v e r , w a s anathema to the r e g i m e and remained so e v e n d u r i n g the h e y d a y o f A r a b socialism, d e s p i t e t h e fact t h a t t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 9 3 0 s a n d 1 9 4 0 s a c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t o f M a r x i s t l i t e r a t u r e h a d c i r c u l a t e d in E g y p t . T h e L a n d R e f o r m A c t , for example, w a s introduced not from any socialist idealism, b u t f r o m a utilitarian r e c o g n i t i o n that liberation o f the peasants w a s a prerequisite to continued industrial expansion. If internal reforms and revolutionary aspirations constituted o n e e l e m e n t o f N a s i r ' s p o l i t i c a l a n d i d e o l o g i c a l a s p i r a t i o n s , it w a s in the r e a l m o f f o r e i g n p o l i c y that he h a d s o m e o f his greatest s u c c e s s e s . U n a b l e t o o b t a i n financial s u p p o r t f r o m t h e U n i t e d

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S t a t e s f o r its d e v e l o p m e n t s c h e m e s , a n d u n a b l e t o s e c u r e W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n support, the E g y p t i a n g o v e r n m e n t decided o n a radical d e p a r t u r e f r o m p a s t p r a c t i c e s : it n e g o t i a t e d m i l i t a r y a n d o t h e r a i d from the eastern-bloc countries. T h u s , w h e n the C o l d W a r w a s at its h e i g h t , E g y p t , p o t e n t i a l l y t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l a n d c o h e s i v e M i d d l e Eastern A r a b nation, c h o s e t o take this radical alternative course. T h e former regional colonial p o w e r s , G r e a t Britain and France, and the recently established Israel, reacted b y i n t e r v e n i n g militarily in 1956. T h i s p r o v e d t o b e counter-effective. E g y p t ' s armed forces, ostensibly defeated, w e r e rescued by international c o n d e m n a t i o n , principally f r o m the U S A and the U S S R , and this f o r c e d the tripartite alliance t o w i t h d r a w . G a m a l * A b d a l - N a s i r , a s a r e s u l t , e m e r g e d as a s t r o n g a n t i - i m p e r i a l i s t a n d as t h e l e a d e r o f M i d d l e E a s t e r n A r a b - I s l a m i c r a d i c a l f o r c e s . A f t e r the S u e z w a r , therefore, and in the c o n t e x t o f N a s i r ' s antii m p e r i a l i s t c r u s a d e a n d h i s e m e r g e n c e as t h e P a n - A r a b l e a d e r , h i s ideas assumed m o r e substance and m o v e d t o w a r d s an A r a b nationalism concerned not only w i t h political unity, but w i t h a socialist-inspired e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t plan. B y the turn o f the decade E g y p t had b e c o m e the leading exponent o f A r a b socialism. I t is t h i s a c h i e v e m e n t o f N a s i r ' s l e a d e r s h i p , a p a r t f r o m h i s instilling a sense o f p u r p o s e and a m o d e r n E g y p t i a n identity into his p e o p l e , for w h i c h the r e v o l u t i o n m u s t b e n o t e d . W h i l e m a n y o f these p r o g r a m m e s either failed o r did n o t m e e t e x p e c t a t i o n s , they nevertheless constituted a m a r k e d and radical departure f r o m p r e v i o u s e c o n o m i c and political attitudes. T h e p o w e r o f the b o u r g e o i s i e - and especially the l a n d o w n e r s and foreign property-owners - w a s curtailed, if not destroyed. T h e attacks o n foreigners and the sequestration o f their property, e s p e c i a l l y after t h e 1 9 5 6 S u e z w a r , p r o v e d t o b e i n m a n y c a s e s c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t i v e , as t h e i r s k i l l s a n d s e r v i c e s c o u l d n o t e a s i l y b e r e p l a c e d . I n d e e d , it h a s b e e n a r g u e d t h a t t h e i r d e p a r t u r e left a g r e a t e c o n o m i c v a c u u m . T h u s , w h i l e t h e L a n d R e f o r m L a w w a s little m o r e than a political gesture, w h i c h had instantaneously p o p u ­ larised the r e g i m e a m o n g s t the peasants, the e n d o f the d e c a d e witnessed the serious implementation o f industrial d e v e l o p m e n t plans. M o r e o v e r , b y i960 the m o s t p o w e r f u l e c o n o m i c institutions began to be nationalised. B a n k i n g , transport, and e v e n the Press (for o b v i o u s political reasons that h a d little t o d o w i t h e c o n o m i c s ) w e r e t a k e n o v e r b y t h e state. T r a d e u n i o n s , w h i c h u n t i l t h e n w e r e

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an i m p o r t a n t source o f political s u p p o r t - o r o p p o s i t i o n - w e r e r e d u c e d in n u m b e r and streamlined in o r g a n i s a t i o n . I n i960 the first five-year d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n w a s i n s t i t u t e d , a n d t w o y e a r s later, N a s i r d e c i d e d o n a t o t a l r e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e . I n M a y 1962, earlier trends w e r e formalised w i t h the p r o m u l g a t i o n o f the ' N a t i o n a l C h a r t e r ' , w h i c h a i m e d at a c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f the political institutions and the e c o n o m y o f the country. T h e principal political party, the National U n i o n , w a s abolished and replaced b y the A r a b Socialist U n i o n . T h i s w a s to consist o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m all s t r a t a o f s o c i e t y . A n e w N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y w a s established. Essentially the political reorganisation p r o v i d e d for a mass party (the A S U ) w h o s e p u r p o s e w a s primarily t o m o b i l i s e the masses in the service o f the r e v o l u t i o n a n d w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f the charter, w h i l e the state w a s run t h r o u g h a presidential system w i t h s w e e p i n g p o w e r s legitimised b y the N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y . T h e n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n c a m e i n t o effect i n M a r c h 1964. W h i l e the c o u n t r y w a s m o v i n g into a n e w era, w i t h h o p e s o f s o m e political stability and e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s , regional e v e n t s were once again determining E g y p t ' s course. T h e president enjoyed considerable internal s u p p o r t until 1967, despite his repressive measures against political dissidents, but he found himself rapidly l o s i n g his P a n - A r a b leadership. M o r e o v e r , E g y p t w a s i n v o l v e d in a w a r in the Y e m e n , a i m e d at the e v e n t u a l o v e r t h r o w o f all m o n a r c h i c a l r e g i m e s i n t h e p e n i n s u l a , a n d t h i s was draining the country's resources severely, e v e n t h o u g h the S o v i e t U n i o n p r o v i d e d financial a s s i s t a n c e . S e v e r a l n e w p o w e r centres h a d arisen in the area t o c h a l l e n g e N a s i r ' s p o s i t i o n d u r i n g t h e 1 9 6 0 s as a l e a d e r o f r a d i c a l P a n - A r a b t h o u g h t a n d s o c i o ­ e c o n o m i c reform. A s a cardinal a d v o c a t e o f radical policies, he was attacked b y Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, e a c h r e p r e s e n t i n g d i v e r s e t r a d i t i o n a l a n d financial i n t e r e s t s w h i c h had d e v e l o p e d alternative political philosophies. M o r e o v e r , their nationalism w a s t a k i n g the increasingly virulent anti-Israeli p o s i t i o n w h i c h since 1948 h a d b e c o m e the h a l l m a r k o f A r a b nationalism. N a s i r ' s attempt t o reassert his a u t h o r i t y b r o u g h t h i m into conflict w i t h Israel, w h i c h reacted b y l a u n c h i n g a p r e - e m p t i v e air s t r i k e i n J u n e 1 9 6 7 ( s e e b e l o w ) . T h e r e s u l t a n t d e b a c l e c a u s e d an u p h e a v a l o f unprecedented p r o p o r t i o n s in the A r a b w o r l d . Self-criticism and self-denigration followed. T h e roots o f the

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w h o l e E g y p t i a n political system w e r e threatened, and although N a s i r offered to r e s i g n , the masses, w h e t h e r b y g o v e r n m e n t o r c h e s t r a t i o n o r as a r e s u l t o f h i s c h a r i s m a , r e c a l l e d h i m . In o r d e r t o reassert his a u t h o r i t y , N a s i r o r d e r e d the r e c o n ­ struction o f the a r m e d forces and especially the security machinery. H e t o o k d i r e c t c o n t r o l o f all t h e p r i n c i p a l m i n i s t r i e s a n d i n s t i t u t e d a virtual dictatorship. H o w e v e r , despite an a t t e m p t e d c o u p , N a s i r s u r v i v e d , o n l y t o d i e o f a h e a r t a t t a c k i n late S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 0 . I n t h e last t h r e e y e a r s o f h i s r u l e , N a s i r w a s m a i n l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h the maintenance o f p o w e r , the r e a r m i n g o f the military and the search for a w a y o u t o f the A r a b - I s r a e l i impasse. M e a n w h i l e , the e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s that had b e e n m a d e c a m e to a standstill, w i t h m a n y f a c t o r i e s c l o s i n g d o w n . P o l i t i c a l d e m o r a l i s a t i o n h a d set i n , as w a s i n d i c a t e d b y t h e i r r e p r e s s i b l e p u b l i c c r i t i c i s m a n d r i o t i n g t h a t f o l l o w e d t h e w a r . W h a t b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y e v i d e n t after 1967 w a s the priority g i v e n b y the E g y p t i a n leadership and p e o p l e to E g y p t i a n interests, e v e n w h e n these w e r e clearly in conflict w i t h P a n - A r a b ideals. Nasir had made n o p r o v i s i o n s for a successor. T h e S o v i e t U n i o n , taken b y surprise and unable to push f o r w a r d a successor o f its o w n c h o i c e , b a c k e d t h e c o m p r o m i s e c a n d i d a t e , V i c e President A n w a r al-Sadat, w h o until then h a d l i v e d in the s h a d o w o f p o w e r w i t h o u t a n y real a n d m e a n i n g f u l p o l i t i c a l d u t i e s - e v e n his office as v i c e - p r e s i d e n t h a d b e e n d e v o i d o f i n f l u e n c e . T h e ensuing p o w e r struggle w a s mainly c o n d u c t e d behind the scenes. T h e divisions w e r e a l o n g i d e o l o g i c a l lines. S o m e a r g u e d for continued association w i t h the S o v i e t U n i o n , others v e e r e d to the w e s t , w h i l e a t h i r d g r o u p a d o p t e d a n ' E g y p t first' a t t i t u d e , stressing the need for e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . In o r d e r to c o n s o l i d a t e his p o w e r , S a d a t c o n t i n u e d h i s p r e d e c e s s o r ' s p o l i c y , a n d o n l y later b e g a n t h e ' d e m y t h o l o g i s a t i o n ' o f N a s i r . F u r t h e r ­ m o r e , he c o n t i n u e d t o pay lip service to A r a b unity b y s i g n i n g an A g r e e m e n t o f U n i t y w i t h Syria and L i b y a in A p r i l 1 9 7 1 . T h i s he did w i t h o u t c o n s u l t i n g the A S U o r the N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y . A n d t h o u g h there w a s o p p o s i t i o n to this m o v e , he h a d the s u p p o r t o f the army, especially o f G e n e r a l Sadiq. In M a y 1971 Sadat neutralised his o p p o n e n t s b y a c c u s i n g t h e m o f p l o t t i n g against the regime, thus establishing g r o u n d s for their dismissal a n d s u b s e q u e n t trial. H e f u r t h e r s e c u r e d h i s p o s i t i o n b y s i g n i n g

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Y e t d i s c o n t e n t c o n t i n u e d . T h e late 1960s a n d e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s w e r e m a r k e d b y a g r o w i n g r e s e n t m e n t a g a i n s t t h e r e g i m e as w e l l as t h e S o v i e t U n i o n . W h i l e E g y p t ' s m i l i t a r y a n d financial d e p e n d e n c e o n the eastern b l o c p r e c l u d e d an immediate and a b r u p t break in relations, and a l t h o u g h Sadat appointed a v a g u e l y p r o - M o s c o w Prime Minister, ' A z i z Sidql, he simultaneously d e v e l o p e d contacts w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d w i t h c o n s e r v a t i v e states i n t h e A r a b i a n G u l f , especially Saudi A r a b i a . T o demonstrate the intention o f E g y p t ' s n e w foreign p o l i c y - and to gain s u p p o r t f r o m the anti-socialist elements w i t h i n the c o u n t r y - Sadat s l o w l y initiated t h e infitdh ( o p e n d o o r ) e c o n o m i c p o l i c y , a n d e x p e l l e d all S o v i e t a d v i s e r s in J u l y 1 9 7 2 . T h i s m o v e p l a c a t e d t h e m i l i t a r y , w h o h a d b e c o m e resentful o f S o v i e t influence w h i c h had been in o p p o s i t i o n to further military operations against Israel, an attitude based o n a n u n d e r e s t i m a t i o n o f A r a b m i l i t a r y c a p a b i l i t i e s as w e l l as a d e s i r e to maintain a position o f detente w i t h the United States. T h e expulsion o f the Russians also o p e n e d the w a y for u r g e n t financial a s s i s t a n c e f r o m f r i e n d l y r i c h A r a b states a n d f r o m t h e w e s t . D e s p i t e these c h a n g e s in p o l i c y , i n c l u d i n g internal r e f o r m s s u c h as a n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n i n S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 1 f o l l o w e d b y referendums and an election - d e s i g n e d to break w i t h the past and to p r o v i d e Sadat w i t h popular support, domestic opposition g r e w dramatically. Student riots t h r o u g h o u t 1972 and early 1973 i n d i c a t e d o p p o s i t i o n f r o m t h e left as w e l l as f r o m c o n s e r v a t i v e elements, w h i l e the historic differences b e t w e e n M u s l i m s and C o p t s also reappeared. O p p o s i t i o n to Sadat's regime stemmed not o n l y f r o m e c o n o m i c grievances, and the dismantling o f socialism, but also from the widespread m o o d o f hopelessness and i m p o t e n c e that resulted f r o m the 1967 w a r . T h e public appeared to d e m a n d the resolution o f the ' n o peace, n o w a r ' stalemate. A g a i n s t these internal pressures, E g y p t w i t h Syria d e c i d e d t o initiate an offensive against Israel. T h e euphoria that f o l l o w e d the O c t o b e r 1973 ( R a m a d a n ) w a r and the resulting restoration o f national pride w e r e , h o w e v e r , i n s u f f i c i e n t t o offset c o n t i n u e d i n t e r n a l u n r e s t . W e s t e r n i n v e s t ­ m e n t s w e r e n o t f o r t h c o m i n g as r a p i d l y as e x p e c t e d , i n f l a t i o n w a s r a m p a n t (at l e a s t 2 5 - 3 0 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m ) a n d t h e o b v i o u s

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re-emergence o f the b o u r g e o i s i e (especially in C a i r o a n d A l e x a n ­ dria) despite the g o v e r n m e n t ' s declared intention o f establishing a ' s o c i a l i s t ' e c o n o m y , g a v e rise t o f u r t h e r s t r i k e s a n d r i o t s t h r o u g h o u t 1974 and early 1975. In c o n s e q u e n c e the g o v e r n m e n t w a s reshuffled, a n d s o m e salary increases w e r e a n n o u n c e d , m a i n l y for civil servants. D e s p i t e these p r o b l e m s Sadat w a s able t o maintain control o f the situation and, in 1 9 7 6 , w a s re-elected president for a further t e r m o f six years t h o u g h he did n o t c o m p l e t e i t , b e i n g a s s a s s i n a t e d t h e y e a r b e f o r e it w a s t o e n d .

Toe Sudan T h e S u d a n h a d b e e n a d m i n i s t e r e d as a j o i n t A n g l o - E g y p t i a n c o n d o m i n i u m since 1899. A f t e r 1924, w h e n Britain forced the evacuation o f E g y p t i a n troops from the Sudan, E g y p t had ceased to b e an effective partner in the administration o f the c o u n t r y . T h e A n g l o - E g y p t i a n Treaty o f 1936, while confirming the c o n d o m ­ i n i u m , m e r e l y r e s t o r e d t o E g y p t a facade o f p o w e r , t h e r e i n s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t still b e i n g t i g h t l y h e l d b y t h e B r i t i s h . T h i s f o r m a l r e i n s t a t e m e n t o f E g y p t as j o i n t , i f v e r y j u n i o r , p a r t n e r i n t h e c o n d o m i n i u m did, h o w e v e r , permit Sudanese nationalists t o play o n A n g l o - E g y p t i a n d i f f e r e n c e s t o p r o m o t e t h e i r o w n c a u s e . I t is in this c o n t e x t that all m a j o r political d e v e l o p m e n t s f r o m 1940 u p until independence must b e seen. In 1939, in the aftermath o f the treaty, the e d u c a t e d élite f o r m e d t h e i r first p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n , t h e G r a d u a t e s ' G e n e r a l C o n g r e s s , w h i c h ostensibly proposed t o 'assist the g o v e r n m e n t in the progressive planning o f the development o f the country'. T h e c o n g r e s s b e c a m e a political f o r u m for b o t h the e d u c a t e d élite a n d t h e different r e l i g i o u s s e c t s , a n a l l i a n c e w h i c h b e g a n t o b r e a k u p after 1 9 4 0 as f a c t i o n s e v o l v e d i n t o p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . A s in L i b y a and E g y p t , the outbreak o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r and north-east Africa's i n v o l v e m e n t therein ( b y virtue o f Italian a n d B r i t i s h c o n f r o n t a t i o n i n t h e a r e a ) stiffened n a t i o n a l i s t r e s o l v e t o attain self-determination. E g y p t i a n P r e m i e r ' A l l M à h i r ' s staunch nationalist position u n d o u b t e d l y e n c o u r a g e d the congress, es­ p e c i a l l y after h i s v i s i t t o t h e S u d a n i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 0 . T w o y e a r s later, i n A p r i l 1 9 4 2 , a n d u n d o u b t e d l y i n f l u e n c e d b y B r i t a i n ' s extremely precarious political and military situation in E g y p t , the c o n g r e s s s e n t t h e S u d a n g o v e r n m e n t a m e m o r a n d u m o f its 520

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26 The Sudan. political demands, namely self-determination and the right t o p o l i t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n . I t a l s o r e c o g n i s e d — as a s i g n o f a p p e a s e m e n t — E g y p t ' s natural rights in the S u d a n . T h i s l a t t e r d e m a n d w a s p a r t i c u l a r y s i g n i f i c a n t s i n c e E g y p t still i n t e n d e d t o a d v a n c e its c l a i m o v e r t h e S u d a n , a n d i n i t i a l l y h a d been hostile to the c o n g r e s s ; b u t the w a r situation had spurred o n P a n - A r a b sympathies, and Sudanese nationalists recognised the

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importance o f political and nationalist cooperation against the British. Sir D o u g l a s N e w b o l d , the Civil Secretary, further e x ­ acerbated the situation b y his outright rejection o f their demands. T h i s w a s i n t e r p r e t e d b y m a n y as a d e l i b e r a t e s n u b t o t h e e m e r g i n g S u d a n e s e p o l i t i c a l e l i t e . W h i l e , i n p r i v a t e , B r i t i s h officials a t ­ tempted t o deprecate N e w b o l d ' s policy, the political d a m a g e had been done. N o t only w e r e the nationalists incensed, b u t the congress's division deepened. O n e group, composed mostly o f senior civil servants, w a s led b y Ibrahim A h m a d , the president o f t h e c o n g r e s s a n d a t u t o r at G o r d o n C o l l e g e . It w a s w i l l i n g t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h the g o v e r n m e n t a n d t o await the c o n c l u s i o n o f the w a r f o r p o l i t i c a l c o n c e s s i o n s . A s s u c h it c o n s t i t u t e d t h e b a s i s f o r the U m m a Party established in 1945. T h e other major g r o u p , led by Isma'Il a l - A z h a r l , also a tutor at t h e c o l l e g e a n d ex-president o f the congress, formed the Unity Front, c o m p r i s i n g hardliners w h o s o u g h t E g y p t i a n s u p p o r t in o r d e r t o e x p l o i t the differences between the c o n d o m i n i u m p o w e r s . T h i s political division between those prepared t o cooperate w i t h the British administration in their quest f o r s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t , a n d those w h o s o u g h t E g y p t i a n s u p p o r t e v e n at t h e c o s t o f e v e n t u a l unification b a s e d o n t h e o l d call f o r unity o f t h e N i l e V a l l e y , w a s reflected in t h e p r i n c i p a l sectarian a n d confessional conflict w i t h i n the c o u n t r y . O n the o n e h a n d w e r e t h e M a h d i s t s , o r t h e ansar a s t h e M a d h I h a d c a l l e d his supporters, led b y S a y y i d ' A b d a l - R a h m a n a l - M a h d l , w h o g a v e their s u p p o r t t o the U m m a Party. O n the o t h e r w e r e their long-standing religious and political rivals, the members o f the K h a t m i y y a tariqa, w h o g a v e t h e i r s u p p o r t t o t h e A s h i q q a ' (Brothers) established b y a l - A z h a r l . T h e A s h i q q a ' w a s effectively t h e first p o l i t i c a l p a r t y t o b e f o u n d e d i n t h e S u d a n . T h e A s h i q q a ' and their K h a t m i y y a supporters feared the establishment o f a M a h d i s t - d o m i n a t e d state in t h e S u d a n , especially o n e s u p p o r t e d by the British. T h e y therefore l o o k e d t o E g y p t for backing, t h o u g h n o t always for the same reasons. Furthermore, these g r o u p s i n c o r p o r a t e d o t h e r d i v e r s e political factions, s u c h as t h e u n i o n i s t s , s o c i a l i s t s , a n d n e o - I s l a m i s t s , w i t h little i d e o l o g i c a l h o m o g e n e i t y except their o p p o s i t i o n t o the British administration. I n effect, h o w e v e r , t h e s e p o l i t i c a l g r o u p i n g s f r a g m e n t e d t h e already d i v i d e d c o u n t r y further, o r at least r e i n f o r c e d e x i s t i n g divisions. D e s p i t e its rejection o f the c o n g r e s s m e m o r a n d u m o f 1 9 4 2 , t h e 522

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S u d a n g o v e r n m e n t w a s still a n x i o u s t o a s s o c i a t e S u d a n e s e w i t h the administration o f their c o u n t r y and to assuage the d e m a n d s o f t h e n a t i o n a l i s t s i n a m a n n e r t h a t w a s c o m p a t i b l e w i t h its o w n c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e p a c e at w h i c h s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d b e a c h i e v e d . T h u s in 1944 an a d v i s o r y c o u n c i l for the N o r t h e r n S u d a n w a s i n s t i t u t e d , w h i c h c o n s i s t e d o f 28 m e m b e r s t o r e p r e s e n t e c o n o m i c , social and professional interests. E i g h t e e n others w e r e elected or a p p o i n t e d f r o m the p r o v i n c i a l c o u n c i l s . T h e c o u n c i l , t h o u g h able to discuss a w i d e range o f issues, had o n l y a d v i s o r y p o w e r s . In itself an i m p o r t a n t d e v e l o p m e n t , the b o d y w a s nevertheless w i d e l y criticised w i t h i n and outside the Sudan. T h e e x t r e m e n a t i o n a l i s t s o b j e c t e d t o its l i m i t e d p o w e r a n d r e p r e s e n ­ tation (especially the e x c l u s i o n o f the S o u t h e r n S u d a n ) , w h i l e E g y p t c o n s i d e r e d it a t h r e a t t o its o w n c l a i m s o v e r t h e S u d a n . In c o n s e q u e n c e the A s h i q q a ' b o y c o t t e d the a d v i s o r y c o u n c i l , and t h r o u g h o u t the r e m a i n i n g p e r i o d o f the w a r effective political a c t i v i t i e s w e r e stifled b y t h e e m e r g e n c y c o n d i t i o n s . W i t h the c o n c l u s i o n o f the w a r and the lifting o f martial l a w , b o t h E g y p t and the Sudan witnessed a resurgence o f nationalist a g i t a t i o n , r e s u l t i n g in t h e r e n e g o t i a t i o n o f t h e A n g l o - E g y p t i a n Treaty o f 1936, w h i c h necessarily had to deal w i t h the Sudan. T h u s in 1 9 4 6 , w h e n t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s t o o k p l a c e , a S u d a n e s e d e l e g a t i o n attempted to exert pressure o n b o t h E g y p t and G r e a t Britain by r e p r e s e n t i n g its n a t i o n a l i s t c a u s e i n C a i r o . I t w a s , h o w e v e r , u n s u c c e s s f u l , s i n c e its m e m b e r s f a i l e d t o a g r e e o n a c o m m o n policy, a reflection o f the political and religious differences w i t h i n the d e l e g a t i o n . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t w o i m p o r t a n t political successes w e r e a c h i e v e d . O n e w a s the British declaration admitting the Sudan's right to self-determination and to the establishment o f further institutions o f self-government. T h e second w a s the S u d a n A d m i n i s t r a t i v e C o n f e r e n c e held in J u b a in J u n e 1946, w h i c h effectively d r e w the s o u t h o f the c o u n t r y into the process o f p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t . T h i s w a s s i g n i f i c a n t , as t h e s o u t h , e c o n ­ o m i c a l l y and politically, h a d h i t h e r t o b e e n isolated f r o m the rest o f t h e c o u n t r y u n d e r w h a t w a s k n o w n as ' t h e S o u t h e r n p o l i c y ' . T h u s the conference constituted an important, a l t h o u g h belated, step t o w a r d the unification o f the country. I f at t h i s t i m e t h e f u t u r e l o o k e d b r i g h t e r , it s o o n b e c a m e c l e a r that the s t r u g g l e had just c o m m e n c e d . T h e A s h i q q a ' b o y c o t t e d the 1946 conference. E g y p t , then u n d e r the premiership o f S i d q l 5^3

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Pasha, c o n t i n u e d t o insist o n * the u n i t y o f the N i l e V a l l e y ' , and thus repudiated the principle o f self-determination for the Sudan. T h e p r o b l e m w a s , therefore, o n c e again s h e l v e d for future consideration. O n l y the proposals for a national legislature put u p jointly b y the U m m a Party and the British (but o p p o s e d b y the A s h i q q a ' ) p r o c e e d e d satisfactorily, e v e n t h o u g h there w e r e s o m e d e l a y s . I n J u n e 1948 t h e S u d a n g o v e r n m e n t , d e s p i t e E g y p t ' s opposition, established the n e w assembly. C o n s i s t i n g o f 8 5 m e m b e r s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f w h o m w e r e d r a w n f r o m t h e n o r t h , it b e c a m e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r l e g i s l a t i o n i n m o s t d o m e s t i c affairs, including the relations b e t w e e n the Sudan g o v e r n m e n t and the c o n d o m i n i u m p o w e r s . D o m i n a t e d b y the U m m a Party, the Legislative A s s e m b l y generally followed Britain's position, while the radical elements w e r e increasingly driven to the fringe o f the political spectrum. In 1950, w h e n o n c e again the A n g l o - E g y p t i a n relationship w a s b e i n g renegotiated, r e n e w e d d o m e s t i c unrest b r o k e o u t in the Sudan, led mainly b y the A s h i q q a ' , w h o attacked the assembly as a p a w n o f t h e B r i t i s h . T h e s e r i o t s w e r e e f f e c t i v e i n s o f a r as t h e y contributed to b r i n g i n g a b o u t the revision o f the rules g o v e r n i n g the election o f the assembly. M e a n w h i l e , true to tradition, the A n g l o - E g y p t i a n talks w e r e aborted and K i n g Faruq proclaimed the ' u n i t y o f the N i l e V a l l e y under the E g y p t i a n C r o w n ' . Shortly thereafter, in late 1 9 5 1 , the E g y p t i a n P r e m i e r , N a h h a s Pasha, a n n o u n c e d the a b r o g a t i o n o f the 1899 and 1936 a g r e e m e n t s . T h u s t h e t h r e e p a r t i e s h a d a r r i v e d at a n o t h e r d e a d l o c k , w h i c h w a s o n l y r e s o l v e d after t h e E g y p t i a n a r m y c o u p o f J u l y 1 9 5 2 . T h e n e w E g y p t i a n regime, ostensibly led b y G e n e r a l N a g l b , himself half-Sudanese, adopted a considerably m o r e flexible a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e S u d a n q u e s t i o n . I t a c c e p t e d t h e SelfG o v e r n m e n t Statute for the Sudan w h i c h had been enacted b y the U m m a - d o m i n a t e d L e g i s l a t i v e A s s e m b l y i n A p r i l 1 9 5 2 , as w e l l as full S u d a n i s a t i o n o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n w i t h i n t h r e e y e a r s . I n J a n u a r y 1 9 5 3 , E g y p t a n d B r i t a i n a r r i v e d at a f o r m a l a g r e e m e n t o f independence for the Sudan. H o w e v e r , the a g r e e m e n t w a s also c r i t i c i s e d as b e i n g t o o h a s t y a n d f o r a g g r a v a t i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n t h e c o u n t r y , as it o n l y d e a l t w i t h s t r u c t u r a l a n d administrative issues. It d i d n o t a c c o u n t for the basic p r o b l e m s o f t h e c o u n t r y , s u c h as i n t e r - e t h n i c h o s t i l i t i e s , m i n o r i t y r i g h t s ,

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s o c i o - e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t and the role o f the religious orders. Consequently, the nationalist m o v e m e n t w a s further polarised. P r o b a b l y because the A s h i q q a ' represented a w i d e spectrum o f radical o p i n i o n , u n d e r the n e w n a m e o f the N a t i o n a l U n i o n i s t P a r t y ( N U P ) , it w o n t h e e l e c t i o n s o f 1 9 5 3 , a n d a l - A z h a r l w a s b r o u g h t to p o w e r . In the l o w e r and u p p e r houses p r o v i d e d for b y t h e n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n t h e N U P w o n a m a j o r i t y o f 50 a n d 31 seats r e s p e c t i v e l y ; t h e U m m a P a r t y o b t a i n e d 23 a n d 8 s e a t s , w i t h t h e o t h e r f o u r p a r t i e s h o l d i n g 24 a n d 7 s e a t s . T o the surprise o f the E g y p t i a n s a l - A z h a r l f o l l o w e d a p o l i c y o f c o m p l e t e independence instead o f union w i t h E g y p t . T h e n e w d e m o c r a t i c Sudanese r e g i m e feared E g y p t i a n domination, e s p e c i a l l y after t h e o u s t i n g o f N a g i b i n 1 9 5 4 . S o m e w r i t e r s a r g u e that the historic animosity b e t w e e n the M a h d i s t s and the E g y p t i a n s , w h i c h culminated in a b l o o d y clash in M a r c h 1954 d u r i n g N a g l b ' s state visit t o o p e n the S u d a n e s e parliament, per­ suaded the Unionists to c h a n g e their m i n d s and t o declare the S u d a n i n d e p e n d e n t in a joint session o f the t w o h o u s e s in D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 5 . A m o n t h e a r l i e r (at t h e r e q u e s t o f t h e S u d a n government) British troops had been evacuated and a plebiscite had approved independence. But al-Azharl's g o v e r n m e n t w a s w e a k , r e n t as it w a s b y p e r s o n a l i t y c o n f l i c t s a n d p o l i t i c a l d i s ­ agreements. T h e s t r o n g K h a t m i y y a faction in the N U P seceded f r o m it, f o r m i n g t h e P e o p l e ' s D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y ( P D P ) i n J u n e 1956. T h e g r o w i n g political unrest c u l m i n a t e d in a ' h o l y alliance' b e t w e e n the M a h d i s t U m m a Party and the K h a t m i y y a P D P , w h i c h replaced al-Azhari's g o v e r n m e n t in July 1956, and elected ' A b d A l l a h K h a l l l , the Secretary-General o f the U m m a Party and a p a r t i c i p a n t i n d i f f e r e n t B r i t i s h s c h e m e s f o r s e l f - r u l e , as p r i m e minister. T h e e d u c a t e d elite had s u c c e e d e d , t h r o u g h p l a y i n g o n differences o f the political p o w e r s , in attaining i n d e p e n d e n c e b u t , o n the e v e o f that independence, the religious orders had gained the ascendancy. Confessional disputes and political factionalism w e r e not the o n l y p r o b l e m s faced b y the n e w g o v e r n m e n t in the S u d a n . A n o t h e r major difficulty c o n c e r n e d the north—south division within the country, in w h i c h the p r e d o m i n a n t l y Christian southerners w e r e pitted against the largely I s l a m i c - A r a b p o p u ­ lation o f the n o r t h . F r o m 1955 t o 1 9 7 2 , w h e n the A d d i s A b a b a A g r e e m e n t w a s signed, the Sudan w a s rent w i t h violent conflict

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that degenerated into civil w a r , l e a v i n g h u n d r e d s o f thousands homeless a n d the e c o n o m y in ruins. A l t h o u g h British policy t o w a r d the south had taken a dramatic t u r n at t h e t i m e o f t h e J u b a c o n f e r e n c e , t h e effects o f ' t h e Southern p o l i c y ' could not be reversed overnight. T h e policy, w h i c h h a d deliberately i n v o l v e d m a s s i v e p o p u l a t i o n transfers a n d a p u r p o s e f u l d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e s o u t h e r n e c o n o m y , h a d left t h e t w o h a l v e s o f t h e c o u n t r y artificially d i v i d e d . W h i l e British administrators later realised the futility o f s u c h a p l a n ( w h i c h h a d b e e n a i m e d at c r e a t i n g a ' b u f f e r ' state in t h e s o u t h that c o u l d later be linked t o British dependencies in East Africa), the e n m i t y a n d h a t r e d w h i c h it h a d c r e a t e d b e t w e e n t h e t w o g r o u p s r e m a i n e d , and the negotiations o v e r independence, w h i c h the southerners felt h a d b e e n c o n d u c t e d w i t h o u t t h e i r full p a r t i c i p a t i o n , f u r t h e r f a n n e d t h e flames o f b i t t e r n e s s . I n A u g u s t 195 5 t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s decision to m o v e southern soldiers from the Equatoria C o r p s to the n o r t h , a n d the dispatch o f n o r t h e r n t r o o p s t o the south, led to a m u t i n y b y m e m b e r s o f the corps that rapidly spread t o the d i s t r i c t s o f J u b a , Y e i , Y a m b i o a n d M a r i d i . A l t h o u g h it w a s q u i c k l y s u p p r e s s e d , t h e v i o l e n c e left 2 6 1 n o r t h e r n e r s a n d s o m e 75 s o u t h e r n e r s d e a d . S c o r e s o f s o l d i e r s f r o m t h e c o r p s s u b s e ­ q u e n t l y r e f u s e d t o l a y d o w n t h e i r a r m s a n d fled i n t o t h e f o r e s t s , from w h e n c e they b e g a n sporadic resistance. In K h a r t o u m , the political changes in the post-independence period w e r e n o t accompanied b y any violent political confront­ ation o r b l o o d y take-overs o f p o w e r . T h e t w o successful c o u p s in 1958 a n d 1969 w e r e peaceful, a n d these c o n f r o n t a t i o n s c o n ­ cerned clashes b e t w e e n personalities, and a m o n g the political g r o u p s in w h i c h the religious orders w i t h their vast n u m b e r o f a d h e r e n t s w e r e b y far t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l e l e m e n t . I t a p p e a r e d that the p o w e r s o f the v a r i o u s religious orders w e r e a l m o s t equal, and that balancing c o m p r o m i s e s and shifting coalitions a m o n g t h e m w e r e n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e c o n t i n u i t y o f t h e s y s t e m . T h a t is w h y c o a l i t i o n s w e r e a s y m p t o m o f S u d a n e s e p o l i t i c a l life after independence. 1

Instability w a s , in part, a c o n s e q u e n c e o f the failure o f s u c c e s s i v e g o v e r n m e n t s t o a c h i e v e sufficient social a n d e c o n o m i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t o a p p e a s e t h e different g r o u p s i n t h e t o w n s , 1

M o h a m m a d O m e r B e s h i r , The Southern Sudan: background to conflict, 2nd e d . ( K h a r t o u m , 1970), 73.

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especially the w o r k e r s , w h o s e d e m a n d s for social equality, e c o n ­ omic d e v e l o p m e n t and political participation continued to threaten the fragile politico-sectarian balance. T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t u p s h o t o f this instability w a s K h a l l l ' s ' i n v i t a t i o n ' t o the a r m y to s e i z e p o w e r . K h a l l l ' s g o v e r n m e n t n o t o n l y f o u n d it i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult t o s e c u r e a m a j o r i t y i n p a r l i a m e n t f o r its l e g i s l a t i o n , b u t also faced a g r o w i n g e c o n o m i c crisis, b o r d e r disputes w i t h E g y p t i n 1 9 5 7, a n d d i s s e n s i o n s w i t h its P D P c o a l i t i o n p a r t n e r - e s p e c i a l l y after t h e s p r i n g 1 9 5 8 e l e c t i o n - b e c a u s e o f t h e i r d i s a g r e e m e n t o v e r the a c c e p t a n c e o f A m e r i c a n aid. F u r t h e r m o r e , the s o u t h b e g a n t o a s s e r t its p o l i t i c a l p o w e r i n p a r l i a m e n t b y s i d i n g w i t h t h e N U P . KhalTl's g o v e r n m e n t faced defeat o v e r the aid issue in parliament, a n d it w a s b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d a l s o l o s e t o a v o t e o f n o confidence scheduled for 17 N o v e m b e r 1958. T h a t m o r n i n g , t h e r e f o r e , t h e S u d a n f o u n d i t s e l f u n d e r its first m i l i t a r y r e g i m e , t h o u g h it w a s n o t t h e first a t t e m p t b y t h e a r m y t o i n t e r v e n e i n p o l i t i c s . I n 195 7 a m i l i t a r y p l o t h a d b e e n u n c o v e r e d a n d its l e a d e r s dismissed or demoted. A m o n g them w e r e ' A b d al-Rahman K e i b e i d a and Ja'fer N u m a y r I , w h o w a s to b e c o m e Sudanese p r e s i d e n t i n 1 9 6 9 after l e a d i n g a s e c o n d c o u p . F r o m the outset the military r e g i m e tried to f o l l o w a p o l i c y o f c o m p r o m i s e , a l t h o u g h it d i s s o l v e d p a r l i a m e n t a n d b a n i s h e d parties. M a d e u p f r o m senior ranks in the a r m y and led b y G e n e r a l ' A b b u d , head o f the army, the n e w r e g i m e accepted A m e r i c a n aid o n the o n e hand and, o n the other, appeased N a s i r b y c o n c l u d i n g a N i l e W a t e r s A g r e e m e n t in 1959 w h i c h f a v o u r e d the E g y p t i a n side. Y e t , despite these apparent successes, the g o v e r n ­ m e n t b e c a m e a v i c t i m o f dissent w i t h i n the ruling military junta. M a j o r - G e n e r a l A h m a d 'A b d a l - W a h h a b , a s t r o n g supporter o f the U m m a Party, and Brigadier Hasan Bashlr Nasir, w i t h K h a t m i y y a affiliations, fell o u t w i t h t h e i r c o l l e a g u e s . T h i s r e s u l t e d i n ' A b d al-Wahhab's dismissal and the appointment o f three n e w m e m b e r s to the junta; Brigadiers M u h y l a l - D l n ' A b d A l l a h , ' A b d a l - R a h i m Shanan and M a q b u l al-Hajj. M u h y l al-Dln and Shanan w e r e b o t h s t r o n g s u p p o r t e r s o f N U P a n d , after i n s t i g a t i n g a f a i l e d c o u p late i n 1 9 5 9 , b o t h w e r e s e n t e n c e d t o life i m p r i s o n m e n t . F r o m early i960 the old politicians b e g a n to exploit the differences inside the military junta, and o r g a n i s e d an o p p o s i t i o n front w h i c h included al-Azharl, Khalll, Sadiq al-Mahdl, A h m a d M a h j u b and the C o m m u n i s t s . T h e y d e m a n d e d the election o f a

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n e w parliament t o draft a n e w constitution. T h e g o v e r n m e n t reacted b y arresting them, w i t h the exception o f the p o w e r f u l S a y y e d a l - M a h d l , w h o s e s u b s e q u e n t d e a t h affected o p p o s i t i o n activities d u r i n g 1 9 6 1 - 2 . D e s p i t e internal opposition, the r e g i m e m a d e s o m e e c o n o m i c progress and successfully extended the scope o f the civil service, w h i c h led t o the adoption o f the i960 Provincial Administration A c t . A l t h o u g h this A c t p r o v i d e d for the establishment o f p r o v ­ i n c i a l c o u n c i l s w i t h l e g i s l a t i v e , e x e c u t i v e a n d a d v i s o r y p o w e r s , it also g a v e c i v i l servants political p o w e r s as representatives o f the g o v e r n m e n t in their districts. T h i s w o u l d explain w h y the demonstrators during the ' O c t o b e r 1964 revolution* d e m a n d e d a p u r g e o f t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e . H a d it n o t b e e n f o r t h e O c t o b e r revolution, the consolidation o f the (propertied and m o n i e d c l a s s e s ) w o u l d h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e , as h a d o c c u r r e d i n s o m e other A r a b countries u n d e r military rule. T o reinforce the Provincial Administration A c t , a central council w a s established as t h e m a i n p o l i t i c a l i n s t r u m e n t l e g i t i m i s i n g t h e m i l i t a r y b a s e b y i n v o l v i n g civilians. Its m e m b e r s h i p w a s partly n o m i n a t e d b y the president, partly directly elected, and partly selected b y provincial e l e c t o r a l c o l l e g e s . M o s t o f t h e o l d p a r t i e s b o y c o t t e d its e l e c t i o n s except the P D P and the C o m m u n i s t s . T h e P D P had been strong supporters o f the regime since 1961 w h i l e the C o m m u n i s t s h o p e d t o e x p l o i t t h e e l e c t i o n s ' t o w e a k e n t h e r e g i m e t h r o u g h its o w n institutions \

effendiyya

T h e w e a k e s t p o i n t o f t h e r e g i m e w a s its s o u t h e r n p o l i c y , w h i c h e v e n t u a l l y b r o u g h t a b o u t its d e m i s e i n O c t o b e r 1 9 6 4 . S e v e r e repression b y the army, w h i c h had b e g u n attacking the civilian p e a s a n t r y i n t h e s o u t h as w e l l a s t h e ' r e b e l s ' a n d ' o u t l a w s ' w h o h a d fled after t h e 1955 m u t i n y , f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e d t h e r a n k s o f t h e a r m e d dissidents. I n S e p t e m b e r 1963 representatives o f the various dissident g r o u p s i n v o l v e d succeeded in uniting their disparate forces i n t o a n e w L a n d F r e e d o m A r m y , w h i c h later adopted the name o f A n y a n y a , a term w h i c h m e a n s ' snake p o i s o n ' in the M a d i , M o r u and L o t u k o l a n g u a g e s . G u e r r i l l a attacks o n police posts and a r m y barracks in the south w e r e stepped u p and n e w training c a m p s and s u p p l y lines w e r e o p e n e d in the neighbouring countries o f Ethiopia, K e n y a and Uganda. 1

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T h e g o v e r n m e n t responded b y increasing the a r m y to m o r e t h a n 2 0 0 0 0 m e n , o f w h o m a n e s t i m a t e d 8000 w e r e s e n t t o t h e south. Foreign missionaries, w h o m General ' A b b u d t h o u g h t had e n c o u r a g e d the rebellion, w e r e expelled, their s c h o o l s closed and K o r a n i c s c h o o l s o p e n e d in their place. S o u t h e r n e r s w o r k i n g in the civil service w e r e forced to m o v e n o r t h o r r e s i g n ; others, suspected o f aiding the A n y a n y a , w e r e arrested and imprisoned. T h e leaders o f the n e w l y f o r m e d S u d a n A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l U n i o n , w h o h a d fled t o E t h i o p i a , U g a n d a a n d t h e C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c (the e x - F r e n c h O u b a n g u i - C h a r i ) , w e r e o r d e r e d h o m e , a n d efforts m a d e t o e x t r a d i t e t h o s e w h o r e f u s e d t o r e t u r n voluntarily. B y e a r l y 1 9 6 4 t h e c o n f l i c t w a s b e g i n n i n g t o h a v e a s e v e r e effect o n t h e e c o n o m y . H u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f r e f u g e e s h a d fled t o the south, and relations w i t h the n e i g h b o u r i n g countries w e r e s t r a i n e d . T r a d e a n d t r a n s p o r t s u f f e r e d , as d i d c u l t i v a t i o n . I n t h e n o r t h t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s n e e d t o finance t h e w a r p l a y e d h a v o c w i t h d e v e l o p m e n t plans and p r e v e n t e d t h e m f r o m increasing the w a g e s o f g o v e r n m e n t w o r k e r s and i m p r o v i n g living standards. A d e c i s i o n b y G e n e r a l ' A b b u d in S e p t e m b e r 1964 t o o p e n dis­ c u s s i o n s in the n o r t h o n the situation in the s o u t h , c o u p l e d w i t h the rising e c o n o m i c and social discontent, strengthened the hand o f the o p p o s i t i o n w h i c h f o r m e d a N a t i o n a l F r o n t o f political organisations, trade unions and professional associations and c a l l e d f o r a g e n e r a l s t r i k e o n 24 O c t o b e r 1 9 6 4 . T h e p r e s i d e n t w a s forced to d i s s o l v e the military junta and t o call for an e m e r g e n c y session o f the Central C o u n c i l . N e v e r t h e l e s s , the insistence o f the demonstrators o n the complete w i t h d r a w a l o f the military led to the formation o f an all-party caretaker g o v e r n m e n t w i t h the strong representation o f the National Front. F o r t h e first t i m e i n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e S u d a n , a C o m m u n i s t ( A h m a d Sulayman), a M u s l i m Brother (al-Rashld al-Tahir), and representatives o f trade u n i o n s (Shafi'I A h m a d a l - S h a y k h ) and p e a s a n t u n i o n s ( a l - A m l n M u h a m m a d a l - A m l n ) w e r e c h o s e n as m e m b e r s o f the cabinet. T h e o l d parties w e r e each represented b y o n e m e m b e r . Sir a l - K h a t l m a l - K h a l l f a , the n e w p r i m e minister, w a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t m o d e r a t e w h o w a s c h o s e n f o r t h e office a f t e r the o l d parties' rejection o f the n o m i n a t i o n s o f the C h i e f Justice, A w a d A l l a h , and A b d l n Isma'Il, the President o f the Barristers'

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Association, both o f w h o m were accused o f left-wing political affiliations. G e n e r a l ' A b b u d r e m a i n e d t h e h e a d o f t h e s t a t e w i t h o n l y titular p o w e r s . T h e c a r e t a k e r g o v e r n m e n t b e g a n its a c t i v i t i e s b y c o n c l u d i n g a t r u c e w i t h t h e s o u t h . F o r t h e first t i m e a s o u t h e r n e r , C l e m e n t M o b o r o , w a s c h o s e n as a m i n i s t e r , a n d g i v e n t h e v i t a l p o r t f o l i o o f Interior Office Affairs. T h e g o v e r n m e n t also prepared the w a y for an early election scheduled for A p r i l 1965. T h e representation o f the w o r k e r s in the g o v e r n m e n t b y the inclusion o f their trade-union secretary-generals curtailed their e c o n o m i c d e m a n d s . Y e t , the w e a k e n i n g o f the g o v e r n m e n t c a m e f r o m the o l d parties w h o f o r m e d a s e c o n d N a t i o n a l F r o n t , w h i c h , in J a n u a r y 1 9 6 5 , sent a letter to the p r i m e minister d e m a n d i n g an early election and the g o v e r n m e n t ' s resignation if these elections did not take place. T h e U m m a P a r t y c o n c u r r e d in this d e m a n d . A l - K h a l l f a w a s f o r c e d t o resign a n d a n e w g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r his p r e m i e r s h i p w a s f o r m e d , f a v o u r i n g the o l d parties b u t w i t h o n e minister each for the C o m m u n i s t s and the M u s l i m Brothers. In M a r c h a l - K h a l l f a o p e n e d a r o u n d - t a b l e c o n f e r e n c e in K h a r ­ t o u m a i m e d at r e s o l v i n g t h e s o u t h e r n q u e s t i o n . I t w a s a t t e n d e d b y representatives o f the Southern Front, a coalition o f southern s t u d e n t s , g o v e r n m e n t officials a n d e m p l o y e e s f o r m e d i n O c t o b e r 1964, representatives o f the v a r i o u s n o r t h e r n parties, and Elia L u p e , the leader o f the Sudan African N a t i o n a l U n i o n , w h i c h represented those southern politicians in exile. A l s o in attendance w a s W i l l i a m D e n g , a f o r m e r g o v e r n m e n t official f r o m t h e s o u t h w h o h a d h e l p e d t o set u p S A N U i n 1 9 6 2 . H i s p r o p o s a l f o r a federal c o n s t i t u t i o n in the s o u t h h a d attracted the g o v e r n m e n t ' s interest, but had also alienated a majority o f the m e m b e r s o f S A N U , w h o c o n t i n u e d t o f a v o u r f o r t h e s o u t h e i t h e r full a u t o n o m y or independence. A l t h o u g h the S A N U delegation w a s e v e n t u a l l y p e r s u a d e d t o a g r e e t o his participation in their d e l e g a t i o n , t h e i r r e l u c t a n c e t o a c c e p t h i s s e l f - a s s u m e d r o l e as a m e d i a t o r w i t h the a l - K h a l l f a g o v e r n m e n t w a s a m a j o r factor in the c o n f e r e n c e ' s failure t o reach a settlement. H o w e v e r , a 1 2 - m a n c o m m i t t e e , consisting o f six representatives f r o m the n o r t h and six f r o m t h e s o u t h , w a s set u p t o s t u d y p r o p o s e d s o l u t i o n s f u r t h e r . W h i l e the establishment o f the c o m m i t t e e ostensibly held o u t h o p e that the conflict in the s o u t h m i g h t be e n d e d in f a v o u r o f n e g o t i a t i o n , the failure o f the c o n f e r e n c e t o a g r e e o n m o r e

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d e c i s i v e a c t i o n left t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t i e s b i t t e r l y d i s a p p o i n t e d . O n 21 M a r c h t h e y a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e y w o u l d b o y c o t t t h e f o r t h ­ c o m i n g elections, a m o v e that w a s supported b y the P D P . H o w e v e r , the g o v e r n m e n t d e c i d e d t o p r o c e e d w i t h a p o l l in the north, and the P D P then d r o p p e d their o p p o s i t i o n to the election, a n d t h e i r c a n d i d a t e s s t o o d f o r office, w i n n i n g t h r e e seats o u t o f t h e 1 7 3 t h a t w e r e c o n t e s t e d . T h e U m m a P a r t y g a i n e d 75 s e a t s a n d t h e N U P 54 s e a t s . T h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , w h i c h w a s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s f o r t h e first t i m e , t o o k o n l y e l e v e n s e a t s . T h e election also m a r k e d the appearance o f a n e w regional g r o u p , the Beja C o n g r e s s O r g a n i s a t i o n , w h i c h w o n ten seats. S o o n other regional g r o u p s appeared, n o t a b l y in the N u b a M o u n t a i n s a n d i n D a r f u r , as a r e s u l t o f t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e first democratic experiment (1954-8) to introduce any degree o f c h a n g e in the p o o r rural areas. B u t e v e n b e f o r e their entry o n t o t h e n a t i o n a l s c e n e , it w a s c l e a r t h a t t h e c o n t i n u i n g f a c t i o n a l i s m w a s m a k i n g t h e S u d a n a l m o s t u n g o v e r n a b l e . T h e e l e c t i o n figures g a v e n o single party a w o r k a b l e majority, and the t w o b i g parties, the U m m a and the N U P , w e r e f o r c e d t o f o r m a c o a l i t i o n g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r the p r e m i e r s h i p o f M a h j u b , w h o in the 1930s had been editor o f the al-Fajr m a g a z i n e g r o u p . A l - A z h a r l w a s e l e c t e d p e r m a n e n t p r e s i d e n t o f a C o u n c i l o f F i v e . T h e first a c t i o n o f the n e w g o v e r n m e n t w a s t o f o r m a c o m m i t t e e t o draft a permanent constitution for the country, and a scramble b e g a n b e t w e e n the n e w partners for n e w alliances to w i n the elections under the p r o p o s e d presidential s y s t e m e v e n before the n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n w a s ratified. A n d i n D e c e m b e r 1965 t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y m o v e d t o d i s s o l v e t h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y after p u b l i c d e m o n s t r a t i o n s a g a i n s t it b y M u s l i m B r o t h e r s w h o r e s e n t e d its alleged anti-Islamic attitudes. E i g h t o f the eleven C o m m u n i s t m e m b e r s w e r e dismissed f r o m the assembly. T h e second parliamentary period was dominated by t w o p r o b l e m s : t h e first w a s t h e b i t t e r f a c t i o n a l i s m w i t h i n p a r t i e s a n d the deteriorating relations b e t w e e n them. T h e s e c o n d w a s the south, w h e r e the disturbances w e r e n o w t a k i n g o n the character o f a c i v i l w a r . A s e a r l y as 1 9 6 6 t h e U m m a P a r t y , f o r t h e first t i m e , f a c e d a d i v i s i o n i n its r a n k s . S a d i q a l - M a h d l , t h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e party, b r o k e w i t h his uncle, I m a m a l - H a d l a l - M a h d l , o v e r the question o f demarcation b e t w e e n the M a h d i s t religious leadership a n d the c o n t r o l o f the U m m a Party. T h e s c h i s m resulted in a

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further division o f the U m m a Party into the Sâdiq and al-Hadï f a c t i o n s . A t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e leftist p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s a l s o e x p e r i e n c e d serious d i v i s i o n s in their r a n k s . T h i s factionalisation e n c o u r a g e d a system o f d y n a m i c and m o b i l e coalitions. A basic f a c t o r b e h i n d t h e d i v i s i o n s a n d p a r t y r e g r o u p i n g s after t h e 1 9 6 4 r e v o l u t i o n w a s the participation o f the l o w e r u r b a n classes in p o l i t i c s t h r o u g h t h e i r t r a d e u n i o n s , w h i c h a c t e d as p r e s s u r e g r o u p s . T h e i r intervention forced the discussion o f issues such as e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , s o c i a l c h a n g e a n d t h e d é m o c r a t i s a t i o n o f party structures. A s a result o f the U m m a Party split, Sâdiq a l - M a h d ï w a s elected p r i m e minister instead o f M a h j û b in M a y 1966. T h e N U P allied w i t h S â d i q w h e n he s u c c e e d e d in m o b i l i s i n g m o s t o f the U m m a to his side. T h i s p o l i c y o f p l a y i n g o n U m m a Party differences w a s repeated b y the N U P in 1967 w h e n it b r o u g h t d o w n S â d i q a n d r e t u r n e d M a h j û b t o t h e p r e m i e r s h i p . In the south conditions continued to deteriorate. O n 8 July, after a m i n o r i n c i d e n t i n w h i c h a n o r t h e r n e r w a s w o u n d e d , t h e M u s l i m g a r r i s o n at J u b a w e n t o n t h e r a m p a g e , m u r d e r i n g civilians and b u r n i n g t h r o u g h o u t the t o w n . T h r e e d a y s later o t h e r s o l d i e r s s u r r o u n d e d a c h u r c h at W a u , t h e c a p i t a l o f t h e B a h r a l - G h a z a l p r o v i n c e , a n d o p e n e d fire o n a w e d d i n g p a r t y . C a s u a l t i e s in the t w o e v e n t s w e r e e s t i m a t e d t o i n c l u d e m o r e t h a n a t h o u s a n d dead. T h e southern parties claimed that the actions represented a deliberate attempt b y the M a h j û b g o v e r n m e n t to d e p o p u l a t e the s o u t h , and a r g u e d that this m e a n t that o n l y a military s o l u t i o n to the p r o b l e m w a s possible. N e v e r t h e l e s s representatives o f the parties remained in K h a r t o u m t r y i n g t o reach a political s o l u t i o n w i t h first t h e M a h j û b a n d t h e n t h e S â d i q a l - M a h d ï g o v e r n m e n t s . T h e death o f t w o southern leaders, Father S a b o r n i n o L a h u r e in 1

1967, and then o f W i l l i a m D e n g , w h o w a s a m b u s h e d b y w h a t w a s p r o b a b l y a military patrol in M a y 1968, further u n d e r c u t the position o f those seeking a political solution. W i t h i n this c o n t e x t o f p a r l i a m e n t a r y m a n o e u v r i n g the 1968 elections w e r e held before the Constituent A s s e m b l y had agreed o n a permanent constitution for the country. T h e s e elections resulted in a small m a j o r i t y for the N U P a n d P D P , w h i c h h a d r e c e n t l y u n i t e d as t h e D e m o c r a t i c U n i o n i s t P a r t y ( D U P ) . A l t h o u g h the D U P briefly joined w i t h a faction o f the U m m a Party i n M a y 1 9 6 9 , t h e a r m y t o o k p o w e r a f t e r l e s s t h a n five y e a r s o f 1

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the restored parliamentary rule. T h e s a m e reasons that lay b e h i n d t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e first d e m o c r a t i c e x p e r i m e n t s p a r k e d o f f t h i s n e w a r m y t a k e - o v e r , t h o u g h t h i s t i m e it w a s n o t a ' h a n d i n g - o v e r o f power'. T h e military t a k e - o v e r in M a y 1969 w a s a direct result o f the a l i e n a t i o n o f t h e r a d i c a l f o r c e s after t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y i n 1965 a n d t h e i r s u b s e q u e n t i n f i l t r a t i o n o f t h e armed forces. T h e y n o w searched for extra-legal means by w h i c h t o v o i c e t h e i r p r o t e s t s . T h i s r a d i c a l n o t e w a s c l e a r i n t h e first s p e e c h o f the n e w military leader, G e n e r a l N u m a y r I , in w h i c h he d e s c r i b e d t h e o l d p a r t i e s as ' w h o l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e x p l o i t i n g t h e state p o w e r for self-enrichment and for s e r v i n g n a r r o w partisan interests w i t h o u t c a r i n g for the interests o f the m a s s e s ' . T h i s coup d'etat w a s different f r o m t h a t o f 1 9 5 8 i n t h a t it w a s led b y the m i d d l e ranks in the army. T h e c o u p obtained w i d e s u p p o r t f r o m t h e start b e c a u s e it i d e n t i f i e d i t s e l f w i t h t h e p o p u l a r f o r c e s a n d m a n y o f its first m i n i s t e r s w e r e a m o n g t h e l e a d e r s o f the 1964 O c t o b e r r e v o l u t i o n . T h e n e w r e g i m e l a u n c h e d a p r o g r a m m e to extend the public sector, to e n c o u r a g e the participation o f international capital, and to introduce a five-year plan for social and e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . D u r i n g its first y e a r t h e r e g i m e w a s c o n f r o n t e d b y t h e m i l i t a n t ansar (i.e. M a h d i s t ) o p p o s i t i o n , a n d after c r u s h i n g t h i s r e l i g i o n based m o v e m e n t , the r e g i m e then b e g a n to distance itself f r o m the C o m m u n i s t Party. T h e split o f the C o m m u n i s t s in S e p t e m b e r 1970 into the M u ' a w i y a and M a h j u b w i n g s facilitated this. T h u s , in N o v e m b e r 1970, three o f the R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o m m a n d C o u n c i l , w h o were considered to be C o m m u n i s t sympathisers, were dismissed. T h e issues o f c o n t e n t i o n in the R C C w e r e the differences o f o p i n i o n o v e r the question o f the p r o p o s e d project o f u n i o n b e t w e e n the Sudan, E g y p t and L i b y a , and relations w i t h the U S S R . T h e w o r s e n i n g relations b e t w e e n the C o m m u n i s t s and the R C C led in J u l y 1 9 7 1 to an a t t e m p t e d c o u p headed b y a M a j o r a l - ' A t a , w h o had earlier b e e n dismissed b y N u m a y r I . T h e success o f t h e r e g i m e i n c r u s h i n g t h i s c o u p l e d t o its s e v e r i n g r e l a t i o n s w i t h the eastern b l o c and l o o k i n g for help f r o m the w e s t . Internally a policy o f institutionalising the r e g i m e w a s adopted. A f t e r a national r e f e r e n d u m had been held in O c t o b e r 1 9 7 1 , N u m a y r I b e c a m e president and dissolved the R C C , and a c o n ­ s t i t u t i o n w a s d r a f t e d in 1 9 7 2 .

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T h a t year N u m a y r I also turned his attention t o the south. W i t h the help o f E t h i o p i a a n d the W o r l d C o u n c i l o f C h u r c h e s , an agreement w a s concluded between the government and the A n y a n y a , led b y General Joseph L a g u , to end the civil war. T h e ' A d d i s A b a b a A g r e e m e n t ' , as t h e p a c t c a m e t o b e k n o w n , g a v e the south a f o r m o f regional a u t o n o m y w i t h i n a federal structure o f g o v e r n m e n t . A regional people's assembly w a s set u p w i t h a H i g h E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l , w h o s e leader w o u l d also b e a vicepresident o f the Republic. T h e Christian religion w a s t o be recognised, together with the use o f the English language, a l o n g s i d e I s l a m a n d A r a b i c . A l t h o u g h efforts t o i m p l e m e n t t h e ceasefire fully p r o v e d difficult, t h e a g r e e m e n t successfully e n d e d t h e w a r a n d l e d t o t h e r e t u r n o f m o s t o f t h e e s t i m a t e d 300000 r e f u g e e s w h o h a d fled t h e c o u n t r y d u r i n g t h e fighting. E f f o r t s t o resettle t h e 800000 o t h e r s o u t h e r n e r s m a d e h o m e l e s s b y t h e conflict w e r e undertaken w i t h the aid o f the United N a t i o n s Commissioner for Refugees, the A g a K h a n , and numerous international aid organisations. Elections to the regional assembly w e r e held w i t h o u t incident in N o v e m b e r 1973 a n d A b e l A l i e r , N u m a y r l ' s o w n n o m i n e e , w a s e l e c t e d u n o p p o s e d as p r e s i d e n t . Elections o f southerners t o the National A s s e m b l y f o l l o w e d in April 1974. For N u m a y r I the conclusion o f the agreement and the ending o f the w a r , w h i c h had cost the lives o f u p to half a million Sudanese in 17 years and w h i c h h a d devastated the e c o n o m y , w a s a m a j o r a c h i e v e m e n t . U n f o r t u n a t e l y it w a s n o t m a t c h e d b y success o n the political front in the north, w h e r e the factionalism, b o t h a m o n g the o l d party leaders a n d w i t h i n the army, continued to g r o w . T o help put an end to the discontent, N u m a y r I ordered the establishment o f a one-party system. T h e Sudan Socialist U n i o n ( S S U ) , patterned o n the E g y p t i a n A r a b Socialist U n i o n , h e l d i t s first c o n f e r e n c e i n 1 9 7 2 . T h i s c o n f e r e n c e a d o p t e d a national charter as its political m a n i f e s t o a l o n g t h e lines o f N a s i r ' s A r a b socialism. 1

T h e n e x t three years w i t n e s s e d a series o f attempted c o u p s a g a i n s t t h e r e g i m e . S t u d e n t d e m o n s t r a t i o n s i n 1 9 7 3 w e r e t h e first signs o f the g r o w i n g o p p o s i t i o n . I n S e p t e m b e r 1975 a n d J u l y 1976 the r e g i m e w a s able t o crush t w o c o u p s s u p p o r t e d b y the militant ansar. U n d e r l y i n g t h e s e c o u p s w a s a r e - e m e r g e n c e o f r e g i o n a l i s m . 1

N o r m a n O ' N e i l l , ' S u d a n ' , Middle East yearbook, 1980 ( L o n d o n , 1980), 223.

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27 Libya. L e s s - d e v e l o p e d regions like the w e s t b e g a n to use the presence o f t h e i r m e n i n t h e a r m y s e r i o u s l y t o affect t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m .

Libya B y 1 9 4 4 t h e B r i t i s h h a d e s t a b l i s h e d t h e i r t h i r d a n d final o c c u p a t i o n o f C y r e n a i c a after t h e d e f e a t o f R o m m e r s f o r c e s i n t h e d e s e r t . T h e B r i t i s h h a d a l r e a d y set u p a m i l i t a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n n e i g h ­ b o u r i n g T r i p o l i t a n i a , and m o v e s t o facilitate the i n t e g r a t i o n o f the t w o territories had b e g u n . In the s o u t h - w e s t the Free F r e n c h f o r c e s h a d o c c u p i e d t h e F e z z a n , after a n a d v a n c e f r o m t h e i r headquarters near L a k e C h a d . F o l l o w i n g an a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n the F r e n c h and the British military c o m m a n d e r s in J a n u a r y 1 9 4 3 , 535

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F r e n c h authority w a s e x t e n d e d c o n s i d e r a b l y n o r t h and east into the Tripolitanian Sahara. T h e regions o f G h a t and G h a d a m i s , also o c c u p i e d b y the F r e n c h w e r e , h o w e v e r , to be administered b y the F r e n c h military authorities in the n e i g h b o u r i n g territories: G h a t b y the F r e n c h in A l g e r i a and G h a d a m i s b y those in T u n i s i a . W i t h the liberation o f the t w o northern p r o v i n c e s f r o m m o r e t h a n 30 y e a r s o f I t a l i a n r u l e c a m e s t r o n g h o p e s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . A f t e r 22 y e a r s o f e x i l e i n E g y p t , t h e h e a d o f t h e p o w e r f u l S a n u s i y y a r e l i g i o u s o r d e r in C y r e n a i c a , S a y y i d M u h a m m a d Idrls al-SanusI, returned to the w i d e acclaim o f b o t h t o w n s m e n and b e d u i n . B u t h i s s t a y w a s n o t t o last l o n g . H a v i n g r a i s e d a S a n u s I force o f 10000 m e n w h i c h f o u g h t w i t h the British against the Italians, he insisted that Britain r e c o g n i s e the i n d e p e n d e n c e o f C y r e n a i c a a n d t h e c l a i m s o f t h e S a n u s I t o g o v e r n it. H e r e f u s e d to return to C y r e n a i c a p e r m a n e n t l y until his d e m a n d s w e r e met, a n d c o n t i n u e d t o agitate for i n d e p e n d e n c e , albeit in a f o r m that w o u l d p e r m i t the British t o c o n t i n u e stationing t r o o p s in the country. T h e British F o r e i g n Office, h o w e v e r , had steadfastly refused to c o m m i t itself to independence, either for Cyrenaica or for Tripolitania, w h i c h s o m e o f Sayyid Idrls's y o u n g e r followers h a d insisted b e i n c l u d e d as p a r t o f SanusI d e m a n d s . Instead, British p o l i c y remained b o u n d to a statement m a d e b y the F o r e i g n Secretary, A n t h o n y E d e n , in p a r l i a m e n t in J a n u a r y 1942, in w h i c h h e s t a t e d s i m p l y t h a t ' H i s M a j e s t y ' s g o v e r n m e n t is d e t e r m i n e d t h a t at t h e e n d o f t h e w a r t h e S a n u s l s i n C y r e n a i c a w i l l i n n o c i r c u m s t a n c e s a g a i n fall u n d e r I t a l i a n d o m i n a t i o n . ' In Tripolitania, w h e r e liberation f r o m Italian rule had b r o u g h t forth demands b o t h for immediate independence and for national unification, the failure o f E d e n t o m e n t i o n T r i p o l i t a n i a in his s t a t e m e n t l e d t o fears t h a t n a t i o n a l i s t c l a i m s w o u l d b e less favourably received than those o f Cyrenaica. After a period o f s e v e r e a g i t a t i o n , r i o t s a n d d e m o n s t r a t i o n s f r o m 1943 t o 1 9 4 5 , a n d the formation o f several clandestine political clubs and organis­ a t i o n s , a n u m b e r o f p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s e m e r g e d i n t h e late 1 9 4 0 s , o f w h i c h the Nationalist Party ( a l - H i z b al-Watanl), the U n i t e d N a t i o n a l F r o n t (al-Jabha al-Wataniya al-Muttahida) and the Free N a t i o n a l B l o c (al-Kutla al-Wataniya al-Hurra) w e r e the m o s t important. L e d mainly b y the urban notables and merchants o f T r i p o l i , all t h e p a r t i e s f o r m e d a g r e e d o n t h e f u n d a m e n t a l

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principles o f b o t h i n d e p e n d e n c e and unity. T h e i r m a i n differences centred o n recognition o f SanusI claims to leadership once i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s a c h i e v e d and o n the future state's f o r e i g n policy. B e h i n d Britain's reluctance to c o m m i t itself formally to inde­ p e n d e n c e for either o r b o t h o f the p r o v i n c e s lay a g r o w i n g realisation o f the strategic i m p o r t a n c e o f the territories and an a w a r e n e s s o f p r o m i s e s m a d e t o its w a r t i m e a l l i e s . B o t h t h e U n i t e d States a n d the S o v i e t U n i o n h a d c o m e t o h a v e ' i n t e r e s t s ' in the future o f the L i b y a n territories. T h e Italians, in return for their c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h the A l l i e d p o w e r s in the later stages o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , h o p e d t h a t at l e a s t s o m e o f t h e i r o v e r s e a s c o l o n i e s , i n c l u d i n g L i b y a , w o u l d b e r e t u r n e d , o r at t h e v e r y l e a s t t h a t t h e y w o u l d h a v e first c l a i m s t o a n y t r u s t e e s h i p s s e t u p i n t h e m . T h e F r e n c h w e r e e a g e r t o p r e s e r v e their rule in the F e z z a n , G h a t and G h a d a m i s in o r d e r t o create a link b e t w e e n their c o l o n i e s further w e s t and in Central A f r i c a . T h e n e w l y f o r m e d A r a b L e a g u e , s p e a k i n g l a r g e l y o n b e h a l f o f E g y p t , d e m a n d e d t h a t it b e i n c l u d e d i n a n y p l a n s t o set u p a t r u s t e e s h i p i n t h e L i b y a n t e r r i t o r i e s . F a c e d w i t h all t h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , B r i t i s h p o l i c y w a s to p o s t p o n e a decision o n the future o f the three p r o v i n c e s until a peace treaty w i t h Italy had b e e n s i g n e d and the Allies had a g r e e d o n the disposition o f Italy's f o r m e r c o l o n i e s . M e a n w h i l e , Italian l a w , w i t h s o m e m o d i f i c a t i o n s in C y r e n a i c a , w a s t o r e m a i n in f o r c e in the p r o v i n c e s o c c u p i e d b y Britain. T h e e l e c t i o n o f a L a b o u r g o v e r n m e n t t o p o w e r in Britain after the w a r , and the g r o w i n g hostility b e t w e e n the western Allies and t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , c o m p l i c a t e d n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r t h e final p e a c e treaty. T h e n e w L a b o u r F o r e i g n Secretary, E r n e s t B e v i n , f a v o u r e d g r a n t i n g immediate independence to the territories, but the S o v i e t U n i o n p r o p o s e d that a joint Soviet-Italian administration be f o r m e d in Tripolitania. T h e U n i t e d States c o u n t e r e d this b y s u g g e s t i n g that the w h o l e c o u n t r y be placed under a U n i t e d N a t i o n s Trusteeship for ten years, w h i l e the F r e n c h remained o p p o s e d t o i n d e p e n d e n c e f o r fear t h a t t h i s m i g h t f u r t h e r e n c o u r a g e rising nationalist sentiments in A l g e r i a a n d T u n i s i a . T h e d e a d l o c k r e m a i n e d w h e n t h e A l l i e s finally s i g n e d a p e a c e t r e a t y w i t h I t a l y in F e b r u a r y 1947. A t the time o f signature, h o w e v e r , Britain, France, the U n i t e d States and the S o v i e t U n i o n declared their intention o f c o n t i n u i n g negotiations o n the future o f the L i b y a n

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territories. If n o a g r e e m e n t w e r e reached w i t h i n a year o f the treaty c o m i n g i n t o effect, t h e m a t t e r w a s t o b e r e f e r r e d t o t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y o f the U n i t e d N a t i o n s . T h e four p o w e r s also stated their intention to * accept the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y a n d ' t o t a k e a p p r o p r i a t e m e a s u r e s f o r g i v i n g effect t o i t \ 9

W h e n t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y finally t o o k u p t h e i s s u e i n A p r i l 1 9 4 9 , it w a s s t a r t l e d t o h e a r t h a t B r i t a i n a n d I t a l y , s u p p o r t e d b y the U n i t e d States had, in the m e a n t i m e , d r a w n u p a plan u n d e r w h i c h L i b y a w a s t o b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t o n l y after a p e r i o d o f ten years. Trusteeships w e r e to be granted to the British in C y r e n a i c a , t o the Italians in T r i p o l i t a n i a a n d t o the F r e n c h in F e z z a n . N e w s o f t h e B e v i n - S f o r z a p l a n ( n a m e d after B e v i n a n d the Italian F o r e i g n Minister, C o u n t C a r l o Sforza) resulted in mass demonstrations t h r o u g h o u t L i b y a and in other parts o f the A r a b w o r l d . In Tripolitania, the Nationalist Party, the United National F r o n t and several other parties united to f o r m the Tripolitanian N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s Party. Its aims w e r e t o defeat the plan and forestall a n y further attempt to r e i m p o s e c o l o n i a l rule in L i b y a . In M a y 1949 the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y failed, b y o n e v o t e , t o secure a t w o - t h i r d s majority in f a v o u r o f an Italian trusteeship o v e r T r i p o l i t a n i a a n d a final r e s o l u t i o n i n f a v o u r o f t h e B e v i n - S f o r z a p l a n w a s d e f e a t e d b y a v o t e o f 37 a g a i n s t 1 4 i n f a v o u r w i t h s e v e n a b s t e n t i o n s . T w o w e e k s later, S a y y i d Idrls, w i t h the s u p p o r t o f Britain, declared C y r e n a i c a an i n d e p e n d e n t state u n d e r a SanusI e m i r a t e , t h o u g h B r i t a i n w a s t o r e t a i n c o n t r o l o v e r f o r e i g n affairs a n d d e f e n c e . S i x m o n t h s l a t e r , o n 21 N o v e m b e r , t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y , b y a v o t e o f 48 t o o n e , w i t h n i n e a b s t e n t i o n s , a d o p t e d a resolution that the three p r o v i n c e s o f L i b y a b e c o m e jointly an i n d e p e n d e n t state n o later t h a n 1 J a n u a r y 1 9 5 2 . R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f the local inhabitants w e r e to meet to f o r m a National A s s e m b l y a n d t o d r a w u p a c o n s t i t u t i o n for the future state in c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h a U N c o m m i s s i o n e r appointed b y the G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y and advised b y a ten-member council c o m p o s e d o f Britain, the United States, France, Italy, E g y p t , Pakistan and four representatives f r o m t h e L i b y a n t e r r i t o r i e s . O n 24 D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 1 , o n e w e e k b e f o r e t h e final d e a d l i n e , L i b y a w a s d e c l a r e d a n i n d e p e n d e n t s o v e r e i g n state a n d S a y y i d Idrls the n e w k i n g . Britain insisted o n his rule, despite c o n s i d e r a b l e internal o p p o s i t i o n . O n c e Libya w a s independent, t w o fundamental problems presented t h e m s e l v e s : the need to transform the declaration o f

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national unity into reality and the n e e d to d e v e l o p a v i a b l e e c o n o m y . W h i l e t h e l a t t e r p r o b l e m w a s , at least i n t h e o r y , o v e r c o m e w i t h the d i s c o v e r y o f oil in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , the p r o b l e m o f u n i t y c o n t i n u e d t o p l a g u e t h e m o n a r c h y u n t i l it w a s o v e r t h r o w n in 1 9 6 9 . D e s p i t e their c o m m o n s t r u g g l e against the Italians, b o t h Cyrenaica and Tripolitania retained a distinct identity, and each j e a l o u s l y g u a r d e d its o w n p r e r o g a t i v e s . C y r e n a i c a w a s a n e t w o r k o f tribal clans d o m i n a t e d b y the S a n u s i y y a . T h i s Sufi b r o t h e r h o o d h a d b e e n f o u n d e d in 1837 b y an A l g e r i a n s c h o l a r , S a y y i d M u ­ h a m m a d ibn ' A H al-Sanus! al-ldrlsl. Originally based near M e c c a , t h e G r a n d S a n u s I , as h e w a s l a t e r t o b e c a l l e d , r e - e s t a b l i s h e d t h e b r o t h e r h o o d ' s h e a d q u a r t e r s at a l - Z a w i y a a l - B a y d a ' o n t h e c e n t r a l C y r e n a i c a n p l a t e a u i n 1843 after e n c o u n t e r i n g p o l i t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n in A r a b i a . L a t e r the b r o t h e r h o o d ' s centre w a s m o v e d t o the J a g h b u b O a s i s , o n the L i b y a n b o r d e r w i t h E g y p t , w h i c h s o o n b e c a m e a centre o f l e a r n i n g in N o r t h A f r i c a , s e c o n d in i m p o r t a n c e o n l y t o E g y p t ' s a l - A z h a r U n i v e r s i t y . L i k e m a n y o f its f e l l o w orders t h r o u g h o u t the Islamic w o r l d , the S a n u s i y y a e s p o u s e d the c a u s e o f t h e c o m m o n p e o p l e , h e l p i n g t o set u p ' s c h o o l s , caravanserai, commercial and social focal points, law courts, b a n k s , s t o r e h o u s e s , p o o r h o u s e s a n d b u r i a l g r o u n d s ' , as w e l l as c e n t r e s o f l e a r n i n g w h i c h a i m e d at b r i n g i n g t h e t e a c h i n g s o f I s l a m to those often forgotten o r neglected b y the m o r e o r t h o d o x ' ulamd\ 1

B u t w h i l e m o s t Sufi o r d e r s w e r e p r i m a r i l y r e l i g i o u s g r o u p i n g s , the S a n u s i y y a , like their c o u n t e r p a r t s , the W a h h a b I in A r a b i a , r a p i d l y b e c a m e i n v o l v e d i n p o l i t i c s as w e l l . U n d e r S a y y i d A h m a d a l - S h a r i f , w h o h e a d e d t h e O r d e r f r o m 1 9 0 2 u n t i l h i s d e a t h at t h e h a n d s o f the Italians in 1 9 3 3 , the S a n u s i y y a f o r m e d w h a t E v a n s Pritchard has called

an embryonic state. The Head of the Order was by this time less the religious Head of an Islamic fraternity than the leading representative of a nascent nationalism which became increasingly conscious of itself in the long struggle against the Italians... The Order became more and more a political organisation which directed, administratively, economically, and militarily, the entire Bedouin population, and morally the entire population of Cyrenaica, Bedouin and townsmen alike, against the common enemy. 2

1

M i c h a e l G i l s e n a n , Saint and sufi in modern Egypt: an essay in the sociology of religion ( O x f o r d , 1973), 4. E . E . E v a n s - P r i t c h a r d , The Sanussi of Cyrenaica ( O x f o r d , 1949), 228. 2

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T h e military defeat o f SanusI resistance to Italian c o l o n i s a t i o n , the d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e S a n u s I l o d g e s a n d t h e b a n i s h m e n t o f its s h a y k h s , o n l y served to increase the i m p o r t a n c e o f the head o f t h e O r d e r as a s y m b o l b o t h o f r e l i g i o u s i d e n t i t y a n d o f p o l i t i c a l resistance. W h e n the British o c c u p i e d Cyrenaica, the decision to resurrect the SanusI emir and to restore tribal rule f o u n d w i d e support t h r o u g h o u t Cyrenaica. Tripolitania, o n the other hand, w a s far m o r e u r b a n i s e d a n d s e t t l e d . It c o n t a i n e d a b o u t t w o - t h i r d s o f the p o p u l a t i o n o f the n e w state, the better part o f the arable l a n d , a n d a l o n g h i s t o r y o f c o m m e r c e w i t h t h e w e s t as w e l l as w i t h s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a a n d the A r a b east. M o r e c l o s e l y a k i n t o n e i g h b o u r i n g T u n i s i a a n d A l g e r i a , it h a d a l a r g e B e r b e r m i n o r i t y , a n d a b o u t 30000 I t a l i a n s w h o h a d c h o s e n t o s t a y o n d e s p i t e t h e Italian w i t h d r a w a l . R e n t b y political factionalism and rivalries a m o n g the urban merchants and notables, Tripolitania had taken the b r u n t o f Italian settlement and had o n l y reluctantly a g r e e d t o s u p p o r t S a y y i d M u h a m m a d I d r l s as k i n g o f a u n i t e d L i b y a f o r fear o f the Italians c o m i n g b a c k . I n r e t u r n for their s u p p o r t t h e y d e m a n d e d a centralised f o r m o f g o v e r n m e n t under w h i c h the m o n a r c h w o u l d share p o w e r w i t h a democratically elected parliament. T h e third p r o v i n c e , the F e z z a n , possessed only a b o u t 40000 inhabitants, d i v i d e d b e t w e e n a n e g r o i d p o p u l a t i o n and the n o m a d i c T u a r e g . C u t o f f f r o m t h e s e a b y t h e d e s e r t o n all s i d e s , its l i n k s w e r e m a i n l y w i t h t h e A f r i c a n s t a t e s t o t h e s o u t h a n d w e s t ( w h i c h like the F e z z a n had been o c c u p i e d b y the F r e n c h ) . T h e final v e r s i o n o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i c h w a s a p p r o v e d b y the n e w l y f o r m e d N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y ten w e e k s prior to indepen­ dence, established a federal system o f g o v e r n m e n t under w h i c h e a c h o f t h e p r o v i n c e s h a d its o w n g o v e r n o r , a p p o i n t e d b y t h e k i n g , an E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l , w h o s e m e m b e r s w e r e appointed or dismissed b y the k i n g o n the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f the g o v e r n o r , and a Legislative A s s e m b l y w h i c h c o u l d also be dissolved b y the k i n g o n the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n o f the c h i e f o f the E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l a n d after c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h t h e g o v e r n o r . W h i l e t h e federal g o v e r n m e n t retained the right to legislate and execute matters concerning foreign policy, defence and national finance, the p r o v i n c e s retained s t r o n g p o w e r s in matters o f taxation, trade, civil, c o m m e r c i a l and criminal l a w , education and the Press. It w a s a situation w h i c h pleased the C y r e n a i c a n s a n d the 540

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Fezzanese w h o feared that a m o r e integrated s y s t e m w o u l d result in d o m i n a t i o n b y T r i p o l i t a n i a ; b u t it w a s b i t t e r l y o p p o s e d b y l a r g e sections o f p u b l i c o p i n i o n in the w e s t e r n p r o v i n c e . O p p o s i t i o n in t h a t p r o v i n c e b e c a m e e v e n m o r e i n t e n s e w h e n , w i t h i n t h e first t w o m o n t h s o f independence, the Tripolitanian National C o n g r e s s P a r t y w a s d i s s o l v e d a n d its l e a d e r , B a s h i r S a ' d a w l , w a s d e p o r t e d t o E g y p t after c h a r g i n g t h a t e l e c t i o n s t o t h e h o u s e o f r e p r e s e n ­ t a t i v e s h a d b e e n m a n i p u l a t e d b y officials o f t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n ­ ment. M a s s d e m o n s t r a t i o n s against the election results b r o k e o u t in T r i p o l i i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 5 2 a n d w e r e b r u t a l l y p u t d o w n b y t h e p o l i c e . I t w a s a p a t t e r n w h i c h w a s t o r e c u r after all p a r t i e s h a d b e e n e f f e c t i v e l y b a n n e d b y t h e k i n g d u r i n g t h e first y e a r o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h r o u g h o u t the 1950s and the 1960s, d e m o n s t r a ­ tions challenged the m o n a r c h ' s rule and they continued, despite t h e e n a c t m e n t o f a n a m e n d m e n t t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o n 15 A p r i l 1953. T h e a m e n d m e n t d i s s o l v e d the federal system and replaced it b y a m o r e c e n t r a l i s e d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n u n d e r w h i c h t h e c o u n t r y w a s divided into administrative units subject to the control o f the Minister o f the Interior. In O c t o b e r 1964 parliament w a s d i s s o l v e d following widespread rioting and demonstrations against the A m e r i c a n and British roles in L i b y a . A n e w l y elected parliament, the fourth since i n d e p e n d e n c e , w a s d i s s o l v e d b y the k i n g the f o l l o w i n g F e b r u a r y . E l e c t i o n s w e r e again held in M a y 1 9 6 5 , b u t b y this time the n u m b e r o f v o t i n g c o n s t i t u e n c i e s h a d b e e n r e d u c e d f r o m 103 t o 9 1 . S i x t e e n c a n d i d a t e s w e r e r e t u r n e d u n o p p o s e d a n d t h e r e m a i n i n g 75 e l e c t e d m e m b e r s w e r e all pro-government. F o r the remaining period o f monarchical rule, the c o u n t r y w a s torn b y the centrifugal rivalry o f the p r o v i n c e s , electoral disputes, conflict within the R o y a l D i w a n , and disagreements b o t h w i t h i n and outside the cabinet c o n c e r n i n g the p o w e r s o f the k i n g . W i t h elections offering o n l y a c h o i c e o f a candidate and n o t o f p r o g r a m m e , v o t e s w e r e cast a c c o r d i n g to tribal, family and personal loyalties. Parliamentary deputies tended to put local interests a b o v e national o n e s and clandestine o p p o s i t i o n m o v e ­ ments g r e w increasingly active. Mass demonstrations organised by Ba'athists, various Marxist g r o u p s and w o r k e r s ' organisations w e r e p u t d o w n b y f o r c e i n 1 9 6 2 a n d 1 9 6 4 , a n d i n 1 9 6 7 after t h e S i x D a y Arab-Israeli war. T r a d e unions were dissolved and students a r r e s t e d at t h e v e r y t i m e t h a t t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s i n E g y p t a n d

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e l s e w h e r e in N o r t h Africa w e r e g a i n i n g n e w rights under socialist regimes. B y the autumn o f 1969, the m o v e m e n t led b y C o l o n e l M u ' a m m a r al-Qadhdhâfï (Gadafi) and the Free Officers w a s b u t o n e o f several g r o u p s secretly w o r k i n g t o o v e r t h r o w the regime. Q a d h d h â f ï ' s success w a s m a d e possible b y the d i s c o v e r y o f oil in L i b y a a n d t h e rise o f a t i n y , b u t i n f l u e n t i a l , m i d d l e c l a s s c o m p o s e d o f technicians, urban tradesmen and civil servants. Until the discovery o f oil, the country w a s o n e o f the poorest in the w o r l d . T h e d e c i m a t i o n o f the b e d u i n p o p u l a t i o n a n d o f t h e i r h e r d s b y t h e I t a l i a n s w a s a m a j o r c a u s e o f t h i s , as w a s t h e appallingly l o w level o f educational, medical and social services p r o v i d e d for the native p o p u l a t i o n under Fascist rule. B y 1951 Libya had only four preparatory and secondary schools with a t o t a l e n r o l m e n t o f 300 p u p i l s . T h e 1 9 5 4 c e n s u s s h o w e d t h a t 83 p e r cent o f the p o p u l a t i o n w a s illiterate. T h e w a r , in w h i c h the c o u n t r y h a d s e e n s o m e o f t h e fiercest b a t t l e s r e c o r d e d i n m o d e r n h i s t o r y , left m u c h o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n h o m e l e s s a n d i n a s t a t e o f d i s e a s e a n d s t a r v a t i o n . T h e a v e r a g e life e x p e c t a n c y w a s little m o r e t h a n 30 y e a r s . P e r c a p i t a i n c o m e w a s a b o u t $35 a y e a r ; b y 1 9 6 2 , d e s p i t e a n e s t i m a t e d e i g h t - f o l d i n c r e a s e , it still s t o o d a t u n d e r $ 2 7 0 a y e a r . B y 1 9 6 5 , a s t h e o i l b e g a n t o flow i n , e x p o r t e a r n i n g s r o s e six-fold to £ 8 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 ; b y 1969 they totalled m o r e than 770 million dinars, just u n d e r £900 million. A l t h o u g h the g o v e r n m e n t w a s m a k i n g a n effort t o r e d i s t r i b u t e s o m e o f t h i s n e w i n c o m e , a n d to p r o v i d e better education and social services, the bulk o f the profits w e r e drained o v e r s e a s t h r o u g h the foreign oil c o m p a n i e s o p e r a t i n g o n L i b y a n soil. R a p i d l y increasing inflation c u t into i n c o m e and L i b y a w a s b e c o m i n g w h a t R é m y L e v e a u has called ' a c a r i c a t u r e o f a c o n s u m e r s o c i e t y ' . A s t h e r u r a l p o o r fled t h e d i s m a l c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g in t h e c o u n t r y s i d e , t h e rate o f u r b a n i s a t i o n increased d r a m a t i c a l l y : in t h e 1960s the p o p u l a t i o n o f b o t h T r i p o l i a n d B e n g h a z i g r e w at a r o u n d s e v e n p e r c e n t p e r y e a r , t w i c e as fast as t h e p o p u l a t i o n as a w h o l e . 1

Abroad, Algeria, Tunisia, M o r o c c o , Chad and Niger had b e c o m e independent ; G a m a l 'A b d al-Nâsir had b e c o m e the hero o f the A r a b s a n d o f the T h i r d W o r l d ; the Palestinians w e r e b e c o m i n g a n e w and p o w e r f u l force in w o r l d politics. Isolated from Africa, A s i a a n d the A r a b w o r l d b y their g o v e r n m e n t ' s 1

R é m y Leveau, ' L e Système politique libyen ( P a r i s , 1975), 85.

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pro-western policies and increasingly aware o f the potential p o w e r their oil w e a l t h c o u l d b r i n g , L i b y a n s g r e w m o r e a n d m o r e impatient. T h e political system w a s unable to cope. A s L e v e a u explained i t : ' T h e administration f o u n d itself r e d u c e d t o its d i s t r i b u t i v e f u n c t i o n , a n d this created m o r e frustration a m o n g precisely those w h o had benefited. T h i s incapacity o f the L i b y a n political system explains the collapse o f the m o n a r c h y and the relatively easy installation o f the n e w r e g i m e / 1

C o l o n e l M u ' a m m a r al-Qadhdhaf! and the Free Officers t o o k p o w e r i n a b l o o d l e s s c o u p o n i S e p t e m b e r 1 9 6 9 , a l t h o u g h it w a s n o t u n t i l a l m o s t t w o w e e k s l a t e r t h a t Q a d h d h a f l w a s i d e n t i f i e d as the head o f the g o v e r n m e n t a n d o f the a r m e d f o r c e s ; the names o f the twelve members o f the Revolutionary C o m m a n d Council w e r e n o t a n n o u n c e d until the f o l l o w i n g D e c e m b e r . K i n g Idrls, w h o w a s i n T u r k e y at t h e t i m e , r e f u s e d t o a b d i c a t e b u t e v e n t u a l l y accepted exile in E g y p t . W i t h the w e s t e r n p o w e r s e a g e r t o retain their g o o d w i l l in a state that w a s n o w e x c e e d i n g l y w e a l t h y a n d w h o s e o i l supplies w e r e vitally i m p o r t a n t as s h o r t a g e s g r e w m o r e imminent, foreign recognition quickly followed. O f the twelve members o f the R C C , only ' U m a r ' A b d Allah a l - M a h a ' i s h l c a m e f r o m a relatively well-off f a m i l y ; his father w a s a provincial administrator under the o l d regime and o f the Circassian T u r k i s h stock w h i c h had ruled E g y p t during the time o f t h e O t t o m a n e m p i r e . H e w a s l a t e r t o d e f e c t t o E g y p t after allegedly attempting to overthrow Qadhdhafl. A b u Bakr Y u n u s and M u h a m m a d A b u B a k r al-Mgarief, w h o w a s killed in a m o t o r accident in A u g u s t 1 9 7 2 , c a m e from important t r i b e s Y u n u s f r o m a tribe o f the Aujila Oasis in C h a d w h i c h h a d emigrated to Libya and al-Mgarief from the Maghariba, one o f the nine Sa'adI tribes o f the B a n u S u l a y m . T h e remainder c a m e from m i n o r tribes a n d p o o r e r families. Several, i n c l u d i n g Q a d h ­ d h a f l , c a m e f r o m oases in t h e interior w h e r e , as R u t h First has n o t e d , ' they w e r e the country's second-class citizens, the children o f n o m a d s o r l o w l y c u l t i v a t o r s w h o w e r e b o r n i n t h e last d a y s o f the Italian o c c u p a t i o n ' . 2

O w i n g n o specific allegiance t o a n y o f the m o r e n o b l e tribes or to the urban notables o f any o f the three provinces, the R C C at its i n c e p t i o n w a s s e e n t o r e p r e s e n t t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e c o u n t r y 1

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as a w h o l e . I n a r a d i o b r o a d c a s t t o t h e n a t i o n o n t h e m o r n i n g o f the c o u p the R C C labelled the o l d r e g i m e 'reactionary a n d d e c a d e n t . . . a hotbed o f extortion, faction, treachery and treason \ It d e c l a r e d L i b y a a ' f r e e , s e l f - g o v e r n i n g r e p u b l i c \ a n d p r o m i s e d freedom, unity and social justice. T h e statement added that the c o u p w a s ' i n n o sense directed against a n y state w h a t e v e r , n o r against international agreements o r recognised international law \ Aside from the bulk o f the armed forces, the n e w regime d e r i v e d its m a i n s u p p o r t f r o m t h o s e s e c t i o n s o f t h e m i d d l e c l a s s , many o f them civil servants and technicians, w h o had been d e m a n d i n g a larger role for the country in determining matters concerning oil prices and production, and a m o r e p r o - A r a b foreign policy. T h e i r support explains the regime's subsequent s u c c e s s i n c a r r y i n g t h r o u g h its n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n o f t h e o i l s e c t o r , and the adoption o f a w i d e - r a n g i n g d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e concentrated o n agriculture, the infrastructure and the social services. In addition, the n e w regime received the whole-hearted support o f w h a t Y o l a n d e M a r t i n has d e s c r i b e d as t h e e m b r y o n i c class o f petite bourgeoisie a n d t h o s e w h o c o n s t i t u t e d a r u r a l a n d u r b a n lumpenproletariat, w h o s e employment w a s sporadic because the p e t r o l e u m industry c o u l d o n l y absorb a certain n u m b e r o f w o r k e r s for a specified time. O n c e the construction w o r k w a s finished, these w o r k e r s w e n t b a c k t o the cities, w h e r e they often c o u l d find n o e m p l o y m e n t . T h e y f o r m e d , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e s m a l l emigre p e a s a n t r y a n d t h e p o o r b e d u i n s , t h e c l a s s o f p e o p l e w h o inhabited the slums w h i c h s u r r o u n d e d the large cities. T h i s class even n o w has v e r y f e w political defenders. 1

D e s p i t e this s u p p o r t , t h e n e w r e g i m e w a s careful t o e m p h a s i s e its d i s a v o w a l o f t h e c l a s s s t r u g g l e a n d o f c l a s s d i s t i n c t i o n s . T h e n e w r e g i m e w a s t o b e based o n the t w i n pillars o f Islam a n d o f A r a b nationalism. A l c o h o l w a s banned, E n g l i s h disappeared from street signs a n d h o a r d i n g s , a n d w e s t e r n advisers a n d consultants were replaced b y A r a b s . British troops w e r e asked to leave and the g i a n t A m e r i c a n air base at W h e e l u s F i e l d near T r i p o l i , t h e largest air base outside the U S , w a s closed. Political parties, save f o r t h e A r a b S o c i a l i s t U n i o n o f L i b y a , w h i c h w a s m o d e l l e d after that o f E g y p t , w e r e banned. T h e natural resources o f the c o u n t r y 1

Y o l a n d e M a r t i n , ' L a L i b y e d e 1919 a 1969', La Libye nouvelle, 48-9.

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were to be mobilised for the struggle against imperialism and the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e A r a b n a t i o n as a w h o l e . I n a s p e e c h d e l i v e r e d t o t h e L i b y a n p u b l i c o n 15 A p r i l 1 9 7 3 , President Q a d h d h a f i a n n o u n c e d the b e g i n n i n g o f a n e w cultural r e v o l u t i o n in w h i c h the p o p u l a r masses w e r e invited t o take p o w e r at all l e v e l s o f g o v e r n m e n t t h r o u g h t h e f o r m a t i o n o f p o p u l a r committees. T h e population w a s to be mobilised into armed militia, the b u r e a u c r a c y a n d administration dismantled a n d the c e n t r e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n t u r n e d o v e r t o t h e p e o p l e . O n e m o n t h later, Q a d h d h a f i outlined his ' T h i r d International T h e o r y ' w h i c h he d e s c r i b e d as ' a n a l t e r n a t i v e t o c a p i t a l i s t m a t e r i a l i s m a n d C o m ­ m u n i s t a t h e i s m ' . It w a s a f o r m o f d i r e c t d e m o c r a c y , as h e m a d e a n effort t o e x p l a i n i n h i s Green Book, t h e first p a r t o f w h i c h w a s published in 1976. O n 2 M a r c h 1 9 7 7 a N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s w a s held in S e b h a ; s o m e 1000 d e l e g a t e s c h o s e n b y t h e p e o p l e ' s c o m m i t t e e s , professional associations and trade unions attended to w o r k o u t the details o f a n e w political s y s t e m a n d t o select n e w secretaries w h o w o u l d supervise the reformed ministries. L i b y a adopted a n e w name, the Socialist People's L i b y a n A r a b Jamahiriyah, w h i c h t h e g o v e r n m e n t d e f i n e d a s a p e o p l e ' s state. A l t h o u g h the L i b y a n revolution managed to survive several attempted c o u p s , i n c l u d i n g o n e in the s u m m e r o f 1970 led b y ' A b d A l l a h ' A b i d al-SanusI, ' U m a r al-Shalhl and other m e m b e r s o f the o l d r e g i m e , t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e p o p u l a r c o m m i t t e e s at t h e e x p e n s e o f the A r a b Socialist U n i o n , the a r m i n g o f the militia - reportedly against the wishes o f some o f the m o r e professional army officers - a n d t h e m o v e t o s t r e n g t h e n ties w i t h t h e d e v e l o p i n g countries reflected the g o v e r n m e n t ' s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o repel a n y attempts, internal o r external, t o o v e r t h r o w the r e g i m e . A l t h o u g h the c o u n t r y ' s e c o n o m i c links w i t h the U n i t e d States had i m p r o v e d b y the latter part o f the 1970s, the g o v e r n m e n t and t h e p o p u l a t i o n w e r e still a w a r e o f v i v i d n e w s p a p e r a c c o u n t s o f U S plans t o i n v a d e L i b y a n oil-fields f o l l o w i n g the oil e m b a r g o o f 1973 and early 1974. T h e defection o f ' U m a r al-Maha'ishl, then the Minister o f Planning, dissension within the R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o m m a n d C o u n c i l o v e r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e L i b y a n s t a t e (as o p p o s e d t o the A r a b r e v o l u t i o n ) and student riots in B e n g h a z i a n d T r i p o l i w e r e s i g n s o f i n t e r n a l d i s c o n t e n t as w e l l .

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Effpt B y t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r E g y p t h a d a l r e a d y e m e r g e d as a l e a d i n g M i d d l e E a s t e r n p o w e r , c h e c k e d o n l y b y I r a q w h i c h , as t h e o n e recognised independent A r a b state, a t t e m p t e d to assume l e a d e r s h i p o f all A r a b states. B u t E g y p t ' s g e o g r a p h i c a l p o s i t i o n , especially o n a c c o u n t o f b o t h the size o f her p o p u l a t i o n and the S u e z C a n a l , dictated her cardinal role in her relations w i t h w e s t e r n and eastern p o w e r s . E g y p t ' s i m p o r t a n c e w a s further emphasised by her cultural pre-eminence and the establishment o f the A r a b L e a g u e in C a i r o in 1944. F r o m that time o n E g y p t ' s f o r e i g n p o l i c y e x e r t e d i n c r e a s i n g i n f l u e n c e in t h e r e g i o n . H e r military c o m m i t m e n t s d u r i n g the 1 9 4 8 - 9 w a r against Israel, and her struggle to contain Zionist/Israeli expansion (although unsuc­ cessful until 1973) g a i n e d E g y p t the role o f A r a b leadership. Indeed, b y 1957, E g y p t had b e c o m e the principal s p o k e s m a n for, and foreign p o l i c y p a c e m a k e r in, the A r a b M i d d l e East. D u r i n g t h e 1940s a n d e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s t h e p r i n c i p a l f o r e i g n - p o l i c y objective remained the r e m o v a l o f British forces from E g y p t i a n t e r r i t o r y . T h u s , i n 1 9 4 6 , as w e l l as after t h e c o u p o f 195 2, E g y p t i a n leaders s o u g h t n e w , o r revised, treaty arrangements w i t h G r e a t Britain. F u r t h e r m o r e E g y p t ' s participation in the A r a b - I s r a e l i w a r o f 1 9 4 8 - 9 inextricably i n v o l v e d her in the d e v e l o p m e n t o f this c o n t i n u i n g c o n f l i c t . I n d e e d , s h e b e c a m e t h e p r i n c i p a l p r o ­ t a g o n i s t in t h e A r a b - I s r a e l i c o n f r o n t a t i o n . Y e t , until 1955, E g y p t remained closely linked to the w e s t e r n p o w e r s . O n l y the vicissitudes o f the C o l d W a r and the shortsighted and rigid foreign p o l i c y o f the U n i t e d States o f A m e r i c a - w h i c h d e m a n d e d close military and political association in return for e c o n o m i c benefits - e v e n t u a l l y c a u s e d G a m a l ' A b d al-Nasir t o g i v e his s u p p o r t t o t h e n o n - a l i g n e d T h i r d W o r l d b l o c , t o t u r n t o t h e S o v i e t U n i o n for military aid, denied b y the U n i t e d States because o f its c o m m i t m e n t s t o I s r a e l , a n d t o r e c o g n i s e t h e P e o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c o f C h i n a in 1 9 5 6 , w h i l e c o n t i n u i n g E g y p t ' s c l o s e e c o n o m i c relations w i t h western p o w e r s . G r e a t Britain, the U S A , W e s t G e r m a n y a n d F r a n c e , in s p i t e o f g r e a t p o l i t i c a l a n d diplomatic differences, remained E g y p t ' s principal trading part­ ners t h r o u g h o u t N a s i r ' s rule. 546

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I n h i s Philosophy of the revolution, N a s i r d e v e l o p e d t h e n o t i o n o f three intersecting circles e n c o m p a s s i n g the A r a b , Islamic and African W o r l d s respectively. In these three w o r l d s , Nasir be­ lieved, E g y p t ' s role s h o u l d lie. E g y p t , in her relations w i t h those countries outside these circles, should pursue a policy o f non-alignment, and certainly non-military c o m m i t m e n t . H i s aim w a s t o steer clear o f t h e C o l d W a r . I n this pursuit N a s i r w a s consistent. But, g i v e n the nature o f the C o l d W a r and his conflict w i t h Israel, h e w a s forced t o d e p e n d increasingly o n the eastern bloc t o obtain military aid a n d e c o n o m i c assistance. In the early days o f the revolution, the R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o u n c i l had f e w , if any, notions o f i d e o l o g y o r any p r o g r a m m e relating t o f o r e i g n affairs. S i t u a t i o n s , h o w e v e r , d i c t a t e d i t s p o l i c y , m a k i n g t h e r e g i m e ' p r a g m a t i s t ' , o r a t least o p p o r t u n i s t . I t s e i z e d , i n t e r m s o f national interests, those opportunities w h i c h w o u l d enhance E g y p t ' s r e g i o n a l as w e l l a s g l o b a l r o l e . T h e 1 9 5 4 n e g o t i a t i o n securing Britain's w i t h d r a w a l f r o m E g y p t heralded the latter's true independence and confirmed her leadership o f the A r a b W o r l d . N a s i r t h e n s e t a b o u t e s t a b l i s h i n g h i m s e l f as c h a m p i o n o f the anti-colonial s t r u g g l e . T h i s d e v e l o p m e n t b r o u g h t E g y p t into direct collaboration w i t h the S o v i e t U n i o n and emphasised the reality o f her o w n i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e principal focus o f N a s i r ' s f o r e i g n p o l i c y o f c o u r s e remained his relations w i t h Israel. A l t h o u g h i n t h e first y e a r s o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n h e h a d t r i e d n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h I s r a e l , t h e l a t t e r ' s i n t r a n s i g e n c e a n d its i n v o l v e ­ m e n t in the a b o r t i v e A n g l o - F r e n c h i n v a s i o n o f the S u e z Canal after N a s i r h a d n a t i o n a l i s e d it i n 1 9 5 6 , l e d t o o p e n c o n f r o n t a t i o n . A l t h o u g h t h e U S A as w e l l a s t h e U S S R h a d o p p o s e d t h e t r i p a r t i t e i n v a s i o n , it w a s t o t h e l a t t e r w o r l d p o w e r t h a t N a s i r n o w t u r n e d f o r s u p p o r t . A s a r e s u l t o f t h e i n v a s i o n N a s i r e m e r g e d as t h e c h a m p i o n o f A r a b nationalism and the anti-colonial a n d anti-Israeli s t r u g g l e . F u r t h e r m o r e , I r a q h a d l o n g l o s t a n y c l a i m it h a d t o leadership o f the A r a b W o r l d . W h i l e c h a m p i o n i n g A r a b unity, E g y p t ' s radical stance b r o u g h t t h e c o u n t r y i n t o c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h c o n s e r v a t i v e r e g i m e s s u c h as that o f Saudi A r a b i a . In p u r s u a n c e o f the g o a l o f A r a b unity, N a s i r persuaded Syria t o join E g y p t in a United A r a b R e p u b l i c in 1958. T h e union w a s short lived since the Syrians resented E g y p t ' s a t t e m p t s t o d o m i n a t e it a n d s e c e d e d i n 1 9 6 1 . E v e n s o , N a s i r d i d n o t l o s e h i s r o l e as l e a d e r o f t h e A r a b W o r l d a n d d i d n o t c e a s e

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to strive for A r a b unity. E g y p t ' s n e w radical stance presented her w i t h a d i l e m m a . W h i l e p u r s u i n g t h e g o a l o f A r a b u n i t y , s h e felt o b l i g e d t o o p p o s e A r a b r e g i m e s s u c h as t h a t o f S a u d i A r a b i a . E g y p t ' s m i l i t a r y i n v o l v e m e n t o n t h e s i d e o f t h e r a d i c a l f o r c e s in the Y e m e n civil w a r further e x p o s e d the contradictions inherent in h e r f o r e i g n p o l i c y g o a l s . A l t h o u g h s h e w a s r e c e i v i n g c o n s i d ­ erable aid f r o m the U S S R , o n w h i c h she w a s b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y d e p e n d e n t , s h e still r e q u i r e d f u r t h e r l a r g e - s c a l e finance f o r h e r a m b i t i o u s d e v e l o p m e n t projects, and this the c o n s e r v a t i v e oil-rich G u l f states c o u l d p r o v i d e . B u t i d e o l o g i c a l l y s h e h a d p l a c e d h e r s e l f i n a c o r n e r . H e r i n t e r v e n t i o n in Y e m e n a l i e n a t e d h e r f r o m t h e G u l f states, w a s d i v i s i v e o f the A r a b W o r l d and tied d o w n her military f o r c e s as w e l l as d i v e r t i n g p r e c i o u s e c o n o m i c r e s o u r c e s n e e d e d f o r h e r o w n d e v e l o p m e n t . B y 1965 t h e r e w e r e w e l l o v e r 7 5 0 0 0 E g y p t i a n s o l d i e r s fighting in Y e m e n a g a i n s t t h e S a u d i - s u p p o r t e d I m a m M u h a m m a d al-Badr. T h i s i m b r o g l i o r e s u l t e d in N a s i r l o s i n g h i s g r i p as a P a n - A r a b leader. O t h e r forces had entered the A r a b political arena, chal­ l e n g i n g h i s a u t h o r i t y : B a ' a t h i s m , t h e P a l e s t i n i a n m o v e m e n t , as w e l l as t h e S a u d i g o v e r n m e n t . W h e n in 1 9 6 6 I s r a e l s u c c e e d e d in attacking Syria and Jordan w i t h o u t credible E g y p t i a n military action, President Nasir w a s largely b l a m e d for failing to thwart Israeli m i l i t a r y m i g h t . R e a c t i n g t o t h i s s i t u a t i o n N a s i r p r o d u c e d a s h o w o f force b y c l o s i n g the Straits o f T i r a n and d e m a n d i n g the w i t h d r a w a l o f the U N E m e r g e n c y F o r c e f r o m Sinai. Israel's reaction w a s totally u n e x p e c t e d . O n 5 J u n e 1967 the Israeli D e f e n c e F o r c e d e s t r o y e d m o s t o f E g y p t ' s air f o r c e a n d f o l l o w e d u p w i t h a Blitzkrieg o n t h e g r o u n d a g a i n s t t h e p r i n c i p a l A r a b a r m i e s o f E g y p t , S y r i a a n d J o r d a n , all o f w h i c h w e r e s e v e r e l y defeated. T h e i m m e d i a t e effect o f t h i s d e b a c l e w a s t h e r e - e n t r y i n t o t h e r e g i o n o f the U S A , w h i l e the U S S R immediately re-armed her c l i e n t states. T h e U S A , h o w e v e r , b e c a m e , w i t h t a c i t S o v i e t support, the principal force in search o f a political solution o f the A r a b - I s r a e l i conflict. M o r e o v e r , E g y p t ' s adherence to the U N R e s o l u t i o n 242 (22 N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 7 ) w h i c h i m p l i c i t l y r e c o g n i s e d Israel's right t o exist, m a r k e d a radical n e w d e p a r t u r e in E g y p t ' s foreign policy. A l t h o u g h subsequently a ' w a r o f attrition' broke out d u r i n g 1969 and 1970, m o s t l y o v e r the S u e z Canal, the U N and other western p o w e r s pursued avenues for a peaceful 548

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settlement. A n d w h e n b y the s u m m e r o f 1970, the Palestinian g u e r r i l l a f o r c e s c l a s h e d w i t h t h e J o r d a n i a n m i l i t a r y , it h a d b e c o m e clear that the A r a b - I s r a e l i conflict had to be resolved. A l t h o u g h still h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e U S S R , E g y p t ' s p r e v i o u s t o u g h a n t i - U S s t a n c e w a s d r o p p e d in f a v o u r o f o n e s e e k i n g a c t i v e U S i n v o l v e m e n t in t h e a r e a , as w e l l as d i p l o m a t i c a c c o m m o d a t i o n . N a s i r ' s s u d d e n d e a t h in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 0 a n d A n w a r S a d a t ' s succession m a r k e d the return to a principally E g y p t i a n - c e n t r e d rather than a Pan-Arab-centred foreign policy. A l t h o u g h N a s i r h a d set t h e n e w t r e n d in p o l i c y , it w a s S a d a t w h o s u b s e q u e n t l y i m p l e m e n t e d it. A f t e r t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f h i s p o w e r base, he suddenly expelled S o v i e t military and technical a d v i s e r s in 1 9 7 2 , p r o n o u n c e d t h e infitdh, o r e c o n o m i c o p e n d o o r , policy w h i c h w a s designed to attract foreign, especially western, investors, and reached rapprochement w i t h the conservative A r a b G u l f states. I n d e e d it w a s t h e y w h o s u p p o r t e d S a d a t ' s m i l i t a r y s t r a t e g y b y o f f e r i n g s u p p o r t a n d financial b a c k i n g b y m e a n s o f a coordinated strategy o f the Organisation o f A r a b Petroleum E x p o r t i n g C o u n t r i e s ( O P E C ) . A l l this led t o his d a r i n g - yet h i g h l y successful — military offensive across the S u e z C a n a l in O c t o b e r 1 9 7 3 . B y d o i n g this, he had forced w e s t e r n p o w e r s t o take a stand, and o n c e again to b e c o m e an active partner in n e g o t i a t i n g a settlement in the A r a b - I s r a e l i conflict. W h i l e E g y p t ' s military established a beachhead o n the eastern S u e z Canal f r o n t , O P E C s i m u l t a n e o u s l y a n n o u n c e d t h e d r a m a t i c p r i c e rise f o r c r u d e o i l , g i v i n g O P E C ' s s u p p o r t t o A r a b states a g a i n s t I s r a e l . W i t h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n r e m o v e d f r o m E g y p t , b u t still i n f l u e n t i a l in S y r i a a n d I r a q , t h e U S A m a d e a d r a m a t i c i n i t i a t i v e i n t h e M i d d l e East. T h e U n i t e d States g o v e r n m e n t (principally in the p e r s o n o f D r H e n r y K i s s i n g e r ) orchestrated the G e n e v a C o n f e r e n c e o n the A r a b - I s r a e l i d i s p u t e as w e l l as t h e S i n a i a r m i s t i c e a g r e e m e n t s . W i t h i n a year E g y p t had rejoined the western b l o c , a l t h o u g h p u r s u i n g an essentially E g y p t - c e n t r e d policy. F a c i n g o p p o s i t i o n , e v e n hostility, f r o m A r a b states in r e s p o n s e t o her f o r e i g n p o l i c y , she b e c a m e increasingly isolated in s u b s e q u e n t years. M o r e a n d m o r e it a p p e a r e d t h a t E g y p t ' s p r o b l e m s c o u l d o n l y b e r e s o l v e d w i t h the assistance o f the w e s t e r n p o w e r s . T h i s w a s underlined b y N i x o n ' s visit to E g y p t in 1 9 7 4 . Sadat's subsequent dramatic decision to negotiate direct with Israel to secure p e a c e and release the E g y p t i a n e c o n o m y f r o m the

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permanent threat o f w a r w a s a logical d e v e l o p m e n t o f à foreign policy w h i c h s o u g h t to consider E g y p t ' s o w n interests, rather t h a n r e g i o n a l i n t e r e s t s , as p a r a m o u n t . I n s o d o i n g E g y p t , w h i c h h a d b e e n t h e p a c e m a k e r f o r f o r e i g n p o l i c y in t h e A r a b W o r l d , p u t h e r s e l f o u t o n a l i m b , in p a r t i c u l a r w i t h h e r n e i g h b o u r L i b y a , h e r A r a b partner states, and to a lesser extent the S u d a n .

The Sudan E v e n before i n d e p e n d e n c e , the S u d a n had tried to cultivate s y m p a t h y f o r h e r c a u s e in t h e T h i r d W o r l d . H e r g e o g r a p h i c a l p o s i t i o n , h o w e v e r , p r o d u c e d a d u a l i t y in h e r p o l i c y , n a m e l y o n e o f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h A r a b as w e l l as A f r i c a n c a u s e s . T h u s , t h e S u d a n j o i n e d t h e A r a b L e a g u e as w e l l as a t t e n d i n g t h e A f r i c a n S u m m i t C o n f e r e n c e in A c c r a in 1 9 5 8 . I n 1 9 6 3 , t h e y e a r o f t h e creation o f the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f African Unity, the S u d a n w a s o n e o f its e a r l y p a r t i c i p a n t s a n d j o i n e d in t h e call f o r t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n o f t h e s t a t u s q u o in i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n states. H o w e v e r , this d i d n o t p r e v e n t S u d a n e s e g o v e r n m e n t s , at v a r i o u s t i m e s , f r o m offering considerable political, e c o n o m i c and e v e n military support t o l i b e r a t i o n m o v e m e n t s s e e k i n g t o o v e r t h r o w g o v e r n m e n t s in n e i g h b o u r i n g states, o r to establish their o w n states. T h e assistance g i v e n b y N u m a y r ï ' s r e g i m e t o H i s s a n H a b r e in t h e C h a d i a n c i v i l w a r in t h e 1 9 7 0 s is o n e e x a m p l e ; a n o t h e r is t h e s u p p o r t g i v e n b y the same r e g i m e to the Eritrean liberation m o v e m e n t s s t r u g g l i n g to establish their i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m Ethiopia. A l t h o u g h relations b e t w e e n the S u d a n and these m o v e m e n t s w e r e subject to c o n s i d e r a b l e flux, N u m a y r ï ' s r e g i m e in p a r t i c u l a r f o u n d it u s e f u l t o u s e t h e m t o f u r t h e r h i s o w n i n t e r e s t s in t h e r e g i o n , f o r e m o s t o f w h i c h w a s his effort t o p r e v e n t b o t h L i b y a a n d E t h i o p i a f r o m becoming too powerful. R e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e A r a b states a l s o fluctuated considerably o v e r the years. A f t e r the disputes w i t h N à s i r ' s E g y p t o v e r the d i v i s i o n o f t h e N i l e w a t e r s h a d b e e n s e t t l e d in 1 9 5 9 , S u d a n a n d E g y p t greatly extended their trading links and relations i m p r o v e d steadily. A f t e r the J u n e w a r o f 1967, S u d a n also m o v e d to r e - e s t a b l i s h c l o s e r l i n k s w i t h t h e o t h e r A r a b states a n d s t r o n g l y s u p p o r t e d the Palestinian cause. A t the A r a b S u m m i t C o n f e r e n c e h e l d in K h a r t o u m in N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 7 , S u d a n j o i n e d t h e o t h e r A r a b L e a g u e states in c a l l i n g f o r ' n o p e a c e w i t h I s r a e l , n o 550

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r e c o g n i t i o n o f Israel, n o negotiations w i t h I s r a e l ' . I n 1970 N u m a y r I headed a conciliation committee chosen b y the A r a b states t o m e d i a t e b e t w e e n K i n g H u s s e i n o f J o r d a n a n d P a l e s t i n i a n guerrillas a n d h e l p e d t o b r i n g a b o u t a ceasefire t o e n d the civil w a r in Jordan. After the July 1 9 7 1 c o u p and counter-coup, h o w e v e r , relations w i t h b o t h L i b y a a n d E g y p t b e c a m e strained and t h e r e g i m e t u r n e d f o r s u p p o r t t o t h e m o r e c o n s e r v a t i v e states o f the Arabian peninsula, Saudi Arabia, K u w a i t and A b u D h a b i in p a r t i c u l a r . T h e p r e s i d e n t c a l l e d f o r a n a l l i a n c e o f A r a b m o n e y with western technology and Sudanese resources, and both p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c ties i n c r e a s e d c o n s i d e r a b l y a s a r e s u l t . I n 1975 t h e A b u D h a b i - b a s e d A r a b F u n d f o r E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t announced a ten-year plan to d o u b l e o u t p u t in the S u d a n a n d s u g g e s t e d a plan u n d e r w h i c h t h e A r a b o i l states w o u l d c o n t r i b u t e $6 b i l l i o n t o t h e S u d a n e s e e c o n o m y b y 1 9 8 5 . H e n c e f o r t h the need t o retain the g o o d w i l l o f the A r a b o i l producers became a major plank in N u m a y r l ' s foreign policy. Sudan's relations w i t h the S o v i e t U n i o n and the eastern-bloc c o u n t r i e s b e g a n t o i m p r o v e s i g n i f i c a n t l y after t h e 1 9 6 7 w a r , w h e n the M a h j u b g o v e r n m e n t b r o k e d i p l o m a t i c links w i t h the U n i t e d States a n d the U n i t e d K i n g d o m f o r their s u p p o r t o f the Israelis a n d c o n c l u d e d a m a j o r a r m s d e a l w i t h t h e U S S R . D u r i n g h i s first t w o y e a r s i n p o w e r , t h e s e ties w e r e a l s o e n c o u r a g e d b y N u m a y r I , w h o also forged closer diplomatic links w i t h China. H o w e v e r , the events o f July 1971 led the regime to question the w i s d o m o f close relations w i t h the Soviet U n i o n , w h o w e r e t h o u g h t t o have had a h a n d i n t h e c o u p a t t e m p t , a n d a l t h o u g h d i p l o m a t i c ties r e m a i n e d intact, relations b e c a m e considerably m o r e strained, w h i l e those w i t h the U S a n d w i t h other western countries in E u r o p e w e r e improved. Libya Until the S e p t e m b e r c o u p o f 1969 L i b y a had played b u t a m o d e s t r o l e i n P a n - A r a b affairs, a n d h a d k e p t a v e r y l o w p r o f i l e i n t h e w o r l d arena. I n return for earlier help b y G r e a t Britain, the U S A and Italy, K i n g Idrls h a d leased the W h e e l u s air base a n d o t h e r facilities t o N A T O , f o r w h i c h t h e c o u n t r y w a s f i n a n c i a l l y r e ­ w a r d e d . A n d a l t h o u g h t h e k i n g d o m officially s u p p o r t e d t h e A r a b cause against Israel, w i t h o u t an effective military force h e r actual 1

A n t h o n y S y l v e s t e r , Sudan under Nimeiri ( L o n d o n , 1977), 193.

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c o n t r i b u t i o n s w e r e m i n i m a l . T h i s c h a n g e d d r a m a t i c a l l y i n late 1969 w h e n C o l o n e l Q a d h d h a f i c a m e to p o w e r . In 1970 Q a d h d h a f i pressed ahead w i t h his plans for w i d e r A r a b unity. In D e c e m b e r 1969 the T r i p o l i Charter established an alliance o f L i b y a , E g y p t and the S u d a n . It w a s f o l l o w e d b y m o v e s towards federation o f the three countries and overtures towards Syria. R e f e r e n d u m s h e l d in L i b y a , E g y p t a n d Syria a p p r o v e d the proposed constitution, and the Federation o f A r a b Republics w a s proclaimed o n 1 January 1972. In A u g u s t E g y p t and L i b y a agreed in p r i n c i p l e t o m e r g e their t w o c o u n t r i e s , b u t E g y p t , n o w led b y President A n w a r Sadat, w a s hesitant a b o u t p r o c e e d i n g further. A ' m a r c h o n C a i r o ' staged b y s o m e 40000 L i b y a n s to demonstrate s u p p o r t f o r t h e m e r g e r w a s t u r n e d b a c k after it h a d c r o s s e d t h e border. E v e n t u a l l y the m e r g e r d o c u m e n t s w e r e signed o n 1 September 1973, but severe disagreements o v e r the military c o n d u c t o f the O c t o b e r 1973 w a r , and Q a d h d h a f i ' s rejection o f Sadat's negotiated settlement o f the w a r , led n o t o n l y t o the e n d o f the u n i o n plan, but also to increasing hostility b e t w e e n the t w o countries. T o the north and w e s t , a p r o p o s e d union w i t h M a l t a w a s r e b u f f e d , as w a s a p a r a l l e l p r o p o s a l m a d e t o T u n i s i a n P r e s i d e n t H a b i b B o u r g u i b a in D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 2 . A f t e r the b r e a k - u p o f the union with E g y p t , h o w e v e r , Tunisia and Libya agreed o n a m e r g e r p l a n w h i c h w a s a n n o u n c e d o n 12 J a n u a r y 1 9 7 4 . N e g o t i a t e d b y T u n i s i a n F o r e i g n M i n i s t e r M o h a m m e d M a s m o u d i , it w a s v i o l e n t l y o p p o s e d b y his P r i m e Minister, H e d i N o u i r a , w h o dismissed h i m t w o d a y s later o n his return t o T u n i s f r o m a trip abroad. T a l k s to outline the eventual union o f the t w o countries' foreign and e c o n o m i c policies w e r e indefinitely p o s t p o n e d . T h e failure o f the m e r g e r a g r e e m e n t s and the p r o c l a m a t i o n o f t h e T h i r d I n t e r n a t i o n a l T h e o r y (The Green Book) c o i n c i d e d w i t h a noticeable increase in s u p p o r t for r e v o l u t i o n a r y m o v e m e n t s abroad. N e i g h b o u r i n g E g y p t and Sudan accused Libya o f sup­ p o r t i n g Islamic r e v o l u t i o n a r y g r o u p s in their c o u n t r i e s ; o t h e r benefactors o f L i b y a n arms and finance w e r e b e l i e v e d t o include s u c h d i v e r s e g r o u p s as t h e I r i s h R e p u b l i c a n A r m y , t h e M u s l i m M o r o L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t in the P h i l i p p i n e s , and the b l a c k liberation g r o u p s in Z i m b a b w e ( R h o d e s i a ) a n d s o u t h e r n A f r i c a . D u r i n g t h e L e b a n e s e civil w a r , the L i b y a n s p r o v i d e d extensive supplies and f u n d s t o N a s i r i t e g r o u p s as w e l l as t o t h e P a l e s t i n i a n r e j e c t i o n front.

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After 1975, h o w e v e r , Libyan foreign policy was emphasising less t h e e x p o r t o f a r m s a n d m o r e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y u n i t y . T h e g o v e r n m e n t t o o k its p l a t f o r m t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l a u d i ences t h r o u g h the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , the N o r t h - S o u t h D i a l o g u e C o n f e r e n c e s a n d t h e n o n - a l i g n e d s u m m i t m e e t i n g s , w h e r e it b e c a m e a leading a d v o c a t e o f the N e w International E c o n o m i c O r d e r . D i p l o m a t i c a n d e c o n o m i c ties w i t h A f r i c a n s t a t e s w e r e strengthened. T h e prime minister was dispatched to the L e b a n o n t o m e d i a t e b e t w e e n t h e L e b a n e s e N a t i o n a l i s t M o v e m e n t a n d its r i g h t - w i n g adversaries. A major military and e c o n o m i c agreement w a s s i g n e d w i t h M o s c o w in D e c e m b e r 1 9 7 6 , b u t the g o v e r n m e n t d e n i e d t h a t it h a d g r a n t e d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n t h e r i g h t t o s e t u p military bases in the c o u n t r y . R e l a t i o n s w i t h E a s t e r n E u r o p e , particularly Y u g o s l a v i a , w i t h the southern Mediterranean countries and Malta, and w i t h other Islamic countries, w e r e also strengthened.

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T h e profound political and e c o n o m i c transformation o f northeast A f r i c a w h i c h o c c u r r e d after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r a l s o p r o d u c e d dramatic social c h a n g e in L i b y a , E g y p t and the S u d a n . T h e e x c e e d i n g l y h i g h rate o f u r b a n i s a t i o n w a s p e r h a p s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t d e v e l o p m e n t , b u t t h e r e w e r e a l s o m a j o r shifts i n t h e d e p l o y m e n t o f the w o r k i n g p o p u l a t i o n and in the role w o m e n p l a y e d in society. D e s p i t e its r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l p o p u l a t i o n , L i b y a s a w its u r b a n c e n t r e s d o u b l e i n s i z e i n less t h e n t h r e e , d e c a d e s : t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f T r i p o l i rose f r o m just u n d e r 140000 in 1954 t o 269000 in 1 9 6 8 ; i n B e n g h a z i t h e figures w e r e 7 0 0 0 0 a n d 1 9 1 0 0 0 r e s p e c t i v e l y , g i v i n g it a r a t e o f g r o w t h o f 1 7 3 p e r c e n t o v e r t h e 2 4 - y e a r p e r i o d . C a i r o and A l e x a n d r i a also e x p e r i e n c e d h u g e g r o w t h rates. B y 1 9 7 6 t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f C a i r o h a d r i s e n t o 8.5 m i l l i o n , a b o u t o n e - f i f t h o f t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y . A n o t h e r 2.5 m i l l i o n l i v e d in A l e x a n d r i a . T e n y e a r s e a r l i e r t h e t w o c i t i e s h a d a c o m b i n e d total o f o n l y six m i l l i o n . K h a r t o u m ' s p o p u l a t i o n v i r t u a l l y tripled b e t w e e n 1 9 7 3 a n d 1 9 8 0 , w h e n it w a s e x p e c t e d t o h a v e r e a c h e d o n e million. A l t o g e t h e r the p o p u l a t i o n o f S u d a n ' s three m a i n cities 1

2

1

B . Atallah and M . Fikry, ' L e Phénomène urbain en Libye. Problèmes juridiques et s o c i a u x ' , Villes et sociétés au Maghreb: études sur l'urbanisation ( P a r i s , 1974), 79~8o. J a n e t A b u L u g h o d , ' T h e g r o w t h o f A r a b c i t i e s ' , Middle East yearbook, 1980, 43. 2

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K h a r t o u m , K h a r t o u m N o r t h and O m d u r m a n - w a s estimated to h a v e risen t o three m i l l i o n b y 1980, o r a b o u t o n e - s i x t h o f the total population o f the country. T h e effects o f s u c h r a p i d u r b a n i s a t i o n v a r i e d f r o m c o u n t r y t o c o u n t r y . W i t h t h e h u g e rise i n its o i l r e v e n u e s , L i b y a u n d e r Qadhdhafi embarked on a massive development p r o g r a m m e to i m p r o v e h o u s i n g a n d s o c i a l s e r v i c e s as w e l l as i n d u s t r y a n d agriculture. H u g e n e w estates, b o t h public and private, w e r e built in and a r o u n d the major cities, w h i l e entirely n e w u r b a n areas w e r e planned for Misurata, Z a w i a , D e r n a and Sebha. H o w e v e r , the p h y s i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e c i t i e s b r o u g h t w i t h it d i s a d v a n t a g e s that the g o v e r n m e n t did not anticipate. F o r e m o s t a m o n g these w e r e t h e s t r a i n s o n f a m i l y life t h a t l i v i n g i n m o d e r n a p a r t m e n t s p r o d u c e d in a society that remained tribal and traditional in o u t l o o k . W h i l e t h e rise i n p r i v a t e i n c o m e s l e d t o t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f a host o f consumer g o o d s , ranging from western-style dining r o o m s t o cars and television sets, the g e n e r a t i o n g a p increased. S o t o o did the sequestration o f w o m e n w h o s e p r o d u c t i v e role in t h e h o u s e h o l d w a s d i m i n i s h e d as a r e s u l t o f t h e i m p o r t o f c o n s u m e r g o o d s and the mass i m m i g r a t i o n f r o m the rural areas. In C a i r o the rapid urbanisation p r o d u c e d i m m e n s e strains o n b o t h the physical and social e n v i r o n m e n t . P r o v i d i n g h o u s i n g , social services and urban infrastructure, w i t h o u t the hard currency n e e d e d t o finance s u c h d e v e l o p m e n t s , d e f e a t e d N a s i r ' s a t t e m p t s to r e m e d y the p r o b l e m s caused b y the rapid g r o w t h o f the cities. H o w e v e r , the emphasis g i v e n to infrastructure and to the i m p o r t o f western g o o d s and t e c h n o l o g y under President Sadat led to even greater disruptions. S e w e r s , roads and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s facilities b u i l t p r i o r t o t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w e r e d i s m a n t l e d to m a k e w a y for n e w construction p r o g r a m m e s w h i c h w e r e often d e l a y e d a n d a b o r t e d , as t h e p r o b l e m s o f c o p i n g w i t h c o n g e s t i o n and the perennial lack o f funds m o u n t e d . T h e influx o f foreign c a p i t a l f o r i n v e s t m e n t i n n e w h o t e l a n d l e i s u r e c o m p l e x e s in C a i r o a n d A l e x a n d r i a a d d e d still f u r t h e r t o t h e d e m a n d s o n e x i s t i n g services and to the social discontent. W h i l e parts o f C a i r o b y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s r e s e m b l e d N e w Y o r k o r Paris, m o s t o f the urban residential quarters w e r e neglected, o v e r c r o w d e d a n d / o r destroyed to m a k e w a y for n e w building. T h e S u d a n , d e s p i t e its s m a l l e r u r b a n p o p u l a t i o n , f a c e d s i m i l a r p r o b l e m s . T h e h u g e influx o f h o m e l e s s refugees and o f i m p o v -

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erished peasants t o the t o w n in the 1970s, c o u p l e d w i t h the p o o r state o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s

finances,

made

urban

life e v e n

more

miserable for the m a n y w h o lacked the i n c o m e needed t o b u y basic necessities. Aside from urbanisation, Libya, E g y p t and the Sudan w e r e also affected

b y the dramatic

change

in m a n p o w e r

supplies

and

requirements caused throughout the A r a b w o r l d b y the develop­ ment o f oil-fields. B o t h the S u d a n a n d E g y p t b e c a m e

major

sources o f labour supply for the oil-producing countries o f Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and the resulting emigration o f able-bodied m e n left m a n y v i l l a g e s d e p l e t e d o f s k i l l e d m a n p o w e r . L i b y a , o n the other hand, w a s forced t o i m p o r t labour, i n c l u d i n g hundreds o f thousands o f Egyptians, to provide the m a n p o w e r needed for its h u g e d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s . T h i s p r o d u c e d s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l s t r a i n s i n t h e m a j o r c i t i e s a n d , at t i m e s , p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t as w e l l . W h i l e the status o f m a n y w o m e n in b o t h L i b y a a n d the S u d a n remained largely unchanged o v e r the period, the destruction o f household p r o d u c t i o n in b o t h countries - for v a r y i n g reasons — a d v e r s e l y affected t h e l i v e s o f t h e r u r a l w o m e n . H o w e v e r , i n E g y p t the spread o f f e m i n i s m in the cities i m p r o v e d the l o t o f those w h o w e r e m e m b e r s o f the u p p e r a n d m i d d l e classes. L e g a l c h a n g e s i m p r o v i n g their position r e g a r d i n g d i v o r c e , inheritance and c h i l d c u s t o d y , as w e l l as their g r e a t e r access t o e d u c a t i o n a l and e m p l o y m e n t opportunities, led t o a significant c h a n g e in their role in society.

1

B y the mid-1970s the emancipation o f urban

w o m e n w a s also affecting the c o u n t r y ' s birth-rate,

which had

fallen s l i g h t l y as a result o f their greater access a n d r e c e p t i v i t y t o birth-control

methods.

B u t e v e n these

c h a n g e s still left

the

majority o f E g y p t i a n w o m e n , especially those in the villages, plagued b y the perennial evils o f p o v e r t y and inequality.

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F r o m t h e p r e v i o u s d i s c u s s i o n it is c l e a r t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y in all three states w a s c a u s e d t o a l a r g e d e g r e e b y their e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s . E g y p t in 1940 h a d already a considerable industrial base a n d a h i g h l y efficient a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r . I t a l s o h a d a l a r g e m a n p o w e r p o o l , w i t h a considerable n u m b e r o f skilled w o r k e r s . T h u s the g r o w t h o f organised labour unions contributed exten1

J u d i t h T u c k e r , ' W o m e n i n t h e M i d d l e E a s t ' , Middle East yearbook, 1980, 3 7 .

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sively to the reorganisation o f the political structure, but they also t e n d e d t o b e c o m e c l i e n t s o f t h e l a r g e p a r t i e s , s u c h as t h e W a f d . M o r e o v e r , E g y p t h a d little i n c o m e o t h e r t h a n f r o m a g r i c u l t u r a l e x p o r t s , p r i n c i p a l l y c o t t o n ( w h i c h i n 1 9 5 2 a c c o u n t e d f o r 84 p e r cent o f the total exports), thus m a k i n g her e c o n o m y h i g h l y vulnerable to international market fluctuations. A l t h o u g h t h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E g y p t i a n r u l e r s , a n d , after 1 8 8 2 , t h e B r i t i s h , p r o v i d e d a b a s i c a n d m o d e r n e c o n o m i c infra­ structure, substantial changes did not take place d u r i n g the inter-war period. A n d d u r i n g the w a r , w i t h e x p o r t restrictions o n c o t t o n , the e c o n o m y c a m e close to a standstill, fuelling anti-British resentment e v e n further. T h e emphasis o n agricultural e x p a n s i o n , t h e r e f o r e , m u s t b e r e g a r d e d as o n e o f t h e g r e a t e r r o r s o f b o t h t h e B r i t i s h a n d t h e E g y p t i a n g o v e r n m e n t s . B u t , as M a b r o a r g u e s :

Governments were in any case operating under severe financial constraints since theirfiscalautonomy was constrained by the Capitulations [not abolished until 1938] which prevented them from taxing the rich foreign community and from imposing tariffs. Powerful vested interests became entrenched in land, trade andfinance,and hence in the political structure; and they made sure that government policies would favour their sectional objectives. T h u s , as M a b r o c o n c l u d e s , ' T h e c o n d i t i o n s n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e transformation o f an e x p o r t e c o n o m y into a m o d e r n , industrial and diversified e c o n o m y did not exist.' 1

T h e R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o u n c i l addressed itself in 1952 t o the abolition o f large estates and the redistribution o f land, the r e m o v a l o f ' foreign vested interests' and the further extension o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . B u t a l t h o u g h t h e officers c a m e t o p o w e r w i t h great idealism, the political realities p r e v e n t e d s w e e p i n g a n d immediate e c o n o m i c changes. T h e y had n o particular e c o n o m i c i d e o l o g y t o i m p l e m e n t , a n d t h e i r initial d e c r e e s a m o u n t e d i n r e a l e c o n o m i c t e r m s t o v e r y little. L a n d r e f o r m , f o r e x a m p l e , a f f e c t e d o n l y six per cent o f the total c u l t i v a t e d land a n d w a s essentially a political measure to obtain greater public, but e s s e n t i a l l y / ^ / / ^ (peasant), support. U n t i l 1956 - w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f the m u c h p u b l i c i s e d A s w a n H i g h D a m s c h e m e - there w e r e f e w signs o f any real e c o n o m i c i n i t i a t i v e . It w a s t h e n t h a t t h e S u e z a n d o t h e r f o r e i g n c o m p a n i e s w e r e nationalised, ' w h i c h meant that the greater part o f the foreign share in the E g y p t i a n e c o n o m y had been liquidated'. T h i s R . M a b r o , The Egyptian economy ip;2-ip?2 ( O x f o r d , 1974), 23. 1

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w a s f o l l o w e d b y further nationalisations o f i n d i g e n o u s c o m p a n i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e p o w e r f u l B a n q u e a l - M i s r , E g y p t ' s first n a t i o n a l b a n k . B y i 9 6 0 t h e p u b l i c s e c t o r w a s n e a r l y t h e s a m e s i z e as t h e private sector. A s a result o f g r o w i n g S o v i e t influence, b u t especially o f the failure o f the E g y p t i a n - S y r i a n u n i o n , N a s i r p r o c l a i m e d in M a y 1962 t h e N a t i o n a l C h a r t e r w h i c h s e t o u t s w e e p i n g c h a n g e s i n t h e socio-economic structure o f the country. Influenced b y Soviet advisers a n d a g r o w i n g socialist literature, this charter o u t l i n e d the r e g i m e ' s plans for industrialisation: the e x p a n s i o n o f t h e i n d u s t r i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , t h e n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n o f n e a r l y all r e m a i n i n g p r i v a t e a n d financial e n t e r p r i s e s , c l o s e r c o n t r o l o f f o r e i g n a i d , a n d a l i m i t o f 100 feddans e a c h f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l o w n e r s . T h e development plan o f 1960-5 w a s followed b y another c o v e r i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g five y e a r s . T h e s e w e r e d e s i g n e d t o establish an A r a b m o d e l o f socialist planned e c o n o m y . B y the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , the ' o l d b o u r g e o i s i e ' h a d b e e n d i s m a n t l e d , as o n e author has asserted. 1

Large-scale foreign loans, especially e c o n o m i c assistance f r o m the S o v i e t U n i o n a n d o t h e r eastern-bloc states, assisted this e c o n o m i c transformation. A l t h o u g h there w a s a noticeable i m ­ p r o v e m e n t in t h e e c o n o m y , w i t h a n a v e r a g e g r o w t h rate o f a b o u t 6 p e r c e n t t h r o u g h o u t this p e r i o d , three factors militated against c o n t i n u o u s g r o w t h . T h e first, a n d p e r h a p s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t , w a s t h e d e c r e a s e i n f o r e i g n p r i v a t e as w e l l as p u b l i c i n v e s t m e n t — n o d o u b t o n a c c o u n t o f w e s t e r n fears o f S o v i e t i n v o l v e m e n t . A s e c o n d p r o b l e m w a s that o f an u n w i e l d y a n d c o n s e r v a t i v e bureaucracy, a problem which confounded successive generations o f governments. Third w a s the high cost o f maintaining the military establishment. Nevertheless, progress w a s made t h r o u g h the e x p a n s i o n o f industrial exports. C o t t o n exports, for instance, in 1970 a c c o u n t e d for o n l y 49 p e r cent o f total e x p o r t s . E x p o r t s o f manufactured g o o d s a n d o f p e t r o l e u m (from Sinai) h a d increased f r o m a b o u t 7 p e r cent t o a b o u t 40 p e r cent o f the total e x p o r t d u r i n g the same period, w i t h f o o d processing a n d textiles predominating. T h e 1967 w a r h a d serious consequences for the e c o n o m y . N o t only w a s E g y p t deprived o f revenues from the Suez Canal, but the substantial a n d rapidly e x p a n d i n g e x p o r t revenues generated 1

Ibid.

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b y the e x p a n d i n g oil p r o d u c t i o n in the Sinai w e r e also lost. In c o n s e q u e n c e , u n t i l after t h e O c t o b e r w a r o f 1 9 7 3 , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n and s o m e A r a b states, n o t a b l y L i b y a and S a u d i A r a b i a , a s s i s t e d E g y p t . A f t e r S a d a t h a d i n s t i t u t e d h i s infitdh p o l i c y in 1 9 7 1 , and gradually dismantled the ' s o c i a l i s t ' e c o n o m y , w e s t e r n investors slowly began to return. H o w e v e r , western public i n v e s t m e n t s r e m a i n e d c a u t i o u s as l o n g as t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h Israel c o n t i n u e d . In the p r i v a t e sector, h o w e v e r , E g y p t c o n t i n u e d t o b e h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n o u t s i d e finance, n o w f r o m s u c h i n s t i t u t i o n s as t h e W o r l d B a n k a n d t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d , a n d t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y f r i e n d l y O P E C c o u n t r i e s . B u t , as i n 1 9 5 2 , t h e c o r e p r o b l e m f a c i n g E g y p t ' s e c o n o m y w a s still t h e seemingly insurmountable demographic problem, with a popu­ l a t i o n g r o w t h o f 2.5 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m , b u t a n a n n u a l G D P i n c r e a s e o f o n l y 1.3 p e r c e n t ( 1 9 7 0 - 5 ) . U n l i k e E g y p t , t h e S u d a n h a d a s m a l l i n d u s t r i a l b a s e w h e n it attained independence. Indeed, b y i960, o n l y 2 per cent o f the G D P came from manufacturing industries, w h i c h b y 1973 had increased only to 7 per cent. T h e Sudan's major p r o b l e m s w e r e its p o o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d t h e l a c k o f a n i n t e g r a t e d a n d efficient a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e a n d e c o n o m i c p l a n n i n g agencies. M o r e o v e r , the c o u n t r y lacked adequate funds for d e v e l o p m e n t until the mid-1970s. Y e t the Sudan had great d e v e l o p m e n t potential w h i c h c a m e t o be r e c o g n i s e d o n l y in the latter part o f o u r period. T h e Sudanese, like the E g y p t i a n , e c o n o m y w a s largely depen­ d e n t o n t h e c u l t i v a t i o n o f c o t t o n , a m o u n t i n g t o a b o u t 45 p e r c e n t o f the total i n c o m e f r o m exports. T h e G e z i r a irrigation s c h e m e o f 300000 a c r e s , w h i c h o p e n e d i n 1 9 2 5 , c o n t i n u e d t o c o n s t i t u t e t h e b a c k b o n e o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s e c o n o m y . Y e t l e s s t h a n 10 p e r c e n t o f the cultivable land w a s b e i n g utilised agriculturally. T h u s , d u r i n g t h e 1 9 7 0 s t h e S u d a n b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y a t t r a c t i v e as a potential agricultural supplier to African, and especially M i d d l e E a s t e r n , states. T h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n 1 9 3 6 a n d 1 9 4 2 s a w t h e rise o f a n i n d i g e n o u s c o m m e r c i a l class d u e to the r e i n v e s t m e n t o f capital g a i n e d f r o m the large p r i v a t e agricultural s c h e m e s in the W h i t e N i l e area. T h e s e private schemes w e r e primarily o w n e d b y the w e l l - t o - d o religious families and pensioned civil servants w h o f o r m e d the bulk o f the g o v e r n m e n t ' s Sudanese supporters. F o r e i g n c o m -

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m u n i t i e s , s u c h as t h e G r e e k s a n d S y r i a n s ( w h o a l s o h a d a l a r g e p r e s e n c e i n E g y p t ) , as w e l l as t h e E g y p t i a n s , E u r o p e a n s a n d Muwalladin ( S u d a n e s e o f E g y p t i a n a n d T u r k i s h o r i g i n ) w e r e n o t e n g a g e d in a g r i c u l t u r a l activities. T h e y r e m a i n e d , h o w e v e r , d o m i n a n t i n c o m m e r c i a l life a n d i n t h e e x p o r t t r a d e . T h e bulk o f the Sudan's trade w a s carried o n w i t h the t w o C o n d o m i n i u m p o w e r s , E g y p t and the United K i n g d o m . T h e remainder o f the Sudan's foreign trade w a s w i t h n e i g h b o u r i n g countries, and mostly consisted o f cotton, g u m arabic and sesame. T h e h e a v y d e p e n d e n c e o n c o t t o n e a r n i n g s w a s , as i n t h e c a s e o f E g y p t , o n e o f t h e m a j o r i n c o m e p r o b l e m s , as i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o t t o n p r i c e s fluctuated w i t h d e m a n d . M o r e o v e r , t h e c o u n t r y l a c k e d a n y r e a l i s t i c p o l i c y f o r d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f its r e v e n u e s o u r c e s , n o r d i d there exist a definite industrialisation p o l i c y . O n l y g i n n e r i e s , s o a p , g l a s s a n d v e g e t a b l e - o i l f a c t o r i e s w e r e e s t a b l i s h e d t o satisfy t h e needs o f the g r o w i n g urban c o m m u n i t i e s . T h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s role in e n c o u r a g i n g i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t w a s l i m i t e d t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s p a r e p a r t s f o r its t r a n s p o r t n e t w o r k . In 1956, o n the e v e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , an A c t w a s passed to e n c o u r a g e industrial d e v e l o p m e n t b y attracting domestic and foreign capital. T h e A c t a l l o w e d for large tax e x e m p t i o n s and r o y a l t i e s , a n d it p r o m i s e d g o v e r n m e n t s u b s i d i e s . D e s p i t e t h i s , industrial e x p a n s i o n in the private sector remained principally c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t r a d i t i o n a l a r e a s s u c h as t r a n s p o r t a n d a g r i c u l t u r e . I n d i g e n o u s capital, w i t h o u t b a c k i n g from international c o m p a n ­ ies, w a s u n w i l l i n g t o f a c e t h e i n v e s t m e n t r i s k s . B e c a u s e o f t h i s f e a r , t h e g o v e r n m e n t s i n office a l w a y s e n c o u r a g e d t h e p r o m o t i o n a n d e x p a n s i o n o f the p u b l i c sector. In 1961 ' A b b u d ' s military r e g i m e l a u n c h e d a ' t e n - y e a r p l a n ' w h i c h a i m e d at t h e d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f the c o u n t r y ' s e c o n o m y b y establishing g o v e r n m e n t a l industrial schemes, especially the canning sector, w h i c h w a s b a c k e d b y the I M F and the W o r l d Bank. Nevertheless, expansion remained s l o w , a n d t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1960s n e i t h e r t h e m i l i t a r y n o r t h e civilian g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e able to i m p r o v e the e c o n o m y significantly. In 1970 N u m a y r l ' s military regime introduced a five-year d e v e l o p m e n t plan. T h e target o f the plan w a s to secure an increase in t h e G D P at a n a v e r a g e a n n u a l r a t e o f 7.6 p e r c e n t as a g a i n s t 4.9 p e r c e n t i n t h e p r e v i o u s five y e a r s . B u t , l i k e all p r e v i o u s s c h e m e s , it c o n c e n t r a t e d o n i n c r e a s i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n b y

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A N D

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60 p e r c e n t . B u t t h e p l a n w a s s h o r t - l i v e d , as it d e p e n d e d o n m a s s i v e aid f r o m the socialist b l o c . T h e political c h a n g e s that t o o k p l a c e after t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e 1 9 7 1 p r o - C o m m u n i s t coup reintroduced western and especially A r a b (principally O P E C ) aid and led t o the r e v i s i o n o f the nationalisation decrees o f M a y 1970. A n e w p o l i c y to link the A r a b oil m o n e y and western technical k n o w - h o w to exploit the Sudan's vast agricultural p o t e n t i a l w a s p u r s u e d after 1 9 7 3 . H o w e v e r , d u e t o t h e c o n t i n u i n g p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y , t h e flow o f c a p i t a l w a s l i m i t e d . L i b y a w a s r a t e d as o n e o f t h e p o o r e s t c o u n t r i e s i n t h e w o r l d u n t i l t h e first m a j o r o i l d i s c o v e r i e s i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s , a n d e v e n then the subsequent concessionary agreements ( 1 9 5 5 - 6 ) t o o k a decade to p r o d u c e substantial profits. T h e c o u n t r y ' s principal i n c o m e before the discovery o f oil w a s derived from agriculture a n d f r o m l e a s i n g fees f r o m British a n d A m e r i c a n military bases in the c o u n t r y . O t h e r N A T O countries p r o v i d e d additional financial assistance, w h i c h barely m e t the annual costs o f r u n n i n g t h e state. It w a s t h i s f i n a n c i a l d e p e n d e n c y , i n t e r n a l c o r r u p t i o n a n d lack o f e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t that p r o m p t e d the military to i n t e r v e n e in l a t e 1 9 6 9 . B y J a n u a r y 1 9 7 0 t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t w a s r e a d y t o l a u n c h its c a m p a i g n for h i g h e r oil prices. A f t e r a series o f p r o d u c t i o n c u t b a c k s , and in the case o f R o y a l D u t c h Shell a s h u t - d o w n o f its L i b y a n t e r m i n a l , t h e c o m p a n i e s s e t t l e d o n e b y o n e . T h e n e w p r i c e w a s set at $ 2 . 5 3 a b a r r e l , t h e h i g h e s t o u t s i d e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e n a n n o u n c e d t h a t it r e g a r d e d t h i s as a rectification o f past injustices, n o t a n e w price, and that m o r e d e m a n d s w e r e t o c o m e . F o u r m o n t h s later t h e g o v e r n m e n t g a v e n o t i c e o f a n e w i n c r e a s e i n o i l t a x e s as w e l l as a n e w p r i c e 'differential' to c o m p e n s a t e b o t h for the h i g h e r quality and the l o w s u l p h u r c o n t e n t o f L i b y a n c r u d e a n d its p r o x i m i t y t o w e s t e r n m a r k e t s . In the face o f a decision o f the s t a t e - o w n e d Italian company, E N I , and o f France's E R A P , not to cooperate with a secret alliance o f A m e r i c a n , British, D u t c h and o t h e r F r e n c h firms f o r m e d to fight the L i b y a n d e m a n d s , the c o m p a n i e s agreed. In A p r i l 1 9 7 1 , the T r i p o l i A g r e e m e n t raised the p o s t e d price o f L i b y a n c r u d e t o j u s t u n d e r $3.45 a b a r r e l , a n i n c r e a s e o f 35 p e r c e n t . T h e a g r e e m e n t a l s o p r o v i d e d f o r a d d i t i o n a l s m a l l rises e a c h y e a r u n t i l 1 9 7 5 , as w e l l as a n i n c r e a s e i n t h e r a t e o f i n c o m e t a x p a i d b y t h e c o m p a n i e s f r o m 5 t o 5 5 p e r c e n t . F o r t h e first t i m e 560

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the threat o f an e m b a r g o had been e m p l o y e d , but the a g r e e m e n t o f t h e c o m p a n i e s , a n d m e d i a t i o n b y E g y p t , m a d e it u n n e c e s s a r y to translate the threat i n t o action. A f t e r t h e p r i c e rises o f t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s , t h e f o u r - f o l d r i s e t h a t f o l l o w e d the O c t o b e r 1973 w a r and the nationalisation o f the oil s e c t o r , L i b y a ' s o i l p r o d u c t i o n d r o p p e d c o n s i d e r a b l y , f a l l i n g at o n e point to b e l o w o n e million barrels a day. B y the end o f 1 9 7 5 , h o w e v e r , w o r l d demand for higher grades o f crude oil, w h i c h can p r o d u c e m o r e p e t r o l than the h e a v i e r fuels n e e d e d t o heat h o m e s and industry, w a s rising and L i b y a n production w a s able to r e c o v e r its n o r m a l l e v e l o f t w o m i l l i o n b a r r e l s a d a y . B y t h e e n d o f 1 9 7 7 t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s p r e d i c t i n g a n a v e r a g e o f 2.4 m i l l i o n barrels a day. In line w i t h this e x p a n s i o n the g o v e r n m e n t s i g n e d n e w exploration and production agreements w i t h several western c o m p a n i e s t o d e v e l o p n e w o i l a n d g a s fields b o t h o n s h o r e a n d i n the M e d i t e r r a n e a n . L i b y a also increased her participation in refining and m a r k e t i n g o f crude oil - the so-called d o w n s t r e a m operations - and expanded her refining capacity. D e v e l o p m e n t o f the petrochemical sector and the expansion o f the c o u n t r y ' s o w n t a n k e r fleet w e r e a l s o u n d e r w a y . I n A p r i l 1 9 7 2 t h e g o v e r n m e n t instituted a p r o v i s i o n a l o n e - y e a r d e v e l o p m e n t plan, f o l l o w e d in the n e x t year b y o n e for three years. W i t h additional r e v e n u e s after the a u t u m n o f 1 9 7 3 , this plan w a s a m e n d e d t o a l l o w for increased expenditure o n agriculture and social services.

C O N C L U S I O N

T h e p e r i o d f r o m 1936 t o 1975 heralded historic c h a n g e s in n o r t h - e a s t A f r i c a t h a t still c o n t i n u e t o affect t h e r e g i o n . F o r e m o s t a m o n g these w e r e the a c h i e v e m e n t o f i n d e p e n d e n c e in the case o f S u d a n a n d L i b y a a n d t h e rise o f n e w c l a s s f o r c e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e a r e a . T h e t a k e - o v e r o f p o w e r b y t h e m i l i t a r y after t h e f a i l u r e o f a t t e m p t s at d e m o c r a t i c r u l e , a n d t h e r e a l i g n m e n t o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l relations, w e r e also themes that m a r k e d the three countries d u r i n g this p e r i o d . F i n a l l y , w h i l e E g y p t a n d t h e S u d a n w r e s t l e d w i t h t h e need to create a viable e c o n o m y that w o u l d sustain independence, L i b y a g r a d u a l l y m o v e d o u t o f the o r b i t o f the p o o r e r states a n d b y 1 9 7 5 w a s a b l e t o u s e its o i l - f e d w e a l t h t o affect d e v e l o p m e n t s n o t o n l y in the r e g i o n b u t in o t h e r parts o f A f r i c a and the M i d d l e E a s t as w e l l . I n t h e S u d a n a n d L i b y a t h e a c h i e v e m e n t o f f o r m a l 561

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independence was followed b y attempts to resolve internal differences that h a d b e e n exacerbated d u r i n g the c o l o n i a l p e r i o d . In the S u d a n these differences w e r e especially p r o n o u n c e d o v e r the q u e s t i o n o f the s o u t h ; in L i b y a t h e y c o n c e r n e d the v e r y different c u l t u r e s o f T r i p o l i t a n i a a n d C y r e n a i c a . S i n c e e a c h o f these disputes focussed o n the v e r y n a t u r e o f the state and indicated the difficulty o f creating national loyalties in the w a k e o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , they often c u t across class lines and led to p a r t i c u l a r l y b i t t e r f a c t i o n a l fighting t h a t , as o f t e n as n o t , s p i l l e d o v e r into the streets o f the major cities. A l t h o u g h E g y p t , w i t h its l o n g h i s t o r y o f n a t i o n a l u n i t y , a v o i d e d c l a s h e s o f t h i s k i n d , t h e disputes o v e r the S u d a n in the early 1950s clearly p l a y e d a role i n t h e rise o f t h e F r e e O f f i c e r s a n d i n t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f N a s i r ' s personal power. In E g y p t and the Sudan, the g r o w t h o f industry and transport d u r i n g the w a r created a n e w class o f u r b a n w o r k e r s that b y the end o f the conflict w a s ready to challenge the traditional landowners and, to a certain extent, the n e w l y enriched merchant class, for p o w e r . A l t h o u g h this p r o c e s s w a s d e l a y e d in L i b y a , the e m e r g e n c e o f a n e w t e c h n o c r a t i c élite in the w a k e o f the c o m m e n c e m e n t o f oil p r o d u c t i o n , and the subsequent expansion o f g o v e r n m e n t administration, gradually destroyed the p o w e r o f the m o n a r c h y and m a d e possible the 1969 r e v o l u t i o n . T h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f factional struggles against national unity w i t h the e m e r g e n c e o f class conflict led to p r o l o n g e d internal dissension in the r e g i o n in the 1950s and 1960s. T h i s w a s m e t w i t h repression a n d , at d i f f e r e n t t i m e s i n t h e t h r e e c o u n t r i e s , w i t h a t a k e - o v e r o f p o w e r b y the military. Y e t the failure o f the r e g i m e s t o c o m e t o grips w i t h b o t h e c o n o m i c and social c h a n g e , and to create viable channels o f political expression, had led b y the mid-1970s to the e m e r g e n c e o f n e w o p p o s i t i o n against the military rulers in the Sudan, E g y p t and Libya. I n f o r e i g n affairs, all t h r e e s t a t e s m o v e d c l o s e r t o t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d a d o p t e d v a r i o u s d e g r e e s o f n o n - a l i g n m e n t in an a t t e m p t t o f u r t h e r t h e i r efforts t o r e m o v e t h e l a s t v e s t i g e s o f western d o m i n a t i o n . L i k e the experience w i t h d e m o c r a c y , h o w ­ ever, the close links w i t h the Soviet U n i o n p r o v e d to be t e m p o r a r y , as e a c h r e g i m e d i s c o v e r e d t h a t a l l i a n c e s w i t h M o s c o w carried u n a c c e p t a b l e c o n d i t i o n s . A s a result A n w à r Sàdàt in E g y p t , N u m a y r I in the S u d a n and Q a d h d h à f i in L i b y a b y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s 562

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had all reopened or extended their relations with the west, particularly on the trade and economic levels, in an attempt to gain more room for manoeuvre. The emergence of the Arab oil states in the Middle East helped to encourage this trend and, in addition, provided a new source of potential aid and comfort which each of the regimes sought to exploit to the fullest extent possible.

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THE

11

MAGHRIB*

T h e M a g h r i b , w h i c h i n A r a b i c m e a n s t h e p l a c e o f t h e s u n s e t , is n o t a p r e c i s e g e o g r a p h i c a l t e r m . It h a s b e e n c o n s t r u e d at its n a r r o w e s t as M o r o c c o a l o n e a n d at its b r o a d e s t as all o f n o r t h e r n A f r i c a w e s t o f E g y p t , i n c l u d i n g M a u r i t a n i a , w h e r e A r a b i c is t h e national language. T h e present chapter excludes b o t h L i b y a and Mauritania and focusses u p o n the political and e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p ­ m e n t o f the c o r e countries, A l g e r i a , M o r o c c o and T u n i s i a , in a c o m p a r a t i v e perspective s u g g e s t e d b y their similar colonial e x p e r i e n c e s . T h e F r e n c h p r e s e n c e d e c i s i v e l y r e s h a p e d all t h r e e societies, t h o u g h in different w a y s , reflecting the particular colonial situations. In Algeria, w h e r e o c c u p a t i o n b y the F r e n c h b e g a n in 1830, the i n d i g e n o u s e c o n o m i c and political o r d e r w a s m o s t a f f e c t e d , w h e r e a s M o r o c c o , t h e l a s t t o l o s e its i n d e p e n d e n c e , w a s least affected, especially in the n o r t h e r n z o n e , w h i c h in 1 9 1 2 fell u n d e r S p a n i s h r a t h e r t h a n F r e n c h c o n t r o l . I n a l l t h r e e s o c i e t i e s F r e n c h education (and H i s p a n o - A r a b i c e d u c a t i o n in Spanish M o r o c c o ) f o r m e d n e w elites i m b u e d w i t h nationalism and e a g e r to take o v e r the m o d e r n e c o n o m i c and political structures largely d o m i n a t e d b y E u r o p e a n settlers. Pre-colonial traditions influenced the i n d e p e n d e n t r e g i m e s , established in M o r o c c o and T u n i s i a in 1 9 5 6 , a n d i n A l g e r i a i n 1 9 6 2 , o n l y i n s o f a r as t h e y w e r e r e f r a c t e d t h r o u g h the prism o f anti-colonial struggle. T h e m a j o r i n f l u e n c e u p o n t h e s e r e g i m e s w a s t h e s t r u g g l e itself, w h i c h w a s m o r e p r o t r a c t e d a n d v i o l e n t in the M a g h r i b than in m o s t o f colonial Africa because o f the m o r e extensive F r e n c h and s e t t l e r i n t e r e s t s c o n d i t i o n i n g it. I t g e n e r a t e d p o l i t i c a l e l i t e s w h o s e o r g a n i s a t i o n s and social f o l l o w i n g s in turn h e l p e d t o define the n e w regimes and their respective strategies o f d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r is a c o n v e n i e n t s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r a d i s c u s s i o n o f w h a t h a p p e n e d a f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e , f o r n o t o n l y d i d it c a t a l y s e latent nationalist forces and generate an international climate m o r e s y m p a t h e t i c t o a n t i - c o l o n i a l m o v e m e n t s , b u t it a l s o a c c e l e r a t e d t h e * T h e s p e l l i n g o f p r o p e r n a m e s i n t h i s c h a p t e r is i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h F r e n c h English usage.

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and

28

The Maghrib с. 1975.

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pace o f political confrontation in the M a g h r i b t o a speed that w a s faster t h a n t h a t t o w h i c h p o s t - w a r F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t s c o u l d r e s p o n d w i t h appropriate reforms. U l t i m a t e l y , in fact, t h e A l g e r i a n cancer w a s to destroy the Fourth Republic.

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F O R I N D E P E N D E N C E

France's control o v e r her N o r t h African possessions

appeared

a l m o s t a s s e c u r e o n t h e e v e o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r a s i n 1930, w h e n the hundredth anniversary o f the capture o f Algiers seemed to portend an eternal F r e n c h presence. T h e handful o f M u s l i m politicians d e e m e d responsible f o r earlier civil disturbances in T u n i s a n d in a n u m b e r o f M o r o c c a n cities w e r e either in g a o l o r in exile, a n d t h e m o s t militant o f t h e nationalist parties, t h e T u n i s i a n N é o - D e s t o u r a n d the Parti d u P e u p l e A l g é r i e n ( P P A ) , w e r e o f f i c i a l l y b a n n e d a n d o n l y b a r e l y v i s i b l e . T h e fall o f F r a n c e i n J u n e 1940, h o w e v e r , s h a t t e r e d t h e m y t h o f F r e n c h i n v i n c i b i l i t y . W h i l e the only immediate consequence, apart from the destruc­ tion o f the French Spanish

take-over

fleet

at M e r s - e l - K e b i r in A l g e r i a , w a s t h e

o f the international

city o f T a n g i e r ,

the

subsequent A n g l o - A m e r i c a n invasion o f North Africa launched on

8 November

1942 h a d t r e m e n d o u s

repercussions.

French

forces loyal t o the V i c h y regime w e r e routed, and civil authority w a s temporarily subjected t o an o v e r w h e l m i n g military presence : the Allies in M o r o c c o a n d A l g e r i a , a n d the G e r m a n s in Tunisia, where

fighting

raged for six months between R o m m e l ' s Afrika

K o r p s a n d a c o m b i n e d A n g l o - A m e r i c a n force. D u r i n g this time, in M o r o c c o as in T u n i s i a , t h e t o p F r e n c h administrator

remained

o n l y n o m i n a l l y i n office, a l a m e d u c k o f t h e V i c h y r e g i m e , w h i l e in A l g e r i a t h e F r e n c h w e r e e n g a g e d , as o n e A l g e r i a n leader p u t it, i n ' a r e a l r a c e f o r p o w e r . R e p u b l i c a n s , G a u l l i s t s , M o n a r c h i s t s , and J e w s w e r e each t r y i n g t o cash in o n their collaboration w i t h the Allies a n d protect their particular interests.'

1

I n M o r o c c o , S u l t a n M o h a m m e d b e n Y o u s s e f ' s m e e t i n g o n 22 J a n u a r y 1943 w i t h F r a n k l i n R o o s e v e l t a n d W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l w h e t t e d h i s a p p e t i t e f o r a r o l e i n w o r l d affairs a n d ' a n e w f u t u r e 2

for m y c o u n t r y ' . H e discreetly encouraged the fusion o f the t w o 1

Fcrhat Abbas, 'Manifeste du peuple algérien', cited by Charles-André Julien,

U Afrique du Nord en marche, third ed. (Paris, 1972), 247. Roger Le Tourneau, Évolution politique de 1*Afrique du Nord mu 1

(Paris, 1962), 206.

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principal p r e - w a r nationalist parties into the n e w Istiqlal ( I n d e p e n d e n c e ) P a r t y , w h i c h i s s u e d i t s first c a l l f o r M o r o c c a n independence o n 11 January 1944. I n T u n i s i a a n d A l g e r i a w a r t i m e conditions e n c o u r a g e d their respective nationalist leaders, H a b i b Bourguiba and the more moderate Ferhat A b b a s . In Tunisia, M o n c e f B e y e x e r c i s e d real s o v e r e i g n t y b y a p p o i n t i n g a c a b i n e t o f ministers o n 1 J a n u a r y 1943 w i t h o u t t h e c o n s e n t o f t h e F r e n c h resident-general. B y exiling M o n c e f in M a y (with the agreement o f the Allies) o n unjustified c h a r g e s o f c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e A x i s , the F r e n c h n o t o n l y created a n e w national s y m b o l b u t eliminated the only viable alternative t o H a b i b B o u r g u i b a ' s m o r e militant brand o f nationalism. A n d even in A l g e r i a , w h e r e nationalism had s e e m e d less d e e p l y r o o t e d , F e r h a t A b b a s issued a M a n i f e s t o o f t h e A l g e r i a n P e o p l e o n 12 F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 3 , after c o n t a c t s w i t h a h i g h A m e r i c a n as w e l l a s a F r e n c h o f f i c i a l . T h e m a n i f e s t o c a l l e d f o r a separate A l g e r i a n constitution g u a r a n t e e i n g ' i m m e d i a t e a n d effective' political participation for the M u s l i m majority. After h a v i n g confessed s e v e n years earlier t o his inability t o d i s c o v e r an A l g e r i a n n a t i o n distinct f r o m t h e F r a n c e o f w h i c h it w a s a part, A b b a s n o w c o n c l u d e d that * the h o u r has passed w h e n an A l g e r i a n M u s l i m can ask t o b e a n y t h i n g b u t a M u s l i m A l g e r i a n ' , that is, o f Algerian, not French, nationality. Indeed, to contain the g r o w i n g nationalist tide w o u l d h a v e required substantial reform. 1

2

In theory the p r o b l e m o f reform w a s simpler in the t w o Protectorates than in Algeria. In Tunisia and M o r o c c o the F r e n c h h a d p r e s e r v e d t h e s e m b l a n c e o f p r e - c o l o n i a l state institu­ tions, w i t h the b e y and the sultan respectively exercising n o m i n a l s o v e r e i g n t y u n d e r treaties w h i c h a c c o r d e d a F r e n c h residentg e n e r a l full c o n t r o l o v e r t h e i r f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s . I n p r a c t i c e , h o w e v e r , t h i s F r e n c h f o r e i g n m i n i s t r y official h a d a l s o e x t e n d e d his c o n t r o l , in t h e f o r m o f a direct administration w h i c h at the u p p e r e c h e l o n s w a s f o r t h e m o s t p a r t staffed b y F r e n c h n a t i o n a l s , o v e r internal m a t t e r s as w e l l , o n the s t r e n g t h o f his a u t h o r i s a t i o n in e a c h treaty t o carry o u t ' reforms w h i c h the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t c o n s i d e r s u s e f u l ' . S i g n i f i c a n t r e f o r m after t h e w a r c o u l d h a v e taken the f o r m o f e x p a n d i n g the effective jurisdictions o f in­ d i g e n o u s ministers a n d administrators. Instead the F r e n c h C o m ­ m i t t e e o f N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n , after r e m o v i n g M o n c e f , i m p o s e d 3

1

2

J u l i e n , UAfrique

du Nord, 381. 3

Ibid., 247.

Ibid., 49-50.

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a F r e n c h secretary-general u p o n the Tunisian g o v e r n m e n t to r e s t r i c t its p o w e r s e v e n f u r t h e r . H o w e v e r , i n 1945 t h e T u n i s i a n s w e r e g i v e n control o f an additional ministry together w i t h slight increases in electoral representation, but these limited reforms o n l y served further t o d i s c o u r a g e T u n i s i a n nationalists w h o m i g h t o t h e r w i s e h a v e a c c e p t e d a p r o g r a m m e t h a t c l e a r l y l e d t o selfg o v e r n m e n t w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e . I n d e e d it w a s t h e F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t ' s l a t e r r e f u s a l , o n 15 D e c e m b e r 1951, to c o u n t e n a n c e a m e a n i n g f u l , if g r a d u a l , transfer o f p o w e r , that p r e c i p i t a t e d t h e final s h o w d o w n b e t w e e n t h e N e o - D e s t o u r a n d the P r o t e c t o r a t e authorities that led t o i n d e p e n d e n c e . L i k e w i s e in M o r o c c o , w h e r e fewer indigenous cadres had been trained, the F r e n c h r e s p o n d e d t o n a t i o n a l i s t d e m a n d s f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e first b y arresting leaders o f the Istiqlal and then b y initiating a p r o g r a m m e o f e c o n o m i c but not political reforms. A l g e r i a ' s l e g a l f r a m e w o r k w a s less s u s c e p t i b l e t h a n that o f the P r o t e c t o r a t e s t o i n c r e m e n t a l r e f o r m s that c o u l d h a v e satisfied a n d reinforced moderate nationalists like Ferhat A b b a s . A l g e r i a w a s in t h e o r y an integral part o f F r a n c e , m a d e u p o f three d e p a r t m e n t s administered b y the F r e n c h Ministry o f the Interior t o g e t h e r w i t h the Saharan territories w h i c h w e r e under military rule. T h e three departments, headed b y a g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l appointed b y the French council o f ministers, also enjoyed a measure o f budgetary a u t o n o m y n o t shared b y their counterparts in m e t r o p o l i t a n France. T h e o n l y potential channels for M u s l i m participation w e r e consultative municipal, departmental, and supra-departmental a s s e m b l i e s , d o m i n a t e d b y E u r o p e a n s e t t l e r s a n d , a f t e r 1944, the F r e n c h parliament. T h e l o g i c o f the system c o u l d permit measures mitigating inequalities o f personal and civic status b e t w e e n M u s l i m s and n o n - M u s l i m s b u t n o t the sorts o f political reform t h a t r e c o g n i s e d A l g e r i a n ( M u s l i m ) n a t i o n a l i s m a n d o f f e r e d it a n institutional f r a m e w o r k . Indeed, de Gaulle's deputy, G e n e r a l C a t r o u x , indignantly rejected A b b a s ' s manifesto, especially the s p e c i f i c r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s a d d e d t o it t h a t t h e ' A l g e r i a n n a t i o n ' be recognised and a constituent assembly be elected by universal suffrage t o draft an A l g e r i a n c o n s t i t u t i o n . T h e farthest d e G a u l l e w o u l d g o w a s n o m i n a l l y t o e x t e n d F r e n c h c i t i z e n s h i p t o all A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s , m a r g i n a l l y t o increase their representation in various local assemblies, and integrate several tens o f thousands o f t h e m i n t o t h e E u r o p e a n e l e c t o r a t e t h r o u g h t h e ordonnance o f

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7 M a r c h 1944. S u c h reforms, c o m i n g t o o late, c o u l d n o l o n g e r satisfy F e r h a t A b b a s o r m o s t o t h e r r e l a t i v e l y ' a s s i m i l a t e d * A l ­ g e r i a n M u s l i m s w h o had w a n t e d o n l y t o b e F r e n c h . M u c h less d i d t h e y satisfy M e s s a l i H a d j ' s o u t l a w e d P a r t i d e P e u p l e A l g e r i e n ( P P A ) o r t h e r e f o r m i s t *ulamd ( r e l i g i o u s s c h o l a r s ) , w h o h a d affirmed the existence o f an A l g e r i a n nation b e f o r e the w a r . Virtually o v e r n i g h t A b b a s ' s n e w m o v e m e n t , the Friends o f the Algerian Manifesto, acquired half a million voting members (out o f a p o s s i b l e M u s l i m m a l e e l e c t o r a t e o f 1.7 m i l l i o n ) , a n d t h e P P A g a i n e d c o n t r o l o f it. y

W h i l e radicalising public o p i n i o n d u r i n g the spring o f 194$, the P P A h a d a l s o b e e n o r g a n i s i n g a c l a n d e s t i n e maquis, t h e A r a b F o r c e s o f the Interior, a l o n g the lines o f the forces o f the F r e n c h R e s i s t a n c e . It s e e m s t h a t a g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n a g a i n s t F r e n c h r u l e w a s a l r e a d y u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n . O n 8 M a y , f o l l o w i n g t h e official celebrations o f the v i c t o r y o v e r G e r m a n y , v i o l e n c e erupted in Setif w h e n police tried to discipline M u s l i m demonstrators and a s h o t w a s fired. B a n d s b e g a n i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y t o k i l l E u r o p e a n s , and the v i o l e n c e spread so q u i c k l y to other distant parts o f the C o n s t a n t i n e D e p a r t m e n t t h a t it s e e m s t o h a v e i n v o l v e d s o m e d e g r e e o f organisation, t h o u g h n o fully elaborated plan. P o s s i b l y s o m e P P A militants had j u m p e d the g u n . T h e F r e n c h reaction, i n t u r n , p r o b a b l y e n s u r e d a f u t u r e i n s u r r e c t i o n . T h e official v e n g e a n c e f o r 103 F r e n c h l i v e s w a s p e r c e i v e d as v e r g i n g o n g e n o c i d e : 6000 t o 8000 A l g e r i a n s k i l l e d , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t b y F r e n c h armed forces rather than b y e n r a g e d o r p a n i c k e d settlers. ' O n t h a t d a y t h e A l g e r i a n p e o p l e l o s t its i l l u s i o n s a n d u n d e r s t o o d t h a t it w o u l d n e v e r b e free a n d r e s p e c t e d u n t i l it b e c a m e s t r o n g . . . the R e v o l u t i o n had b e g u n , a s p o k e s m a n o f the F r o n t de Liberation Nationale ( F L N ) subsequently o b s e r v e d . The impact o f the F r e n c h repression u p o n the future leaders o f the A l g e r i a n r e v o l u t i o n that erupted o n 1 N o v e m b e r 1954 c a n n o t be overemphasised. A tragic cycle o f terror, repression and countert e r r o r w o u l d finally i n v o l v e s u b s t a n t i a l p r o p o r t i o n s o f A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s a n d settlers a l i k e . y

1

In the M o r o c c a n and T u n i s i a n Protectorates, b y contrast, independence w a s achieved primarily b y political processes that set l i m i t s t o t h e u s e o f v i o l e n c e . T h e u n d e r l y i n g s e t t l e r i n t e r e s t s , w h i c h w e r e n o t as g r e a t as t h o s e i n A l g e r i a , w e r e m o r e a m e n a b l e 1

El Moujabid, n o . 23, 5 M a y 1958, c i t e d b y J u l i e n , UAjrique

du Nord,

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t o p o l i t i c a l m e d i a t i o n . I n 1955 F r e n c h N o r t h A f r i c a ' s 1.7 m i l l i o n settlers constituted 11 p e r c e n t o f A l g e r i a ' s p o p u l a t i o n b u t o n l y 6.7 a n d 5.2 p e r c e n t , r e s p e c t i v e l y , o f T u n i s i a ' s a n d M o r o c c o ' s . T h e y had appropriated o v e r one-quarter o f A l g e r i a ' s arable land a n d e a r n e d o v e r h a l f t h e i n c o m e d e r i v e d f r o m a g r i c u l t u r e , a n d 90 per cent o f that derived from exports. In T u n i s i a they o w n e d one-fifth o f the arable land b u t o n l y 7 per cent in M o r o c c o . M o s t settlers l i v e d in the cities, b u t in A l g e r i a they m o n o p o l i s e d the i n d u s t r i a l a n d t e r t i a r y s e c t o r t o a far g r e a t e r e x t e n t t h a n i n t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e s . I n d u s t r y d e v e l o p e d m o r e r a p i d l y i n M o r o c c o after the w a r , b u t E u r o p e a n industrial interests w e r e less o p p o s e d t o M u s l i m i n t e r e s t s t h a n w a s A l g e r i a ' s r a c i s t petite bourgeoisie. A l g e r i a ' s m i l l i o n settlers w e r e sufficiently p o w e r f u l t o p r e v e n t any French g o v e r n m e n t from d e v e l o p i n g a coherent policy o f reform o r e v e n p r o p e r l y i m p l e m e n t i n g the A l g e r i a n statute o f 1947, w h i c h g a v e M u s l i m s h a l f the seats in an A l g e r i a n a s s e m b l y and representation in the F r e n c h N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y . Elections w e r e systematically r i g g e d b y a F r e n c h administration that w a s ' c o l o n i s e d ' b y settler interests. Settlers also s a b o t a g e d F r e n c h efforts t o r e f o r m t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e s , f o r t h e y e n j o y e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n and political influence in Paris, notably t h r o u g h the Radical Party w h i c h participated in m o s t g o v e r n m e n t cabinets o f the F o u r t h R e p u b l i c . B u t t h e y c o u l d n o t , as i n A l g e r i a , c o n t i n u a l l y e x c l u d e i n d i g e n o u s nationalists f r o m the exercise o f p o w e r . T h e v i o l e n c e that e n g u l f e d A l g e r i a after 1 9 5 4 w a s in l a r g e m e a s u r e the c o n s e q u e n c e o f the settlers' p o w e r o v e r w e a k g o v e r n m e n t s in Paris t o b l o c k any d i a l o g u e , let a l o n e n e g o t i a t i o n , w i t h F r e n c h educated nationalists. Tunisians and M o r o c c a n s , b y contrast, w e r e i n r e g u l a r c o n t a c t w i t h F r e n c h officials b o t h i n P a r i s a n d i n t h e i r respective capitals o f T u n i s and Rabat. I n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t h e s o c i o - e c o n o m i c s t a k e s at i s s u e , h o w e v e r , t h e strengths and structures o f the nationalist forces in the three F r e n c h territories o f N o r t h A f r i c a varied considerably and also conditioned the course o f colonial conflict. T h e i r relative strength and c o h e s i o n in T u n i s i a , for instance, explains the m o r e e c o n o m i c use o f v i o l e n c e there than in M o r o c c o , despite relatively m o r e e n t r e n c h e d a n d less a d a p t a b l e s e t t l e r i n t e r e s t s i n w h a t w a s t h e older o f the t w o Protectorates. T h e nationalist m o v e m e n t s , in turn, w e r e largely c o n d i t i o n e d

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b y the élite structures o f their r e s p e c t i v e societies. B y the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r the ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' élite used b y the F r e n c h in their ' n a t i v e ' administration had lost their m o r a l authority in b o t h A l g e r i a and Tunisia. A l t h o u g h they remained s t r o n g in M o r o c c o , their status d e p e n d e d i n c r e a s i n g l y o n their h a v i n g a F r e n c h education. T h i s F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d M o r o c c a n élite c a m e p r e d o m i ­ nantly f r o m the b o u r g e o i s i e o f F e z , the so-called Fassis. A f t e r this é l i t e s e a l e d its a l l i a n c e w i t h t h e p a l a c e b y t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e Istiqlal Party, the F r e n c h authorities c a m e t o rely increasingly u p o n rural notables, especially chieftains o f B e r b e r o r i g i n like T h a m i a l - G l a w i , P a s h a o f M a r r a k e s h , as far as ' n a t i v e ' a d m i n i s ­ tration w a s concerned. T h u s the F r e n c h reinforced a l - G l a w i ' s a u t h o r i t y at t h e e x p e n s e o f t h e s u l t a n , a l t h o u g h t h e F r e n c h h a d originally pacified the c o u n t r y in the latter's n a m e . Ultimately a coalition o f these rejected urban notables w a s t o t r i u m p h o v e r the rural notables the F r e n c h n o w c o - o p t e d , b u t n o t b e f o r e urban­ isation and industrialisation had generated other social forces in support o f the nationalist s t r u g g l e . T h e leaders o f this coalition w e r e insufficiently o r g a n i s e d t o k e e p these forces u n d e r political control, and their generally h i g h traditional urban status, w h i l e g i v i n g t h e m a certain h o m o g e n e i t y , h a r d l y h e l p e d t h e m in their efforts t o e n l i s t t h e s u p p o r t o f a p r i m a r i l y r u r a l s o c i e t y , o r e v e n o f o t h e r u r b a n strata. T h e F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d elites o f A l g e r i a a n d T u n i s i a w e r e s u b ­ stantially larger than their M o r o c c a n counterpart, d u e t o the extension o v e r longer time-periods o f French education. B y the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r their social origins w e r e also m o r e hetero­ g e n e o u s , d u e t o a g r e a t e r f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l elites, the b r o a d e r bases o f recruitment into the F r e n c h educational system, and t o the o p p o r t u n i t i e s for social m o b i l i t y offered b y c o l o n i a l r u l e . T r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l s t a t u s d i d n o t , as i n M o r o c c o , c u t individuals off f r o m large s e g m e n t s o f their respective societies. B u t , in t h e c a s e o f A l g e r i a , e d u c a t i o n d i d . W h e r e a s i n t h e Protectorates the system o f m o d e r n education g a v e a considerable p l a c e t o A r a b i c , t h e A l g e r i a n s y s t e m t r e a t e d A r a b i c as a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e . T h e p r o v i s i o n i n d e G a u l l e ' s ordonnance o f 1 9 4 4 c a l l i n g for greater infusions o f A r a b i c into the educational system w a s not implemented. Consequently, French-educated Algerians did not, like their counterparts in M o r o c c o and T u n i s i a , enjoy privileged access to a potentially national culture. In Tunisia, the 571

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tradition o f a bilingual education, represented b y Sadiki College, e n g e n d e r e d é l i t e c o h e s i o n w i t h o u t c u t t i n g it o f f f r o m t h e A r a b i c speaking masses. Tunisia, t o o , w a s linguistically m u c h m o r e h o m o g e n e o u s than either A l g e r i a o r M o r o c c o , w h e r e Berbers p e a k e r s c o m p r i s e d r e s p e c t i v e l y 25 a n d 4 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . C o n s e q u e n t l y t h e élite n o t o n l y e n j o y e d t h e distinction o f being educated in F r e n c h w a y s b u t also possessed a capacity f o r s o c i a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n t h a t w o u l d e n s u r e its c u l t u r a l h e g e m o n y . I n A l g e r i a , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e évolués w e r e fit o n l y f o r a n assimilation into a F r e n c h society that refused t o accept them. T h e majority o f this élite h a p p e n e d t o b e K a b y l e rather than A r a b ; a n d a n y c o h e s i o n a n d m a s s f o l l o w i n g s it d e r i v e d f r o m s h a r e d e t h n i c o r i g i n s b o o m e r a n g e d against its c l a i m t o b e a national élite. I n 1 9 4 9 , f o r i n s t a n c e , A i t A h m e d w a s d i s m i s s e d as l e a d e r o f t h e P P A ' s Secret Organisation (forerunner o f the F L N ) for espousing ' B e r b e r particularism'. B e r b e r - A r a b rivalries should n o t , h o w ­ ever, b e overstressed in analysing political cleavages within the élite: b u t n o shared K a b y l e identity c o u l d h o l d it t o g e t h e r , m u c h less assure it cultural h e g e m o n y . F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d T u n i s i a n s in fact acquired c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e c o h e s i o n than their A l g e r i a n o r e v e n their M o r o c c a n counterparts. B y the e v e o f the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , half o f those entering Sadiki C o l l e g e c a m e f r o m t h e Sahel, t h e agricultural area s o u t h o f T u n i s that concentrated one-tenth o f Tunisia's population in closely interconnected b u t rival villages n o t t o o dissimilar, sociologically speaking, from those o f A l g e r i a n Kabylia. T h e s e sons o f peasant freeholders w e r e b y t h e n t a k i n g o v e r t h e élite F r a n c o - A r a b e d u c a t i o n a l institutions that earlier, as in M o r o c c o , h a d fallen b y d e f a u l t t o t h e s o n s o f u r b a n n o t a b l e s , t h e m a m l u k s a n d baldi o f T u n i s . U p w a r d l y m o b i l e , t h e S a h e l i a n s c o u l d n o t find r e a d y acceptance w i t h i n t h e traditional u r b a n élite. B u t their shared origins p r o v i d e d a ready source o f solidarity in their n e w c o n t e x t - a n d c o m i n g f r o m the Sahel d i d n o t , as in the case o f the K a b y l e o f A l g e r i a , prevent them from acquiring cultural h e g e m o n y . T h r o u g h regional solidarity they w e r e able t o p r o m o t e a national culture readily acceptable to other educated Tunisians, i n c l u d i n g sons o f t h e traditional élite. T h e i r o r g a n i s a t i o n a l vehicle, the N é o - D e s t o u r , w a s historically rooted in the Sahel, b u t in t h e 1940s it a c q u i r e d a s t r o n g base in T u n i s , l a r g e l y u n d e r t h e leadership o f y o u n g m e m b e r s o f established families.

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T h e ultimate c h a l l e n g e t o the e d u c a t e d élite in e a c h N o r t h A f r i c a n territory w a s a political o n e . It c o u l d hardly a v o i d b e c o m i n g i n v o l v e d in the nationalist s t r u g g l e . I n d e e d failure t o a s s e r t l e a d e r s h i p w o u l d o n l y a l l o w o t h e r f o r c e s t o c a p t u r e it b y default. T h e failure o f the A l g e r i a n élite h a d already b e c o m e apparent b y 1945, w h e n a congress o f the Friends o f the A l g e r i a n Manifesto proclaimed Messali Hadj 'the incontestable leader o f t h e A l g e r i a n p e o p l e ' at t h e e x p e n s e o f F e r h a t A b b a s . B e f o r e t h e w a r Messali had organised m a n y o f the A l g e r i a n emigrants w o r k i n g in France, and his P P A had also acquired considerable strength in w o r k i n g - c l a s s districts o f A l g i e r s . A b b a s , o n the o t h e r hand, t h o u g h representing a substantial p o r t i o n o f the educated élite, c o u l d n o t o r g a n i s e the s p o n t a n e o u s mass s u p p o r t his manifesto had suddenly aroused. A radical minority o f the i n t e l l e c t u a l s j o i n e d t h e P P A , l e g a l l y r e c o n s t i t u t e d as t h e M o u v e ­ m e n t p o u r le T r i o m p h e d e s L i b e r t é s D é m o c r a t i q u e s ( M T L D ) , to contest p o s t - w a r elections. A further division that w a s n o t experienced to the same d e g r e e b y the M o r o c c a n o r T u n i s i a n élite w a s that b e t w e e n French-educated and A r a b i c - e d u c a t e d intellec­ tuals. T h e latter, n u m e r i c a l l y w e a k b u t e x p r e s s i n g the p o w e r f u l ideal o f a national A l g e r i a n culture, had created their o w n Islamic reform m o v e m e n t under the leadership o f A b d e l h a m i d B e n Badis. H e had died in 1940 b u t his m o v e m e n t e n d u r e d , further w e a k e n i n g the claims o f the F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d élite t o national leadership. In t h e final p h a s e s o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e s t r u g g l e t h i s F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d élite, i n d e c i s i v e and w r a c k e d b y internal d i v i s i o n s , w a s t o p r o v e i t s e l f m a r g i n a l . T h o u g h m a n y o f its m e m b e r s h a d r a l l i e d t o t h e F L N b y 1 9 5 6 , it w a s t o b e s u b j e c t e d t o t h e d i r e c t i v e s o f t h e v e r y different b r e e d s o f m e n w h o h a d o r g a n i s e d t h e r e v o l u t i o n . In the P r o t e c t o r a t e s the élites w e r e m o r e c o h e s i v e and m a i n ­ tained c o m m a n d o f their respective nationalist m o v e m e n t s . B e i n g c u l t u r a l l y l e s s c u t o f f f r o m t h e i r s o c i e t i e s t h a n t h e A l g e r i a n évolués^ they also s u c c e e d e d in m o b i l i s i n g substantial mass s u p p o r t . B o t h the Istiqlal and the N é o - D e s t o u r w e r e able, for instance, t o m o b i l i s e t h e K o r a n i c ' free s c h o o l s s i m i l a r t o t h e o n e s B e n B a d i s established in A l g e r i a . H o w e v e r , the M o r o c c a n s e x p e r i e n c e d c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e difficulty than the T u n i s i a n s in c o n t r o l l i n g the social forces they helped to unleash. F o r o n e thing the Fassis did not possess a built-in peasant base like that o f the Sahelians. M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , the T u n i s i a n s had a h e a d start o f r o u g h l y o n e 9

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g e n e r a t i o n n o t o n l y in F r a n c o - A r a b e d u c a t i o n b u t also in political experience. In the p o s t - w a r period their mass organisation w a s considerably m o r e d e v e l o p e d than w a s that o f the n e w l y founded Istiqlal. Perhaps, t o o , the relatively m o r e m o d e s t class o r i g i n s o f t h e T u n i s i a n é l i t e c o n t r i b u t e d t o its g r e a t e r a b i l i t y t o a s s i m i l a t e organisational techniques from the French Socialist and C o m ­ m u n i s t Parties and also, incidentally, f r o m a settler c o m m u n i t y that h a d b e e n m o r e e x p o s e d t h a n M o r o c c o w a s t o F a s c i s m as w e l l as t h e Socialist and C o m m u n i s t m o v e m e n t s . In addition t o differences b e t w e e n the élites, the strength o f l i n k a g e s b e t w e e n élites and the masses also v a r i e d w i t h the d e g r e e and types o f social dislocation that m a d e masses 'available* for nationalist activity. N a t i v e A l g e r i a n society had experienced the greatest dislocation before the outbreak o f the revolution. B y the m i d - 1 9 5 0 s at l e a s t h a l f o f t h e m o d e r n A l g e r i a n w o r k - f o r c e w a s in F r a n c e and the majority w a s n o l o n g e r K a b y l e . E v e n if the A l g e r i a n é l i t e h a d b e e n m o r e c o h e s i v e , it w o u l d h a v e h a d difficulty o r g a n i s i n g a n d c o n t r o l l i n g the proletariat. O n l y in 1956 w a s a n A l g e r i a n t r a d e u n i o n finally f o u n d e d , t h o u g h t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f A l g e r i a n s h a d a c q u i r e d s o m e political e x p e r i e n c e in French trade unions. O n the other hand Tunisia enjoyed a tradition o f a u t o n o m o u s trade u n i o n i s m . T h o u g h earlier attempts had failed, Farhat H a c h e d successfully f o u n d e d the U n i o n G é n é r a l e T u n i s i e n s d u T r a v a i l ( U G T T ) in 1946 in close c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h the N é o - D e s t o u r leadership. T h e Tunisian w o r k i n g force w a s relatively small and accessible, concentrated in T u n i s , Sfax, and s o u t h e r n m i n i n g c e n t r e s . B y 1 9 5 5 at l e a s t 80 p e r c e n t o f t h e U G T T ' s 150000 m e m b e r s had also joined the N é o - D e s t o u r Party. E v e n in M o r o c c o substantial n u m b e r s o f peasants w e r e already b e i n g attracted t o the n e w E u r o p e a n cities before the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . M o r o c c o ' s post-war e c o n o m i c b o o m , relatively greater than those o f other more developed colonial economies, permitted the process o f urbanisation to catch u p w i t h and e v e n s u r p a s s t h a t o f t h e o t h e r t e r r i t o r i e s b y 195 5. T h e r a p i d i t y o f t h e process itself contributed to instability. In the p o s t - w a r period there w a s p r o b a b l y less u n e m p l o y m e n t o r d i s g u i s e d u n e m p l o y ­ m e n t in the n e w M u s l i m u r b a n c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a r o u n d E u r o p e a n Casablanca than in either A l g i e r s o r T u n i s . M i s e r a b l e shanty t o w n s o f t h e k i n d t h a t s u r r o u n d e d all N o r t h A f r i c a n c i t i e s w e r e n o t necessarily potential tinderboxes o f social unrest. B u t in

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Casablanca they w e r e t o b e c o m e s o , in part because the B e r b e r i m m i g r a n t s retained their rural roots w h i l e assimilating n e w roles and identities, and in part because in M o r o c c o ' s e x p a n d i n g e c o n o m y they w e r e better off a n d c o u l d h a r b o u r rising aspirations. A s in A l g e r i a , t r a d e - u n i o n i s m w a s relatively u n d e r d e v e l o p e d , a n d the urban proletariat a n d sub-proletariat escaped the c o n t r o l a n d organisation exercised o v e r them in T u n i s i a b y the N é o - D e s t o u r . B u t their rising expectations w e r e t o c o i n c i d e w i t h those o f M o r o c c a n nationalism. T h e efforts o f t h e c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s t o stifle n a t i o n a l i s t aspirations o n l y intensified their appeal. T h e nationalist leaders, h o w e v e r , w e r e faced w i t h the p r o b l e m o f h o w t o channel the b u r g e o n i n g forces and h o w to direct the struggle. T h e i r ability to d o s o d e p e n d e d o n the scale reached b y the conflict a n d their o w n organisational capacities. T u n i s i a benefited f r o m an élite that w a s better o r g a n i s e d than those in the other t w o countries a n d f r o m a F r e n c h administration that w a s relatively m o r e enlightened a n d able t o a v o i d the excesses c o m m i t t e d i n M o r o c c o a n d , m o r e e s p e c i a l l y , i n A l g e r i a after t h e Second W o r l d W a r . B r e a k d o w n s in negotiations for reforms r e s u l t e d n o t s o m u c h i n w i d e s p r e a d v i o l e n c e as i n r e n e w e d T u n i s i a n efforts t o o r g a n i s e t h e r a n k a n d file s o as t o c o n v i n c e F r a n c e t h a t a m o d e r n T u n i s i a n n a t i o n - B o u r g u i b a ' s pays réel - r e a l l y e x i s t e d and had t o b e recognised. W i t h negotiations for further reforms at a s t a n d s t i l l i n 1 9 4 5 , B o u r g u i b a d e p a r t e d f o r C a i r o t o s e e k support from both the A r a b L e a g u e and international public opinion. His deputy, Salah b e n Youssef, h o w e v e r , remained in T u n i s to d e v e l o p the organisation o f the party, o u t l a w e d since 1938 a n d p a r t l y c o m p r o m i s e d b y t h e w a r t i m e c o n t a c t s o f s o m e o f its s e c o n d a r y l e a d e r s h i p w i t h t h e G e r m a n s . A s w e l l a s t h e U G T T , the U n i o n Nationale des Agriculteurs Tunisiens and the U n i o n T u n i s i e n n e des Artisans et C o m m e r ç a n t s w e r e also created i n t h e late 1 9 4 0 s . T h e N é o - D e s t o u r w a s a l s o a b l e f o r a t i m e t o establish a N a t i o n a l F r o n t w i t h t h e D e s t o u r , its p r e - w a r rival that had clearly lost the contest for national leadership. T h e o n e sector recalcitrant t o N é o - D e s t o u r control w a s that o f the students a n d faculty o f Z i t o u n a , the traditional Islamic university o f T u n i s . O n e o f t h e s e n i o r * ulamâ\ F a d h l b e n A c h o u r , t r i e d w i t h s o m e s u p p o r t from the U G T T to d e v e l o p an a u t o n o m o u s m o v e m e n t . T h e N é o - D e s t o u r youth organisation, h o w e v e r , w a s more than a

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m a t c h for Z i t o u n a students o n the streets, a n d b y 1951 a majority o f these, frustrated b y lack o f university r e f o r m a n d prospects for e m p l o y m e n t , w e r e sympathisers w i t h , o r m e m b e r s of, B o u r g u i b a ' s party. T h e ' S u p r e m e W a r r i o r ' himself returned t o T u n i s in 1949 w i t h the consent o f the French resident-general to stimulate n e w efforts a t s e t t i n g u p a n a u t o n o m o u s T u n i s i a n g o v e r n m e n t . T h e French g o v e r n m e n t favoured further reforms, and t w o m e m b e r s o f the N e o - D e s t o u r , including Salah b e n Youssef, w e r e mandated t o j o i n a ' h o m o g e n e o u s ' (all T u n i s i a n ) g o v e r n m e n t i n 1 9 5 1 . H o w e v e r , late in t h e year n e g o t i a t i o n s o v e r t h e g r a n t i n g o f internal a u t o n o m y collapsed u n d e r settler pressures. B o u r g u i b a ' s decision t o precipitate matters b y e n g a g i n g in mass agitation against French attempts to introduce Franco-Tunisian c o sovereignty m e t w i t h predictable police repression, including his o w n a r r e s t o n 18 J a n u a r y 1 9 5 2 . M o p p i n g - u p o p e r a t i o n s , n o t a b l y o n C a p B o n , resulted in scores o f Tunisian deaths b u t c o u l d n o t compare w i t h the operations launched against the Algerians in 1945. T h e A l g e r i a n deaths h a d n o t served the cause o f any political organisation, whereas the Tunisian ones contributed to a national m y t h o l o g y o f sacrifice a n d m a r t y r d o m incarnated b y B o u r g u i b a in p r i s o n a n d p r o p a g a t e d b y the party faithful. A n y eventual trade-union challenge to his o r the party's authority w a s severely diminished o n 5 D e c e m b e r 1952, w h e n Farhat H a c h e d w a s assassinated' u n d e r conditions that h a v e n e v e r been elucidated' but w h i c h undoubtedly involved French ( C o r s i c a n ) h a n d s . T e r r o r a n d c o u n t e r - t e r r o r s p r e a d i n 195 3, w h i l e m o s t o f the N e o - D e s t o u r leadership w a s either in prison o r exile. Nevertheless clandestine party n e t w o r k s managed to keep m o s t o f t h e 3000 a r m e d fellagha ( g u e r r i l l a s ) , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e r e c r u i t e d from the Sahel, under political control. Consequently, w h e n the M e n d e s - F r a n c e g o v e r n m e n t i n d i c a t e d t h a t it w a s p r e p a r e d t o grant internal a u t o n o m y t o Tunisia, B o u r g u i b a , transferred t o F r a n c e i n 195 5, w a s a b l e t o o r d e r t h e m t o l a y d o w n t h e i r a r m s . Tunisia's w a s the only national liberation m o v e m e n t in N o r t h Africa to enjoy some o f the g l a m o u r o f conducting a guerrilla s t r u g g l e f ° i n d e p e n d e n c e w i t h o u t l o s i n g c o n t r o l o f it - p a r t l y , n o doubt, because Mendes-France acted before the violence g o t o u t o f h a n d , s e l e c t i n g T u n i s i a , rather t h a n M o r o c c o , t o test o u t 1

r

1

L e T o u r n c a u , Evolution politique, 130; cf. J u l i e n , UAfrique

du Nord, 389.

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h i s p o l i c y o f r e f o r m i n g t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e s s o as t o p r e s e r v e a F r e n c h A l g e r i a . E v e n b e f o r e h i s s u r p r i s e v i s i t o f 31 J u l y 1 9 5 4 t o T u n i s , h o w e v e r , the N e o - D e s t o u r had m a n a g e d to build u p a political apparatus o f 100000 m e m b e r s w i e l d i n g d e c i s i v e m o r a l a u t h o r i t y o v e r the p o p u l a t i o n . P o l i c e repression, in m o d e s t d o s e s o v e r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s , h a d u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y h e l p e d the e d u c a t e d elite t o f o r g e a n a t i o n . W h e n B o u r g u i b a w a s finally a l l o w e d t o r e t u r n o n 1 J u n e , 1 9 5 5 , his m o r a l authority s e e m e d unlimited. T h o u g h he w a s challenged within the party b y Salah ben Y o u s s e f , w h o w a s opportunistically calling for immediate independence, he t r i u m p h e d o v e r his former d e p u t y b y a p p e a l i n g t o the political realism o f a seasoned party and trade-union leadership. After the p a r t y c o n g r e s s h e l d at S f a x i n N o v e m b e r , t h e p a r t y c a d r e s w e r e o n B o u r g u i b a ' s side and b e n Y o u s s e f ' s o n l y recourse w a s to terrorism. T h e l a s t Y o u s s e f i s t ' b a n d w a s m o p p e d u p in the spring o f 1956. M e a n w h i l e B o u r g u i b a had achieved independence and j o i n e d t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t as p r i m e m i n i s t e r . 4

N e i t h e r in M o r o c c o n o r A l g e r i a d i d t h e r e g r o w u p a d i s c i p l i n e d party organisation to match that o f Tunisia. T o o w e a k to d e v e l o p a u t o n o m o u s leadership, the u r b a n e d u c a t e d elite that f o u n d e d the Istiqlal had to rely o n the sultan for m o s t political initiatives. In 1946 Sultan M o h a m m e d b e n Y o u s s e f obtained permission f r o m the resident-general and the authorities o f the Spanish z o n e to t r a v e l b y l a n d t o T a n g i e r , w h i c h h a d r e g a i n e d its 1 9 2 3 s t a t u s as a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l c i t y after its b r i e f w a r t i m e o c c u p a t i o n b y S p a i n . B y m a k i n g this trip he p r o v i d e d the c o n t e x t for h u g e p u b l i c demonstrations o f loyalty affirming M o r o c c o ' s national unity. W h i l e he w a s in T a n g i e r , he also m a d e an electrifying s p e e c h in w h i c h he omitted compliments to France, and by gestures o f p r o t o c o l , t o o , signalled to international o p i n i o n his impatience w i t h F r e n c h tutelage. In reaction, G e n e r a l Juin, the F r e n c h R e s i d e n t - G e n e r a l , ordered Istiqlal publications to be c e n s o r e d and in 1948 a l l o w e d his D i r e c t o r o f Political Affairs, C o l o n e l J e a n L e c o m t e , to c o n c o c t abusive p r o p a g a n d a against the sultan and his f a m i l y . T h i s o n l y c o n s o l i d a t e d Sultan M o h a m m e d ' s n e w a u t h o r i t y as l e a d e r o f t h e n a t i o n a l i s t m o v e m e n t . T h e f o c u s o f F r a n c o - M o r o c c a n conflict b e c a m e the sultan himself. Irritated b y political criticisms v o i c e d b y Istiqlal notables, G e n e r a l Juin e n c o u r a g e d rivals o f the sultan, led b y a B e r b e r chief, T h a m i 1

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a l - G l a w i , t o stage a tribal r e v o l t . T h e F r e n c h h o p e d , in fact, t o w e a k e n the forces o f A r a b urban nationalism b y setting the predominantly Berber tribesmen against them. In 1951 the revolt w a s called off w h e n the sultan capitulated under the threat o f deposition and signed a protocol c o n d e m n i n g ' the methods o f a certain p a r t y ' . B u t t w o years later, w h e n h e refused t o s i g n decrees that w o u l d h a v e a c c o r d e d a share o f M o r o c c a n s o v e r e i g n t y t o French citizens, a second revolt w a s staged. T h i s time an exceptionally w e a k g o v e r n m e n t in Paris c a v e d in t o pressure b y l o c a l officials, F r e n c h s e t t l e r s , a l - G l a w i a n d o t h e r n o t a b l e s o p p o s e d t o n a t i o n a l i s m . T h e s u l t a n w a s d e p o s e d o n 20 A u g u s t 1 9 5 3 a n d e x i l e d t o M a d a g a s c a r . B u t h e still e n j o y e d r e l i g i o u s as w e l l as p o l i t i c a l l e g i t i m a c y i n t h e e y e s o f m o s t M o r o c c a n s , a n d Sidna (' o u r L o r d ' ) w o u l d b e c o m e the rallying cry o f a nation ready to take up arms. E v e n h a d they desired t o p r e v e n t urban terrorism, the Istiqlal leaders c o u l d n o t h a v e d o n e a n y t h i n g because since D e c e m b e r 1952 they h a d b e e n g a o l e d f o r their alleged i n v o l v e m e n t in the uprising o f Casablanca's proletariat in the w a k e o f Farhat H a c h e d ' s assassination. D u r i n g the t w o years f o l l o w i n g the sultan's d e p o ­ sition M o r o c c o experienced urban terrorism, counter-terror, a n d finally a r m e d i n s u r r e c t i o n i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e f r o m b a s e s l o c a t e d in the S p a n i s h z o n e . M e a n w h i l e t h e S p a n i s h authorities h a d embarked in 1952 u p o n a policy o f collaboration w i t h the n a t i o n a l i s t s , p e r m i t t i n g f r e e d o m o f t h e P r e s s at least c o n c e r n i n g a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e F r e n c h z o n e . T h e khalifa, t h e s u l t a n ' s d e p u t y i n t h e S p a n i s h z o n e , c o n t i n u e d after M u h a m m a d ' s d e p o s i t i o n t o exercise authority in his n a m e , a n d the Spanish H i g h C o m m i s ­ sioner publicly supported M o r o c c a n protests against the French action. In the French z o n e there w a s considerably more violence t h a n t h e r e w a s i n T u n i s i a after B o u r g u i b a ' s a r r e s t . T h e e n t i r e structure o f local authority built u p b y the F r e n c h in the c o u n t r y s i d e u n d e r t r i b a l caids a n d t h e i r c l i e n t s finally c o l l a p s e d i n 1955, o n c e a l - G l a w i , realising that he w a s losing support, rendered obeisance t o the sultan. T o p r e v e n t further disorder, the F r e n c h h a d t o r e i n s t a t e S u l t a n M o h a m m e d , w h o , as K i n g M o h a m m e d V , b e c a m e M o r o c c o ' s indispensable arbiter, the o n e authority a c c e p t e d b y all M o r o c c a n political forces - the urban a n d rural resistance m o v e m e n t s , the urban notables o f the Istiqlal a n d other

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m i n o r parties, the proletariat, and rural notables c o m p r o m i s e d b y French collaboration. In stark contrast to b o t h the T u n i s i a n and M o r o c c a n experi­ ences, the A l g e r i a n r e v o l u t i o n failed t o e n g e n d e r a c o n c r e t e l o c u s o f a u t h o r i t y w h i c h all r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s c o u l d a c c e p t . B e f o r e 1 9 5 4 t h e p o l i t i c i a n s h a d b e e n h o p e l e s s l y d i v i d e d as w e l l as f r u s t r a t e d i n t h e i r efforts t o w o r k w i t h i n t h e e l e c t e d b o d i e s i n s t i t u t e d b y t h e A l g e r i a n Statute o f 1947. I n 1 9 5 4 the P P A - M T L D suffered a f u r t h e r d i v i s i o n b e t w e e n its l e a d e r , M e s s a l i H a d j , a n d a m a j o r i t y o f the central c o m m i t t e e . T h i s d i v i s i o n precipitated the o u t b r e a k o n 1 N o v e m b e r o f a r m e d insurrection. H a v i n g failed t o reconcile the t w o factions, a self-styled R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o m m i t t e e o f U n i t y and A c t i o n , c o m p o s e d m o s t l y o f m e m b e r s o f the party's para­ military b o d y , decided that existing parties and legal political p r o c e s s e s w e r e futile a n d t h a t t h e o n l y w a y t o a c h i e v e A l g e r i a n independence w a s t h r o u g h violence. Indeed the decisions to e n g a g e i n u n l i m i t e d s t r u g g l e a n d t o o r g a n i s e o n l y after l a u n c h i n g the insurrection indicate a d e g r e e o f political alienation a m o n g the leadership that w a s a major source o f w e a k n e s s . O n c e the r e v o l u t i o n w a s l a u n c h e d , it w a s e v e n m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o d e v e l o p a political organisation for c o o r d i n a t i n g and ideologically shaping the r a w guerrilla recruits w h o h a d s p o n t a n e o u s l y rallied to the Front de Liberation Nationale. Furthermore, the only experiences shared b y m o s t o f the r e v o l u t i o n a r y leaders w e r e para-military o n e s . T h e y t e n d e d t o b e less e d u c a t e d t h a n the leaders o f the A l g e r i a n p a r t i e s t h e y d i s p l a c e d a n d less e d u c a t e d t h a n t h e N e o D e s t o u r and Istiqlal leaders. T h o u g h the F L N m a n a g e d in difficult w a r t i m e c o n d i t i o n s i n s i d e A l g e r i a t o c o n v e n e a c o n g r e s s , h e l d i n t h e S o u m m a m V a l l e y i n A u g u s t 1 9 5 6 , its r e s o l u t i o n t o accept the ' priority o f the political o v e r the military o r g a n i s a t i o n ' could not be implemented. It w a s i n t h e m o r e i s o l a t e d m o u n t a i n o u s r e g i o n s , s u c h as G r e a t e r K a b y l i a and the A u r e s , that the guerrillas, despite an i m p r o v i s e d b e g i n n i n g , acquired the strongest roots. H e r e the F L N w a s a b l e t o d e v e l o p a p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as a m i l i t a r y organisation, but c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h other parts o f A l g e r i a b e c a m e difficult. T h e r e v o l u t i o n a c q u i r e d i r r e v e r s i b l e m o m e n t u m o n 20 A u g u s t 1 9 5 5 , w h e n g u e r r i l l a s t o u c h e d o f f a p o p u l a r i n s u r r e c t i o n a g a i n s t 26 E u r o p e a n c e n t r e s i n t h e r e g i o n o f C o n -

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s t a n t i n e , r e s u l t i n g i n 123 d e a d , i n c l u d i n g 7 1 E u r o p e a n s , m a n y o f t h e m d o n e to death w i t h k n i v e s and sticks. F r e n c h reprisals t o o k 1 2 7 3 l i v e s b y t h e official c o u n t a n d m o r e t h a n o n e t h o u s a n d prisoners. T h e major consequence, h o w e v e r , was to s o w a panic a m o n g E u r o p e a n settlers t h r o u g h o u t A l g e r i a that w o u l d p u t pressure o n French g o v e r n m e n t s to build up an o v e r w h e l m i n g military presence. B y the f o l l o w i n g s u m m e r there w e r e o v e r 400000 t r o o p s in the c o u n t r y . B y the a u t u m n o f 1957 the F r e n c h had fully r e g a i n e d the military initiative a n d had w o n the ' Battle o f A l g i e r s ' , e l i m i n a t i n g t h e last e f f e c t i v e g u e r r i l l a p r e s e n c e s i n t h e capital, including the leadership established b y the S o u m m a m Congress. T h e F r e n c h F o u r t h R e p u b l i c w a s t h e first p o l i t i c a l v i c t i m o f these ostensible victories. B y c o n d o n i n g extensive use o f torture, and by a l l o w i n g the army to take o v e r the administration o f A l g e r i a , the g o v e r n m e n t s o f G u y M o l l e t and his successors lost considerable m o r a l authority in F r a n c e w i t h o u t g a i n i n g the confidence o f the settlers. A f t e r mass settler d e m o n s t r a t i o n s in A l g i e r s o n 13 M a y 1 9 5 8 , i n f a v o u r o f k e e p i n g A l g e r i a F r e n c h under sympathetic military authorities, G e n e r a l de G a u l l e w a s a b l e t o fill t h e r e s u l t a n t p o w e r v a c u u m i n P a r i s . T h e F r e n c h political system, h o w e v e r , w a s not the only v i c t i m o f the A l g e r i a n war. Algeria's indigenous political forces w e r e also disrupted b y the massive F r e n c h military presence, w h i c h e v e n included electrified defensive lines o n the c o u n t r y ' s b o r d e r s w i t h M o r o c c o and Tunisia. A f t e r the battle o f A l g i e r s , A b a n e R a m d a n e , the F L N ' s principal s u r v i v i n g leader and the organiser o f the S o u m m a m C o n g r e s s , w a s strangled to death b y m e m b e r s o f his o w n party. Previous divisions within the F L N leadership had been mitigated in p a r t b y t h e i l l - a d v i s e d F r e n c h k i d n a p p i n g o f o n e o f its s e c t i o n s , w h i c h had included A h m e d B e n Bella. B u t thereafter the F r e n c h m i l i t a r y quadrillage, c o u p l e d w i t h G e n e r a l C h a l l e ' s m o b i l e t a c t i c s , put the guerrillas continually o n the run, p r e v e n t i n g t h e m from d e v e l o p i n g a political organisation inside their territory. T h e F L N w a s o r g a n i s e d i n t o s i x wilayas, o r r e g i o n a l c o m m a n d s , w h i c h i n t h e o r y c o v e r e d t h e e n t i r e c o u n t r y i n c l u d i n g t h e S a h a r a , b u t it b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult t o c o m m u n i c a t e a m o n g o r e v e n w i t h i n t h e m , m u c h less b e t w e e n t h e m a n d their a r m s d e p o t s a n d 1

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C o l o n e l A m i r o u c h e , the c o m m a n d e r o f W i l a y a III ( G r e a t e r K a b y l i a ) , had h u n d r e d s o f h i s m e n e x e c u t e d in 1959 t o p r e v e n t s e c u r i t y l e a k s .

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sanctuaries in Tunisia a n d M o r o c c o . T h e G o u v e r n e m e n t P r o v i s o i r e d e la R é p u b l i q u e A l g é r i e n n e ( G P R A ) w a s established in T u n i s i a u n d e r t h e n o m i n a l leadership o f F e r h a t A b b a s , w h o h a d rallied t o t h e F L N , b u t it c o u l d neither s u p p l y n o r c o n t r o l t h e wilayas. M o r e o v e r , t h e g e n e r a l staff o f t h e F L N , b a s e d n e a r the A l g e r i a n frontier w a s outside the c o n t r o l o f its ministries l o c a t e d i n T u n i s . T h e C h i e f o f Staff, C o l o n e l H o u a r i B o u m e d i e n n e , d e v e l o p e d a well equipped standing a r m y o f 40000 m e n that p r o v e d in 1962 t o b e the o n l y organised force capable o f controlling independent Algeria. T h e Evian A c c o r d s reached between the French and the provisional Algerian g o v e r n m e n t s in M a r c h 1962, h o w e v e r , represented political v i c t o r y f o r t h e F L N , as w e l l as d e G a u l l e ' s triumph o v e r the forces that h a d b r o u g h t h i m t o p o w e r . T h e a g r e e m e n t called f o r a n i m m e d i a t e ceasefire f o l l o w e d b y a referendum. This w a s held o n 8 April, and an o v e r w h e l m i n g majority o f A l g e r i a n s v o t e d f o r independence. D u r i n g t h e tran­ sition period from M a r c h t o July the A l g e r i a n s displayed remark­ able discipline i n t h e face o f m a c a b r e p r o v o c a t i o n s b y e x t r e m i s t E u r o p e a n s h o p i n g t o stir u p mass v i o l e n c e a n d thus p r e v e n t independence. T h e constraining orders o f F L N leadership hastily dispatched t o Algiers b y the provisional g o v e r n m e n t w e r e uni­ versally respected. B u t i f the moral authority o f the F L N w a s u n q u e s t i o n e d ( e x c e p t p e r h a p s b y s o m e o f t h e 80000 A l g e r i a n M u s l i m s w h o h a d f o u g h t o n t h e F r e n c h side a n d b y other c o l l a b o r a t o r s ) , its leadership r e m a i n e d seriously d i v i d e d d u r i n g the spring a n d s u m m e r o f 1962. I n institutional terms the F L N n o l o n g e r existed. A s the president o f the provisional g o v e r n m e n t subsequently explained, ' A military and political bureaucracy w a s f o r g e d i n e x i l e . . . [ i n ] t h e a b s e n c e o f i n t e r i o r [ p o l i t i c a l ] life. Internal d e m o c r a c y , criticism a n d self-criticism, a n d serious criteria in the c h o i c e o f leaders w e r e all i g n o r e d , thus o p e n i n g t h e d o o r t o arrivisme a n d flattery. H i s g o v e r n m e n t w a t c h e d h e l p l e s s l y as wilaya l e a d e r s , s w e l l e d b y t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f n e w r e c r u i t s p a r a d i n g as s e a s o n e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y v e t e r a n s , j o c k e y e d f o r p o s i t i o n w i t h the ' h i s t o r i c ' chiefs o f the r e v o l u t i o n , such as A h m e d B e n Bella, just released f r o m prison, a n d f o r m e r political leaders like Ferhat A b b a s . Boumedienne's army made Ben Bella's the winning 91

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Y o u s s c f b e n K h e d d a , ' C o n t r i b u t i o n à l ' h i s t o r i q u e d u F L N ' , m i m e o , A p r i l 1964, A l g i e r s , c i t e d b y E l b a k i H e r m a s s i , Leadership and national development in North Africa ( B e r k e l e y a n d L o s A n g e l e s , 1972), 1 4 1 .

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coalition, and in the p r o c e s s m o w e d d o w n h u n d r e d s o f guerrillas in early S e p t e m b e r . ' T h e S u m m e r o f S h a m e ' , h o w e v e r , o n l y reflected earlier d e v e l o p m e n t s w i t h i n the F L N , for r e v o l u t i o n a r y leaders had liquidated m a n y o f their colleagues d u r i n g the w a r . D e s p i t e b r a v e fighting a n d b r i l l i a n t d i p l o m a c y t h a t w o n i n d e p e n ­ d e n c e against incredible o d d s , the F L N failed t o b u i l d political i n s t i t u t i o n s , m u c h less a r t i c u l a t e a c o h e r e n t i d e o l o g y , as h a d t h e N é o - D e s t o u r in T u n i s i a , for g u i d i n g s u b s e q u e n t d e v e l o p m e n t and l e g i t i m a t i n g l e a d e r s h i p . Y e t e i g h t y e a r s o f fighting - c o m p a r e d w i t h o n l y t w o years o f sporadic terrorism in the Protectorates h a d u t t e r l y d i s l o c a t e d A l g e r i a n s o c i e t y . W h e t h e r o r n o t as m a n y as 1.5 m i l l i o n A l g e r i a n s l o s t t h e i r l i v e s , as t h e i n d e p e n d e n t A l g e r i a n g o v e r n m e n t claimed, the casualties w e r e e n o r m o u s . R o u g h l y one-third o f the rural p o p u l a t i o n , m o r e o v e r , w a s re­ g r o u p e d into centres controlled b y the F r e n c h army, and m a n y m o r e escaped t o o t h e r r e g i o n s and m o v e d t o the cities. A n d in t h e final d a y s b e f o r e i n d e p e n d e n c e it w a s n o t j u s t i n t h e c o u n t r y ­ s i d e , as i n M o r o c c o , t h a t F r e n c h a u t h o r i t y c o l l a p s e d . A n e s t i m a t e d 90 p e r c e n t o f t h e s e t t l e r p o p u l a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g m u c h o f the administration, failed t o return f r o m their s u m m e r 'holidays'. T H E

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H o w e v e r bitter the s t r u g g l e for i n d e p e n d e n c e h a d b e e n , the n e w regimes maintained many o f the colonial legal and bureaucratic f o r m s . O n e o f t h e first a c t s o f B e n B e l l a ' s g o v e r n m e n t w a s t o e n a c t a decree, t o be superseded o n l y in 1 9 7 3 , r e v a l i d a t i n g m o s t legislation o f the colonial r e g i m e . T h e A l g e r i a n s s i m p l y o c c u p i e d t h e v a c a t e d F r e n c h offices a n d r e - e n a c t e d t h e i r r o u t i n e s - w i t h s o m e F r e n c h technical assistance. E a c h r e g i m e displayed authori­ t a r i a n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s i n h e r i t e d f r o m its c o l o n i a l p r e d e c e s s o r , f o r c o n q u e s t o f t h e state m a c h i n e r y i n e a c h c a s e w e a k e n e d t h e nationalist m o v e m e n t . In p o w e r , the nationalists tried t o p r e v e n t any c o u n t e r v a i l i n g institutions from e n c o u r a g i n g and regulating conflicting interests. T h e y almost u n a n i m o u s l y v a l u e d national unity o v e r political participation w h e n e v e r the t w o seemed to be in c o n f l i c t . S t i l l , t h e p a r t i c u l a r m i x o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m i n e a c h s t a t e varied w i t h the d e g r e e o f bureaucratic c o n t r o l that the F r e n c h had exercised o v e r society, the extent to w h i c h social g r o u p s w e r e o r g a n i s e d , a n d a b o v e all t h e s o u r c e s o f l e g i t i m a c y a v a i l a b l e t o e a c h 582

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leader, w i t h the constraints they m i g h t i m p o s e u p o n h i m . If p o w e r e v e r y w h e r e a p p e a r e d c o n c e n t r a t e d , its s c o p e v a r i e d , as d i d t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h it t o l e r a t e d - o r h a d t o t o l e r a t e - o p p o s i t i o n a n d t h e p l a y o f c o n f l i c t i n g i n t e r e s t s . A n d p e r h a p s as i m p o r t a n t as t h e m i x o f authoritarianism for d i s t i n g u i s h i n g the different r e g i m e s , w e r e the respective loci o f interests o n w h i c h they seemed, u l t i m a t e l y , t o rest. F o r t h e s e c o u l d d e f i n e a r e g i m e ' s o b j e c t i v e s j u s t as p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s e s c o u l d r e s h a p e i n t e r e s t s . C u r i o u s l y it w a s t h e T u n i s i a n r e g i m e t h a t m o s t f u l l y d e v e l o p e d the bureaucratic-authoritarian tendencies o f the colonial period. A l t h o u g h a m o r e c o h e s i v e nationalist elite had built s t r o n g e r p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a n its n e i g h b o u r s b e f o r e i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s w o u l d , i n t h e last a n a l y s i s , s i m p l y r e i n f o r c e bureaucratic control and eventually w i t h e r a w a y , so that the r e g i m e t o l e r a t e d less p l u r a l i s m a n d c o n c e n t r a t e d m o r e p o w e r o n i t s e l f t h a n t h o s e o f its n e i g h b o u r s . B o u r g u i b a inherited intact an administrative apparatus o n l y s l i g h t l y less e l a b o r a t e t h a n A l g e r i a ' s . B u t b e c a u s e b e n Y o u s s e f ' s revolt had verged on civil war, B o u r g u i b a dismissed thoughts ( p u b l i c l y e n t e r t a i n e d e a r l i e r ) o f a l l o w i n g f a c t i o n s {tendances) t o c o m p e t e w i t h i n the N e o - D e s t o u r . In 1961 he w a s to h a v e ben Y o u s s e f assassinated. M e a n w h i l e , h a v i n g benefited d u r i n g the c r i s i s o f 1955 f r o m U G T T s u p p o r t , h e e n c o u r a g e d r i v a l s o f t h e t r a d e - u n i o n leader, A h m e d b e n Salah, t o d e p r i v e the latter o f his political base. T h e issue w a s n o t s o m u c h party control o f the trade u n i o n s as i n t r a - p a r t y p o l i t i c s . B e n S a l a h , w h o h a d b e e n a p a r t y l e a d e r b e f o r e b e c o m i n g a t r a d e - u n i o n official, w a s p u s h i n g f o r t h e N e o - D e s t o u r to a d o p t socialist e c o n o m i c policies that B o u r g u i b a o p p o s e d . O n c e ben Salah had been neutralised, B o u r g u i b a m o v e d t o r e o r g a n i s e t h e p a r t y , s u b j e c t i n g its l o c a l c e l l s i n 1 9 5 8 t o t h e regional and local administration o f the Ministry o f the Interior a n d p u r g i n g a n u m b e r o f its m o r e f r e e - w h e e l i n g l e a d e r s , n o t a b l y f r o m the F e d e r a t i o n o f T u n i s . M e a n w h i l e he used his formal p o w e r s as h e a d o f g o v e r n m e n t t o m o d i f y t h e c o m p o s i t i o n a n d f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e p a r t y ' s d e l i b e r a t i v e i n s t i t u t i o n s at t h e n a t i o n a l level. A f t e r B o u r g u i b a h a d b e e n i n v e s t e d as p r i m e m i n i s t e r i n 1 9 5 6 b y t h e n o m i n a l l y s o v e r e i g n b e y , a n d g a i n e d t h e full s u p p o r t o f an elected N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y n o m i n a t e d b y the party's Political

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B u r e a u , h e w a s a b l e t h e n e x t y e a r t o e l i m i n a t e all f o r m a l constraints u p o n his p o w e r b y the simple e x p e d i e n t o f h a v i n g the N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y r e m o v e the b e y and declare T u n i s i a a R e p u b l i c , w i t h B o u r g u i b a its h e a d o f state. T h e n e w p r e s i d e n t a c q u i r e d t h e bey's s o v e r e i g n p o w e r s and limited the National A s s e m b l y to drafting a constitution. M e a n w h i l e he appointed and dismissed ministers freely, and had the party's N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l m o d i f y the c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u t o reflect h i s c h a n g e s . G r a d u a l l y party institutions atrophied, for the effective l o c u s o f p o w e r b e c a m e t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n c o n t r o l l e d b y a de facto p r e s i ­ dential r e g i m e . T h e constitution o f J u n e 1959 reflected these realities a n d o m i t t e d a n y m e n t i o n o f t h o s e e l e m e n t s i n t h e s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e s i n g l e - p a r t y s y s t e m t h a t in o t h e r o n e - p a r t y states s o m e t i m e s place limits o n the exercise o f p o w e r . T h e fusion o f party and state t e m p o r a r i l y g e n e r a t e d an e n o r ­ m o u s capacity to mobilise, regulate, and extract resources from the society. E n t h u s i a s m inspired b y the independence struggle w a s effectively c o n v e r t e d into s u p p o r t for the ' s t r u g g l e against u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t ' , e s p e c i a l l y after 1 9 6 1 , w h e n B o u r g u i b a d e ­ cided to implement ben Salah's e c o n o m i c p r o g r a m m e , w h i c h i n v o l v e d w i d e - s c a l e r e g u l a t i o n o f t h e e c o n o m y b y t h e state. T h e e x p e r i m e n t failed b e c a u s e b e n Salah had b e e n d e p r i v e d o f independent s u p p o r t w i t h i n the party o r trade union. In dismissing h i m in 1 9 6 9 , B o u r g u i b a i m p l i c i t l y a d m i t t e d t h e s h o r t c o m i n g s o f a political s y s t e m that had placed n o limits either o n his c h o i c e o f subordinates o r o n their exercise o f p o w e r . B u t rather than i m p l e m e n t i n g political reforms, he p r o c e e d e d in the f o l l o w i n g three years to re-enact the course o f events that had enabled h i m t o c o n c e n t r a t e p o w e r o n h i m s e l f i n t h e first p l a c e . F i r s t h e appealed to the liberals, headed b y A h m e d Mestiri, w h o had o p p o s e d ben Salah and a d v o c a t e d a strengthening o f the party's deliberative institutions t h r o u g h a limited exercise o f internal d e m o c r a c y . T h e p a r t y c o n g r e s s h e l d at M o n a s t i r i n 1 9 7 1 ratified these v i e w s , ruling that the central c o m m i t t e e elected b y the c o n g r e s s s h o u l d in t u r n e l e c t B o u r g u i b a ' s P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u . B o u r g u i b a , h o w e v e r , had already dismissed Mestiri from the M i n i s t r y o f the Interior and p r o c e e d e d to a p p o i n t his o w n P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u . A n o t h e r c o n g r e s s h e l d at M o n a s t i r in 1 9 7 4 reversed the decisions o f the earlier o n e , and m e a n w h i l e the

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liberals w e r e p u r g e d f r o m the party a n d e v e n f r o m honorific posts in t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y . T h e p a r t y i n fact h a d b e c o m e a h o l l o w s h e l l , a n d B o u r g u i b a ' s l e g i t i m a c y c a m e t o rest m o r e o n h i s h i s t o r i c r o l e as f o u n d i n g father than o n a n y c o n s e n s u s c o n c e r n i n g social r e f o r m . I n 1975 B o u r g u i b a b e c a m e president-for-life, b u t m e a n w h i l e his a p p o i n t e d successor, Prime Minister Hedi N o u i r a , w a s able t o mobilise c o n s i d e r a b l y less p o w e r t h a n h a d A h m e d b e n S a l a h . O p p o s i t i o n was d e v e l o p i n g , a n d the p u r g e d leaders - Mestiri inside the c o u n t r y a n d b e n S a l a h a b r o a d - w e r e t r y i n g t o o r g a n i s e it i n t h e form o f n e w parties. M e a n w h i l e , a slightly y o u n g e r generation o f apparatchiks h e a d e d b y M u h a m m a d S a y a h w a s t r y i n g t o p r e s e r v e the one-party s y s t e m at a c o s t o f increasing repression. Bureaucratic-authoritarian tendencies also d e v e l o p e d in the M a g h r i b ' s o t h e r single-party state, A l g e r i a . B u t n o A l g e r i a n enjoyed the solid s u p p o r t that the N e o - D e s t o u r h a d afforded Bourguiba, and consequently the consolidation o f p o w e r in Algeria w a s a m o r e c o m p l e x process. Bereft o f organised forces, other than Boumedienne's A r m e e Nationale Populaire ( A N P ) , A h m e d B e n Bella made believe, a n d perhaps actually did believe, that he w a s consolidating p o w e r b y h a v i n g the F L N nominate a National Constituent A s s e m b l y that he c o u l d dominate. T h e constitution o f September 1963 formally delineated a highly centralised presidential system a n d explicitly prescribed for the F L N a role n o t dissimilar from that practised b y the N e o - D e s t o u r in T u n i s i a . B e n Bella c o m p l e t e d his edifice in 1964 b y c o n v e n i n g a party congress that acclaimed his p r o g r a m m e w i t h f e w m o d i ­ fications, mostly c o n c e r n i n g the role o f Islam. T h e Charter o f A l g i e r s castigated the state f o r ' b u r e a u c r a t i s m ' , w h i l e g l o r i f y i n g an ideal b u t i n t a n g i b l e party. B o u m e d i e n n e w o u l d sardonically o b s e r v e that B e n Bella's advisers called for ' " t h e w i t h e r i n g a w a y o f t h e s t a t e " b e f o r e it has b e e n c o n s t r u c t e d ' . 1

2

U n d e r l y i n g t h e charter's ' t h e o r e t i c a l i n t o x i c a t i o n ' w a s t h e fact o f B e n Bella ' h a v i n g t o rely u p o n the a r m y t o remain in p o w e r w h i l e at t h e s a m e time s e e k i n g t o u n d e r m i n e B o u m e d i e n n e ' s i n f l u e n c e ' . E a c h t i m e i n 1963 a n d 1 9 6 4 t h a t g u e r r i l l a l e a d e r s t o o k 3

1

C i t e d b y J e a n L e c a a n d J e a n - C l a u d e V a t i n , UAlgeriepolitique: institutions et regime ( P a r i s , 1975), 270. lbid. 270. W i l l i a m B . Q u a n d t , Revolution and political leadership: Algeria, 19)4-1968 ( C a m ­ b r i d g e , M a s s . , 1969), 228. 2

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up arms to pressure B e n Bella for a greater share o f political influence, he called u p o n the A N P t o p u t t h e m d o w n . T h e net result w a s greater influence for B o u m e d i e n n e ' s O u j d a g r o u p , w h i c h h a d b e e n n a m e d after t h e M o r o c c a n b o r d e r t o w n w h e r e Abdelaziz Bouteflika, A h m e d Medeghri, A h m e d K a i d , and Cherif B e l k a c e m had served w i t h B o u m e d i e n n e in 1 9 5 7 . B e n Bella a t t e m p t e d t o l i m i t t h e g r o u p ' s i n f l u e n c e b y c o n c e n t r a t i n g a t its expense m o r e formal p o w e r s in his o w n hands a n d b y c o o p t i n g s o m e o f t h e f o r m e r wilaya l e a d e r s i n t o t h e p a r t y . H e e v e n appointed T a h a r Z b i r i and M o h a m m e d Chaabani to k e y posts in the A N P w i t h o u t B o u m e d i e n n e ' s consent. T h e tactic d i d n o t w o r k . Chaabani openly rebelled and w a s captured b y the army and executed o n orders from B e n Bella, against B o u m e d i e n n e ' s wishes. Z b i r i o b s e r v e d that B e n Bella * constantly s o u g h t t o create clans, o p p o s i n g o n e t o the other, s o that w h e n o n e clan w a s destroyed, he w o u l d create a n e w o n e t o destroy those r e m a i n i n g ' . O n c e B o u m e d i e n n e felt s u f f i c i e n t l y t h r e a t e n e d t o s t a g e a c o u p , Z b i r i sided w i t h h i m a n d led the squad that arrested B e n Bella w i t h o u t b l o o d s h e d in the early hours o f 19 June 1 9 6 5 . 1

I n ' readjusting' the r e v o l u t i o n B o u m e d i e n n e stressed collective l e a d e r s h i p , b u t a l s o t h e n e e d f o r a s t r o n g s t a t e a p p a r a t u s t o fulfil revolutionary goals. In practice he had already concentrated c o n s i d e r a b l e p o w e r b y staffing t h e A N P w i t h f o r m e r o f f i c e r s o f the F r e n c h army. W i t h o u t r e v o l u t i o n a r y credentials o f their o w n , they w e r e necessarily loyal. T h e higher civil service, t o o , w a s staffed i n l a r g e p a r t b y A l g e r i a n s w h o h a d w o r k e d u n d e r t h e F r e n c h a n d their interests also c o n v e r g e d w i t h those o f a r e g i m e d e t e r m i n e d t o p r o t e c t t h e state apparatus f r o m interference b y t h e F L N . Legislation w a s immediately passed guaranteeing the rights o f civil servants. C o m m u n a l elections in 1967 h a d the result o f d e v e l o p i n g local clienteles that w e r e dependent o n the Ministry o f the Interior (controlled b y a m e m b e r o f the Oujda group) t o t h e d e t r i m e n t o f w h a t w a s left o f t h e p a r t y ' s i n f l u e n c e . Theoretically, collective leadership w a s exercised b y the C o u n c i l o f the R e v o l u t i o n , a s h a d o w y 26-man b o d y , the composition o f w h i c h w a s p u b l i s h e d o n l y a m o n t h after t h e c o u p . I t i n c l u d e d substantial numbers o f former guerrilla leaders, w h o w e r e also 1

C i t e d b y Q u a n d t , Revolution, 228. I n A l g e r i a n p o l i t i c a l j a r g o n a c l a n m e a n s a c l i q u e o f politicians, n o t necessarily related b y either family o r i d e o l o g i c a l ties, b u t sharing tactical interests. T h e ' O u j d a g r o u p * w o u l d b e o n e e x c e p t i o n a l l y d u r a b l e e x a m p l e .

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c o - o p t e d i n t o the party secretariat b u t e x c l u d e d f r o m the real p o w e r centres in the A N P , the security forces, a n d the k e y ministries. B y 1967 collective leadership, other than that exercised by the closely knit O u j d a g r o u p , w a s n o l o n g e r functioning. A banal labour dispute triggered an uprising in the army, led b y T a h a r Z b i r i , b u t forces loyal t o B o u m e d i e n n e easily suppressed it, a n d Z b i r i ' s p o t e n t i a l allies i n t h e c o u n c i l a n d i n t h e p a r t y w e r e a l s o r e m o v e d f r o m office. Z b i r i e s c a p e d t o T u n i s i a , b u t a s e n i o r f e l l o w officer, Said A b i d , w a s r e p o r t e d t o h a v e c o m m i t t e d suicide. H a v i n g consolidated p o w e r , B o u m e d i e n n e freely e n c o u r a g e d the d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e state u n d e r l e a d e r s h i p r e c r u i t e d p r i m a r i l y f o r its p r o f e s s i o n a l s k i l l s r a t h e r t h a n p r e v i o u s p o l i t i c a l affiliations. S i n c e , h o w e v e r , t h e p a r t y r e m a i n e d e f f e c t i v e l y a n e m p t y s h e l l d e s p i t e r e p e a t e d a t t e m p t s t o ' r e s t r u c t u r e ' it, t h e r e g i m e c o u l d n o t acquire the capacity temporarily generated in Tunisia to mobilise and regulate society. Until 1977 the o n l y structures for eliciting political participation w e r e ' p o p u l a r a s s e m b l i e s ' at t h e c o m m u n a l a n d , after 1 9 6 9 , mlqya l e v e l . B o u m e d i e n n e tried in 1972 t o build u p a p o p u l a r base b y e m b a r k i n g u p o n land reform, a lengthy process that succeeded in splintering the O u j d a g r o u p . A h m e d K a i d w a s dismissed f r o m h i s p o s i t i o n as p a r t y d i r e c t o r , a n d I n t e r i o r M i n i s t e r A h m e d M e d e g h r i died in 1974 in circumstances that remain o b s c u r e . P o s s i b l y as a r e s u l t o f t h e s e e v e n t s , C h e r i f B e l k a c e m b e c a m e p o l i t i c a l l y i n a c t i v e , a n d A b d e l a z i z B o u t e f l i k a , w h i l e r e m a i n i n g as foreign minister, appeared to play a s o m e w h a t independent political role b y v i r t u e o f his personal c o n n e x i o n s . In the face o f i n c r e a s i n g e c o n o m i c d i f f i c u l t i e s , B o u m e d i e n n e h a s t i l y set a b o u t establishing constitutional structures that w o u l d formally c o n c e n ­ trate political p o w e r o n himself. First a n e w national charter w a s p u b l i c l y d i s c u s s e d a n d ratified b y p l e b i s c i t e i n J u n e 1 9 7 6 . T h e n , w i t h little d i s c u s s i o n , a c o n s t i t u t i o n w a s s i m i l a r l y ratified in N o v e m b e r , f o l l o w e d b y a presidential election o f the single c a n d i d a t e , B o u m e d i e n n e , a n d finally, i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 7 , b y N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y elections. W h i l e granting m o r e p o w e r to the p r e s i d e n t t h a n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f 1963 h a d a c c o r d e d t o B e n B e l l a , the n e w o n e also permitted B o u m e d i e n n e to appoint a vicep r e s i d e n t arid p r i m e m i n i s t e r . B u t f r o m M a y 1 9 7 7 h e w a s r u l i n g w i t h o u t organised political support. A plurality o f fragile c o ­ a l i t i o n s c o n t i n u e d , as u n d e r B e n B e l l a , t o c o m p e t e f o r p o l i t i c a l 587

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influence, but their p o w e r bases d e p e n d e d o n personal relation­ ships a m o n g officers a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s rather t h a n o n g u e r r i l l a n e t w o r k s or p o p u l a r folio w i n g s . A s in one-party T u n i s i a , a pervasive administration contained and muted conflict b e t w e e n social forces, p r e v e n t i n g t h e m from organising. In M o r o c c o , b y contrast, the m o n a r c h y e n c o u r a g e d political c o m p e t i t i o n a m o n g different s o c i a l g r o u p s o n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f d i v i d e a n d r u l e . N o t m u c h s t i m u l a t i o n w a s n e e d e d , as t h e p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s u n l e a s h e d b y i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e h e t e r o g e n e o u s b u t at t h e s a m e t i m e r e l a t i v e l y c o h e s i v e . T h e y h a d b e e n less f r a g m e n t e d b y colonial conquest and nationalist m o v e m e n t s than those o f M o r o c c o ' s more intensively colonised neighbours. T h e only potential threat to M o h a m m e d V ' s authority w a s the Istiqlal Party. It a d v o c a t e d a constitutional m o n a r c h y b u t also u r g e d the formation o f a ' h o m o g e n e o u s , ' that is, one-party g o v e r n m e n t t o take o v e r the administrative apparatus o f the Protectorate - and i n effect t o s u b j e c t t h e s o v e r e i g n t o a n e w P r o t e c t o r a t e . M o h a m m e d V , instead, a w a r d e d cabinet positions to a splinter rival party w h i l e r e s e r v i n g leadership o f the n e w royal a r m e d forces for his son, Hassan, and other key security posts for unconditional monarchists. T h o u g h he w a s unable to p r e v e n t the Istiqlal f r o m g a i n i n g s o m e cabinet positions, neither did he d i s c o u r a g e rural expressions o f discontent against administrators f r o m the cities i m p o s e d b y the party. T h e k i n g p u r s u e d a strategy n o t unlike that attempted b y the administration o f the French Protectorate. H e e n c o u r a g e d t r a d i t i o n a l r u r a l n o t a b l e s , o f t e n o f t h e s a m e f a m i l i e s as t h o s e e a r l i e r t h r u s t a g a i n s t h i m b y t h e r e s i d e n t - g e n e r a l , t o a c t as a c o u n t e r w e i g h t t o t h e I s t i q l a l . W h e n finally i n 1 9 5 8 h e p e r m i t t e d a ' h o m o g e n e o u s ' g o v e r n m e n t to be formed, a rural rebellion o b l i g e d it t o r e c o g n i s e t h e M o u v e m e n t P o p u l a i r e , a p a r t y o f predominantly Berber supporters o f the monarchy. M e a n w h i l e t h e I s t i q l a l i t s e l f s p l i t u n d e r t h e s t r a i n s felt b y t h e m i n i s t e r s because o f c o m p e t i n g loyalties to k i n g and party, and w i t h the backing o f the U n i o n Marocaine du Travail ( U M T ) a n e w , ostensibly m o r e radical party, the U n i o n N a t i o n a l e des F o r c e s P o p u l a i r e s ( U N F P ) w a s f o u n d e d in J a n u a r y 1 9 5 9 . S u b s e q u e n t d i v i s i o n s b e t w e e n its r a d i c a l i n t e l l e c t u a l s a n d its t r a d e - u n i o n b a s e w o u l d also be exploited b y the m o n a r c h y . B y the t i m e he died in 1 9 6 1 , M o h a m m e d V h a d c o n s o l i d a t e d 588

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the m o n a r c h y ' s c o n t r o l o f the c o u n t r y s i d e t h r o u g h n e t w o r k s o f notables associated w i t h the Ministry o f the Interior. C o m m u n a l elections held in i960 further d e m o n s t r a t e d that the Istiqlal, c h a l l e n g e d in the cities b y the U N F P , c o u l d n o l o n g e r d r a w a majority o f the v o t e s . T h e time n o w seemed ripe to modernise t h e m o n a r c h y . H a s s a n I I , w h o h a d s t u d i e d l a w at t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B o r d e a u x , w a s m o r e r e f o r m - m i n d e d than his father and ready t o t r a n s f o r m h i s t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y as a n a r b i t e r i n t o t h a t o f a plebiscitary monarch-president. W i t h the collaboration o f A h m e d R e d a G u e d i r a , w h o w a s a politically astute, French-trained l a w y e r , and m o r e in the tradition o f N a p o l e o n III than o f Charles de Gaulle, Hassan aimed to acquire a strong democratic majority by e x p l o i t i n g urban divisions w h i l e k e e p i n g his solid rural base, and then to undertake reforms that w o u l d undercut support for the U N F P . T h e first p h a s e o f t h e o p e r a t i o n w a s a s u c c e s s . T h e c o n s t i t u t i o n ' t h a t I h a v e m a d e w i t h m y o w n t w o h a n d s ' (a G a u l l i s t e c h o ) w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g l y ratified b y p o p u l a r r e f e r e n d u m o n 7 D e c e m b e r 1962. Calls b y the U N F P for abstention, m o r e o v e r , w e r e n o t fully e n d o r s e d b y the U M T . T h e Istiqlal w a s then d i s m i s s e d f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t , lest i n t h e s u b s e q u e n t l e g i s l a t i v e e l e c t i o n s it c a p i t a l i s e o n its a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e t r i u m p h a n t p a l a c e . T h e k i n g , h o w e v e r , w a s n o t w i l l i n g t o c o m p r o m i s e his non-partisan status b y o p e n l y identifying w i t h G u e d i r a ' s n e w party, the F r o n t D é m o c r a t i q u e des Institutions Constitutionnelles ( F D I C ) . C o n s e q u e n t l y the s e c o n d phase failed. In b o l d l y c o n c e i v e d but hastily arranged legislative elections G u e d i r a w a s unable to w i n a majority o f the seats. M o r e o v e r the F D I C w a s a h e t e r o ­ g e n e o u s coalition o f palace personalities and traditional notables from the Popular M o v e m e n t , w h i c h w a s also divided. W i t h the h e l p o f s c a t t e r e d i n d e p e n d e n t d e p u t i e s it a c h i e v e d a p a r l i a m e n t a r y m a j o r i t y , b u t t h e o p p o s i t i o n p l a y e d o n its d i v i s i o n s r a t h e r t h a n vice versa. Instead o f b o w i n g to a n e w parliamentary majority, the k i n g b r o u g h t the constitutional experiment to an end b y d e c l a r i n g a state o f e m e r g e n c y i n J u n e 1 9 6 5 . H e c o n t i n u e d t o r e l y o n rural support to rule the cities, but had to a b a n d o n any s u s t a i n e d efforts a t r e f o r m l e s t t h e y u n d e r c u t t h e m o n a r c h y r a t h e r than progressive urban forces. Despite a n e w constitution p r o m u l g a t e d i n 1 9 7 0 , p o l i t i c a l life r e m a i n e d i n s u s p e n s e , increasingly subject to police repression ultimately b a c k e d b y the royal a r m e d forces. Hassan kept his M i n i s t e r o f the Interior, 589

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G e n e r a l O u f k i r , in p o w e r , despite his alleged part in the k i d n a p ­ p i n g and p r e s u m e d assassination o f M e h d i ben Barka, the p r i n c i p a l l e a d e r o f t h e leftist U N F P , i n P a r i s i n 1 9 6 5 , u n t i l t h e g e n e r a l t u r n e d a g a i n s t t h e k i n g i n 1 9 7 2 . P a r a d o x i c a l l y , t h e at­ tempted c o u p s o f 1971 and 1972 from w h i c h the k i n g mira­ c u l o u s l y e s c a p e d w i t h h i s life t e n d e d t o f o r t i f y h i s l e g i t i m a c y as a n i n d i s p e n s a b l e a r b i t e r a m o n g u r b a n f o r c e s fearful o f m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p . I n M a y 1 9 7 7 , all t h e p a r t i e s p a r t i c i p a t e d i n l e g i s l a t i v e elections u n d e r a n e w constitution, p r o m u l g a t e d in 1 9 7 2 , that offered less d i r e c t p o p u l a r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a n t h a t o f 1 9 6 2 . T h e k i n g c o n t i n u e d t o c o n t r o l t h e state a p p a r a t u s i n h e r i t e d f r o m t h e P r o t e c t o r a t e w h i l e also d e t e r m i n i n g t o his tactical a d v a n t a g e the g r o u n d rules for political participation. B u t in r e l y i n g for social control u p o n pluralistic competition, he exercised considerably less p o w e r t o effect s o c i a l c h a n g e t h a n t h e M a g h r i b ' s o t h e r a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e r s c o u l d at t i m e s m a r s h a l . A u t h o r i t a r i a n g o v e r n m e n t s that are neither fully c o n s t i t u t i o n a l n o r buttressed b y a totalitarian i d e o l o g y usually h a v e difficulty in acquiring legitimacy. T h e N o r t h African regimes were no e x c e p t i o n . T h e y e a c h benefited initially f r o m their respective leaders' i n v o l v e m e n t in the struggle for independence, but eventually they had to g r o u n d their authority in other forms o f l e g i t i m a t i o n . S h o r t l y after t a k i n g p o w e r , f o r i n s t a n c e , B e n B e l l a tried t o acquire ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' legitimacy b y p r o m o t i n g an A l g e r i a n ' s o c i a l i s m ' based o n the idea o f a self-managed industrial a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r . T h e m y t h o f autogestton, h o w e v e r , w a s a n u n f o r t u n a t e c h o i c e b e c a u s e it j u s t i f i e d a p r i v i l e g e d s t a t u s f o r t h e w o r k e r s o f f o r m e r c o l o n i a l estates and small enterprises, rather than for the marginal peasants and others w h o had contributed m u c h m o r e to the revolution. P r o m o t i n g self-management, m o r e o v e r , did not seem quite compatible with building a strong state. B o u m e d i e n n e s c r a p p e d autogestion i n f a v o u r o f a t h r e e - f o l d industrial, cultural, and agrarian revolution to be carried out u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f a s t r o n g state. I n T u n i s i a , t o o , a t h o r o u g h 'structural transformation' o f the e c o n o m y under the banner ' D e s t o u r S o c i a l i s m ' w a s s u p p o s e d t o e n g e n d e r e c o n o m i c take-off. U n t i l B o u r g u i b a halted the e x p e r i m e n t in 1969, the m y t h c o n ­ v e n i e n t l y j u s t i f i e d state i n t e r v e n t i o n . I n M o r o c c o , g i v e n its o s ­ t e n s i b l y l i b e r a l e c o n o m y , t h e r e w a s less stress u p o n a c h i e v e m e n t . Instead, a peculiarly M o r o c c a n synthesis o f o r t h o d o x and mara590 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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boutic Islam enlisted politically strategic * traditional intellectuals i n s u p p o r t o f t h e m o n a r c h y . S o a l s o i n T u n i s i a , after 1970 a n obsession w i t h the history and m y t h o l o g y o f the national m o v e ­ ment w a s intended t o refurbish B o u r g u i b a ' s image.

W i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f autogestion, t h e m y t h s d i d n o t o v e r t l y express the interests o f a particular class o r social s e g m e n t ; T u n i s i a n a n d A l g e r i a n s o c i a l i s m i n t h e i r official f o r m s r e j e c t e d t h e inevitability o f class conflict. E a c h r e g i m e s e e m e d , h o w e v e r , t o be conditioned b y underlying social forces, e v e n if each also e n j o y e d a m e a s u r e o f a u t o n o m y e n a b l i n g it t o r e s h a p e t h e m . O n balance the M o r o c c a n monarchy, b y e n c o u r a g i n g social pluralism, s e e m e d t h e m o s t i m m o b i l i s e d b y t h e f o r c e s it h a d h e l p e d t o c r e a t e . Since social control depended u p o n maximising the n u m b e r o f c o n t e n d i n g forces, t h e r e g i m e c o u l d n o t systematically sacrifice the interests o f any for the sake o f an o v e r a l l d e s i g n . F o r instance, sufficient c o n c e s s i o n s h a d t o b e m a d e t o t h e u r b a n p r o l e t a r i a t t o maintain the credibility o f the U n i o n Marocaine d u Travail, b e c a u s e it s e r v e d as a c o u n t e r w e i g h t t o t h e U N F P . Y e t t h e c o m m e r c i a l interests o f the Fassi b o u r g e o i s i e also h a d t o b e r e s p e c t e d , lest t h e I s t i q l a l r e j o i n i t s r i v a l . I n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a t t h e expense o f the countryside, o r e v e n agrarian reform, had t o b e ruled o u t because such policies w o u l d have endangered the royal control o f the countryside exercised t h r o u g h traditional notables. M o r o c c a n s o c i e t y w a s in fact far m o r e c o m p l e x t h a n p a r t y labels indicated. T h e notables o f the Popular M o v e m e n t , for instance, did n o t constitute a h o m o g e n e o u s social force. T h e m o n a r c h y w a s constrained b y neither a landed feudal ' n o r an urban b o u r g e o i s class, b u t it h a d t o b u y off influential i n d i v i d u a l s a n d families t o m i n i m i s e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f different i n t e r e s t s c o a l e s c i n g . A t first the r o y a l p a t r o n a g e n e t w o r k s d e p e n d e d u p o n a judicious distri­ b u t i o n o f t h e spoils o f settler s o c i e t y ; s u b s e q u e n t l y u n d e r H a s s a n I I , ' p l a n n e d c o r r u p t i o n * i n v o l v e d v i r t u a l l y all p o l i t i c a l a c t o r s w i t h t h e s u p r e m e fixer, t h e k i n g . T h e m a j o r c o n s t r a i n t u p o n t h e m o n a r c h y w a s t h e m o r a l as w e l l a s t h e financial e x p e n s e , y e t ' M o r o c c o c o u l d u n d e r t a k e its o w n h o u s e c l e a n i n g o n l y at t h e c o s t o f reduced political c o n t r o l ' . c

2

In Algeria, b y contrast, social forces w e r e considerably m o r e fragmented b y independence, and the regime managed to keep 1

R é m y L e v e a u , Le Fellah marocain défenseur du trône ( P a r i s , 1976), 9 1 - 4 , s t r e s s e s t h e political influence o f these élites trained in traditional Islamic s c h o o l s a n d universities. J o h n W a t e r b u r y , ' C o r r u p t i o n , political stability a n d d e v e l o p m e n t : E g y p t a n d M o r o c c o ' , Government and Opposition, 1976, 1 1 , 4, 437. 2

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corruption under control despite p u m p i n g considerable oil wealth into the public sector. Consequently neither organised pressure groups n o r vertically integrated patronage n e t w o r k s put u p o n the r e g i m e constraints that w e r e a n a l o g o u s t o those existing in M o r o c c o . O n c e Boumedienne had consolidated p o w e r , the r e g i m e , in fact, e n j o y e d c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e a u t o n o m y t h a n either o f its n e i g h b o u r s . T o b e s u r e , s o c i a l i n e q u a l i t i e s b e c a m e v i s i b l e after i n d e p e n d e n c e , d e s p i t e a n officially s o c i a l i s t i d e o l o g y , b u t t h e spoils o f settler society w e r e distributed m o r e s p o n t a n e o u s l y a n d widely than in M o r o c c o , and did n o t consolidate either an Algerian bourgeoisie o r any other organised social force. T h e r e w a s n o h a r d e v i d e n c e that t h e state's m a n a g e r s a n d higher civil servants constituted o r were in the process o f constituting a self-perpetuating ruling class. H o w e v e r , s o m e M a r x i s t critics h a v e a r g u e d that, o n c e B o u m e d i e n n e h a d crushed t h e Z b i r i r e v o l t a n d w i t h it p r e s s u r e s f o r s e l f - m a n a g e m e n t , t h e regime consolidated an administrative bourgeoisie. Indeed, be­ cause o f the earlier d e v e l o p m e n t o f A l g e r i a n capitalism d u r i n g the c o l o n i a l e r a , t h e l a n d w a s e v e n less e q u i t a b l y d i s t r i b u t e d i n A l g e r i a t h a n i n M o r o c c o . I t is p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e c i v i l s e r v a n t s a n d technocrats recruited into the state apparatus b y v i r t u e o f their educational qualifications came from the relatively m o r e privileged landed families. C o m m u n a l reform in A l g e r i a m a y also h a v e e n h a n c e d t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e s e f a m i l i e s w i t h i n t h e state a p p a r a t u s , w h i c h , as i n M o r o c c o , w a s c o n t r o l l e d a n d r e g u l a t e d t h r o u g h t h e Ministry o f the Interior rather than the party. W i t h i n B o u m e d i e n n e ' s c o r e o f p r o f e s s i o n a l officers i m p o r t a n t f a m i l i e s w e r e a l s o r e p r e s e n t e d , a s is i l l u s t r a t e d b y t h e p r e s e n c e w i t h i n t h e O u j d a g r o u p o f A h m e d K a i d and A h m e d M e d e g h r i . B u t the agrarian r e f o r m o f 1 9 7 2 , w h a t e v e r its l o n g - r u n i m p a c t , fulfilled o n e immediate short-term purpose. B y w i p i n g o u t absentee land­ o w n e r s a n d l i m i t i n g p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y , it b r o k e u p n a s c e n t c o n n e x i o n s b e t w e e n t h e l a n d o w n i n g b o u r g e o i s i e a n d t h e official c o n t r o l l i n g state apparatus. A s B o u m e d i e n n e explained in intro­ d u c i n g the r e f o r m , Either the agrarian revolution will s u c c e e d . . . or w e will e n d u p w i t h a n e w Algerian bourgeoisie that will perhaps b e t o u g h e r a n d m o r e vile than the colonial b o u r g e o i s i e that used t o exploit u s . ' T h e other possible social base for an administrative b o u r g e o i s i e w a s the private industrial sector, b u t 4

1

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de l*Afrique du Nord, 1972, 1 1 , 720.

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a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e g u l a t i o n s a n d t a x a t i o n l a w s w e r e still s t i f l i n g i t in t h e m i d - 1 9 7 0 s . C o l l u s i o n b e t w e e n t h e p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e s e c t o r might eventually generate a bourgeoisie, but meanwhile the regime enjoyed considerable autonomy and seemed constrained only b y personal rivalries a m o n g the t o p leadership a n d perhaps, as a r e s u l t o f its m i l i t a r y b a c k g r o u n d , b y i t s v e r y d e t a c h m e n t f r o m civil society. Until 1969 the Tunisian regime enjoyed greater coherence than e i t h e r o f its n e i g h b o u r s b y v i r t u e o f i t s g r o u n d i n g i n a p o l i t i c a l class created before i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h i s class c o u l d b e identified w i t h an educated élite, b u t n o t w i t h a n y o f the social g r o u p s , s u c h as w o r k e r s , m e r c h a n t s o r l a n d o w n e r s , c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e p a r t y t h r o u g h the national organisations. It s e e m e d f o r a w h i l e , in fact, t h a t t h e o n l y m a j o r c o n s t r a i n t u p o n b e n S a l a h ' s efforts t o transform T u n i s i a n e c o n o m i c a n d class structures w a s insufficient capital a c c u m u l a t i o n in w h a t after all w a s t h e p o o r e s t o f t h e t h r e e Maghribian societies. Possibly the hesitations o f international o r g a n i s a t i o n s , n o t a b l y t h e W o r l d B a n k , t o k e e p financing e x p e n ­ s i v e state p r o j e c t s c o n t r i b u t e d t o b e n S a l a h ' s d o w n f a l l . B u t h i s a m b i t i o u s attempts t o regulate virtually all sectors o f the e c o n o m y cut deeply into the regime's political credit at h o m e . F o r instance, the party replaced a veteran trade unionist, H a b i b A c h o u r , w i t h a p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n o r at the head o f the U G T T , in order t o p u n i s h the union for protesting against currency devaluation in 1964. N e i t h e r party n o r u n i o n c o u l d retain plausible claims t o represent a n y t h i n g o t h e r t h a n t h e state apparatus. 1

A s t h e party disintegrated u n d e r t h e i m p a c t o f b e n Salah's state capitalism, the social forces that h a d originally created it freed t h e m s e l v e s f r o m its d i s c i p l i n e . I f b e n S a l a h c o u l d r e l y u p o n t h e party t o i m p l e m e n t r e f o r m s o f w h o l e s a l e a n d e v e n retail c o m m e r c e that primarily hit p e o p l e f r o m D j e r b a w h o played a d o m i n a n t role i n t h e s e s e c t o r s , h e c o u l d n o t c o u n t o n it t o t r a n s f o r m a g r a r i a n structures i n its historic s t r o n g h o l d , t h e Sahel. It w a s a r e v o l t o f peasants f r o m O u a r d a n i n e , a village that had o n c e supplied fellaghas f o r B o u r g u i b a , t h a t s e a l e d b e n S a l a h ' s f a t e . E v e n s o , t h e peasants p r o b a b l y h a d n o t demonstrated spontaneously, for leading m e m b e r s o f t h e political class h a d a c c u m u l a t e d p r o p e r t y after i n d e p e n d e n c e , i n c l u d i n g s o m e o f t h e s e t t l e r s ' l a n d a n d o t h e r small enterprises. A f t e r b e n Salah's demise in 1969 parts o f the 1

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public sector, including land and i m p o r t - e x p o r t m o n o p o l i e s , also reverted

to

private

and

politically

well

connected

hands.

Contracting business and the tourist 'industry', already d e v e l o p ­ i n g d u r i n g the b e n Salah era, s u b s e q u e n t l y possible that the

new

Tunisian

flourished.

bourgeoisie would

It seemed begin

to

d e v e l o p sufficient a u t o n o m y t o u n d e r m i n e p a r t y h e g e m o n y . A t the same time the trade-union m o v e m e n t w a s also b e c o m i n g m o r e independent

under a leadership that had o w e d m o r e t o

Farhat

H a c h e d than to B o u r g u i b a . R e g i o n a l rivalries seemed, t o o , to be intensifying in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s ; the party's leadership w a s increas­ i n g l y S a h e l i a n , as w e r e t h e t o p m i n i s t e r s a n d o t h e r h o l d e r s o f strategic offices; m o r e o v e r , conflict w i t h i n the t o p tended

t o reflect traditional

leadership

rivalries a m o n g Sahel villages. I f

u n d e r B o u r g u i b a t h e r e g i m e still e n j o y e d a c e r t a i n a u t o n o m y , it seemed o n l y a matter o f time before the various social forces w o u l d p r o d u c e a m o r e pluralistic system.

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In the areas o f e c o n o m i c a n d cultural p o l i c y , the three r e g i m e s p u r s u e d different strategies w h i c h reflected the differences in their u n d e r l y i n g social bases. A l g e r i a after 1967 a n d T u n i s i a until 1969 v i g o r o u s l y e x p a n d e d their p u b l i c sectors; in 1970 total p u b l i c e x p e n d i t u r e s c o m p r i s e d 43 a n d 4 1 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e G D P s , c o m p a r e d t o a M o r o c c a n t o t a l o f o n l y 26 p e r c e n t . E v e n d i s c o u n t i n g p e t r o l e u m r e v e n u e s , rates o f p u b l i c e x p e n d i t u r e w e r e c o n s i d e r a b l y h i g h e r in A l g e r i a and T u n i s i a than in M o r o c c o . Boosted by petroleum revenues, Algerian public investment was a l m o s t t r i p l e t h a t o f M o r o c c o after 1 9 7 3 , t h o u g h M o r o c c o h a d the s l i g h t l y larger p o p u l a t i o n . C l e a r l y A l g e r i a c o u l d afford t o e m b a r k u p o n m o r e a m b i t i o u s d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n s t h a n its n e i g h ­ b o u r s . T o s u s t a i n its ' r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' l e g i t i m a c y , t h e s t a t e w a s t o i m p l a n t ' industrialising industries', or industries that w o u l d lead t o further industrialisation, w h e r e a s M o r o c c o , f o l l o w e d after 1969 by Tunisia, simply p r o m o t e d enclaves exporting agricultural and m i n e r a l p r o d u c e t o E u r o p e , a n d s e r v i c i n g its t o u r i s t s . Y e t it w a s hardly certain that i m p o r t i n g expensive factories utilising the latest t e c h n o l o g i e s w o u l d liberate the A l g e r i a n e c o n o m y , m u c h less result in self-sustaining industrial e x p a n s i o n . T h e s u c c e s s o f t h e A l g e r i a n e x p e r i m e n t d e p e n d e d a l s o i n p a r t o n its c u l t u r a l a n d 594

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agrarian * r e v o l u t i o n s ' - d e v e l o p m e n t in areas w h e r e M o r o c c o and Tunisia had m o r e coherent infrastructures. I n t h e t e n y e a r s f o l l o w i n g i n d e p e n d e n c e it w a s T u n i s i a t h a t p l a c e d the greatest stress o n ' h u m a n i n v e s t m e n t ' , f o r the B o u r g u i b i s t élite h a d b e e n c o n v i n c e d t h a t e d u c a t i o n w a s t h e k e y t o p r o g r e s s . E v e n before e n g a g i n g in systematic e c o n o m i c p l a n n i n g , B o u r ­ guiba urged a psychological revolution against ' r e t r o g r a d e ' be­ h a v i o u r s u c h as w o m e n w e a r i n g v e i l s ( ' t h o s e filthy r a g s ' ) a n d w o r k e r s slacking off d u r i n g the m o n t h o f R a m a d a n ( w h e n M u s l i m s a r e e x p e c t e d t o fast b e t w e e n s u n r i s e a n d s u n s e t ) . I n 195 8 he virtually destroyed the bastion o f the religious establishment, Z i t o u n a U n i v e r s i t y , t o g e t h e r w i t h its s u p p o r t i n g K o r a n i c s c h o o l s , by integrating them w i t h the national educational system. B o u r ­ g u i b a c o u l d w a g e his veritable cultural r e v o l u t i o n , o f c o u r s e , o n l y because o f w i d e s p r e a d s u p p o r t f r o m a bilingual élite that in turn m a n a g e d the apparatus o f a mass party. E v e n so, he had to back-track o v e r R a m a d a n . In retrospect, his major c o n t r i b u t i o n to Tunisia m a y h a v e been to unify and almost universalise an essentially bilingual f o r m o f instruction, thus perpetuating an o p e n , E u r o p e - o r i e n t e d é l i t e a n d g i v i n g it a m a s s b a s e . U n l i k e Ataturk, h o w e v e r , he subsequently made peace w i t h the Islamic e s t a b l i s h m e n t a n d a p p r o p r i a t e l y a p p o i n t e d as muftî a b i l i n g u a l scholar w h o headed the Islamic Studies department o f the U n i ­ versity o f T u n i s , thus furthering Tunisia's cultural interactions. F o r different reasons neither M o r o c c o n o r A l g e r i a w a s a c h i e v ­ ing such a balance. In M o r o c c o the m o n a r c h y required the legitimation o f traditional intellectuals; hence the Q a r a w i y i n e U n i v e r s i t y at F e z a n d t h e B e n Y o u s s e f U n i v e r s i t y at M a r r a k e s h , t h o u g h less d e v e l o p e d t h a n Z i t o u n a at i n d e p e n d e n c e , w e r e expanded rather than integrated into the national system. W i t h i n the state u n i v e r s i t y s y s t e m separate sections d i s p e n s e d instruction in F r e n c h a n d A r a b i c , s y s t e m a t i c a l l y d i v i d i n g t h e e d u c a t e d é l i t e . R e c k l e s s efforts after i n d e p e n d e n c e t o A r a b i s e i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e p r i m a r y s c h o o l s resulted in serious d e t e r i o r a t i o n at the s e c o n d a r y l e v e l , b e c a u s e A r a b i s t s w e r e n o t available in sufficient n u m b e r s to teach technical subjects. Efforts in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s t o increase the hours d e v o t e d to F r e n c h in the primary s c h o o l s met, h o w e v e r , w i t h the o p p o s i t i o n o f the Istiqlal, w h i c h w a s w e d d e d t o total A r a b i s a t i o n . T h e m o n a r c h y c o u l d n o t afford t o s a c r i f i c e its r o o t s

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in A r a b - I s l a m i c culture f o r t h e n e e d s o f a n e c o n o m y o r i e n t e d t o French markets. In A l g e r i a , b y contrast, traditional intellectuals h a d n o p o w e r base at independence, a n d the legitimacy o f neither B e n Bella n o r B o u m e d i e n n e d e p e n d e d u p o n them. B u t A l g e r i a h a d t o create a national culture, whereas the former Protectorates h a d only to adapt theirs. E d u c a t e d elites h a d articulated their respective Tunisian and M o r o c c a n heritages before independence in w a y s that m o s t o f the A l g e r i a n nationalist leaders c o u l d n o t . A f t e r independence, consequently, cultural reconstruction had an ur­ g e n c y in A l g e r i a that w a s n o t present in the other t w o countries. T h e fact, t o o , that t h e K a b y l e s h a d e n j o y e d d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e French educational opportunities made the problem o f 'nationbuilding ' e v e n m o r e urgent - a n d potentially divisive. A s in M o r o c c o , Arabisation o f the colonial school system w a s encou­ raged, b u t m o r e cautiously n o t o n l y f o r lack o f trained Arabists but also because m a n y o f the s c h o o l teachers inherited from the French administration w e r e Berbers from the K a b y l e . Shortly after i n d e p e n d e n c e a M i n i s t r y o f R e l i g i o u s A f f a i r s w a s c r e a t e d , a n d b y 1965 i t w a s e s t a b l i s h i n g a t r a d i t i o n a l s y s t e m o f s c h o o l s a n d Islamic institutes, as t h o u g h A l g e r i a w e r e d e t e r m i n e d t o b u i l d u p the obstacles t o bilingualism that h a d already thwarted M o r o c c o ' s educational planning. B y 1 9 7 6 one-quarter o f the students in A l g e r i a ' s state universities w e r e f o l l o w i n g c o u r s e s t a u g h t e x ­ c l u s i v e l y in A r a b i c , a n d in fields s u c h as l a w a n d letters t h e F r e n c h section appeared t o h a v e e v e n less future than in M o r o c c o . A n i d e o l o g i c a l stress o n n a t i o n a l u n i t y m a d e cultural b i f u r c a t i o n less acceptable than in M o r o c c o , yet Algeria's need for technically trained, bilingual o r multilingual cadres w a s also greater, g i v e n its s t r e s s o n i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n . I n d e e d , fifteen y e a r s a f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e A l g e r i a r e m a i n e d t h e land o f cultural paradox. Officially the National Charter established t h e p r i n c i p l e o f a n A l g e r i a n urnma, u s i n g f o r t h e first t i m e a t e r m Tunisians, Moroccans, and other Arabic-speaking peoples had hitherto reserved for the A r a b , and originally for the Islamic, c o m m u n i t y . I n its n e w c o n t e x t t h e terms perhaps placated t h e B e r b e r K a b y l e s , m u c h a s b e l o n g i n g t o a n A r a b umma h a d s e r v e d the cultural interest o f A r a b Christians in the N e a r East. Y e t the option o f Arabisation w a s 'irreversible' and w a s eventually to ' exclude the existence o f t w o juxtaposed sectors' in the educational 596

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1

system. T h e traditional system o f religious education w a s also to b e superseded b y a greater e m p h a s i s o n Islam in t h e state schools. B u t meanwhile m o r e university students w e r e f o l l o w i n g e x c l u s i v e l y F r e n c h instruction in A l g e r i a than in t h e rest o f N o r t h Africa, and the graduates o f the French sections w e r e so favoured in career o p p o r t u n i t i e s o v e r those o f the A r a b i c sections that t h e A r a b i s t s in l a w a n d letters w e n t o n strike in 1 9 7 7 , d e m a n d i n g that p u b l i c - s e c t o r c o m p a n i e s A r a b i s e their a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s o as t o b e able t o hire t h e m . O f course student strikes h a d b e c o m e c o m m o n p l a c e in M o r o c c o and Tunisia. E v e n before Hassan II succeeded t o the throne, students represented b y the U n i o n Nationale des Etudiants Marocains ( U N E M ) had sided w i t h M e h d i b e n Barka in o p p o s i n g the m o n a r c h y ' s consolidation o f political p o w e r t h r o u g h the c r o w n prince's control o f the army. U N E M , w i t h support from the majority o f students, consistently s u p p o r t e d t h e radical w i n g o f t h e U N F P , a n d s t u d e n t o p p o s i t i o n i n t e n s i f i e d after t h e k i d ­ n a p p i n g and p r e s u m e d assassination o f b e n B a r k a in 1965. U N E M w a s dissolved in 1973 b u t the agitation continued. T u n i s i a n students, t o o , a c q u i r e d political g r i e v a n c e s . A majority in t h e late 1960s o b j e c t e d t o the p a r t y ' s r i g i d c o n t r o l o f t h e s t u d e n t organisation, the U n i o n Generate des Etudiants Tunisiens ( U G E T ) . F r o m 1 9 7 1 until 1976 the g o v e r n m e n t did n o t e v e n c o n v e n e the annual U G E T congress, and the students repudiated the leadership elected in 1976 in favour o f other legally u n r e c o g ­ nised representatives. I f the Tunisians w e r e i n v o l v e d in strikes and d e m o n s t r a t i o n s less frequently than the M o r o c c a n s , their b e h a v i o u r w a s e v e n less tolerable t o a political elite that p l a c e d a greater value o n student solidarity w i t h the regime. U n d e r l y i n g their respective political g r i e v a n c e s , h o w e v e r , w a s a g r o w i n g realisation shared b y the students and regimes o f b o t h countries that the educational systems w e r e n o t adapted t o e c o n o m i c needs. A f t e r 1966 b o t h g o v e r n m e n t s h a d tacitly d r o p p e d their g o a l o f u n i v e r s a l p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n , b u t it w a s p o l i t i c a l l y d i f f i c u l t t o c u t back or e v e n prevent increasing enrolments in secondary and higher education despite the diminishing e m p l o y m e n t oppor­ tunities for graduates. Table 1 1 . 1 , comparing secondary and higher education enrol­ ments for selected years in the three countries, s h o w s that 1

F r o n t d e L i b e r a t i o n N a t i o n a l e . Charte Nationale ( A l g i e r s , 1976), 67.

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T a b l e i I . I . The evolution of secondary and higher education in the Maghrib (ooos).

Algeria Morocco Tunisia

secondary higher secondary higher secondary higher

1961-2

1966-7

47-5

134.7

3* 99.0

9-3 241.7

4.8 65.2

7-5 120.6

3.6

7-1

1970-1 28 .7 22.6

a

7

a

298.9

1974-5 419.8 359 400.0

13.6

32.8

I953

I79.O

IO. I

13-7

Note: Enrolments as percentages of eligible populations were not computed, but it should be noted that in 1974 the total populations of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia were respectively 16.3, 16.9, and 5.6 million. a

1971-2-

Algerian enrolments were surpassing those o f M o r o c c o b y the mid-1970s. T h e regime h a d successfully enlisted university ac­ t i v i s t s t o assist t h e a g r a r i a n r e v o l u t i o n d u r i n g v a c a t i o n s , b u t ironically they tended t o c o m e f r o m t h e F r e n c h sections, a n d at the Universities o f Algiers a n d Constantine conflict w i t h the A r a b i s t s e r u p t e d i n 1975 b e c a u s e candidates f o r student e l e c t i o n s w e r e r e q u i r e d t o h a v e p a r t i c i p a t e d as v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . F r o m a primary-school base in 1 9 7 4 almost d o u b l e that o f M o r o c c o , A l g e r i a c o n t i n u e d t o e x p a n d e d u c a t i o n a t all l e v e l s , w i t h p r i o r i t y a c c o r d e d t o s c i e n t i f i c a n d t e c h n i c a l fields. B u t r a p i d expansion coupled with Arabisation w a s probably not so much m e e t i n g t h e c o u n t r y ' s needs in skilled m a n p o w e r as increasing d i s g u i s e d u n e m p l o y m e n t i n t h e b u r g e o n i n g state a p p a r a t u s . If student unrest h a d underlying e c o n o m i c causes in all three c o u n t r i e s , c u l t u r a l life a l s o t e n d e d t o r e f l e c t a g r o w i n g m a l a i s e . A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e m o s t literature c o n t i n u e d , e x c e p t in T u n i s i a , to b e written in French and published in France. T h o u g h the A l g e r i a n poet, M a l e k Haddad, lamented that they w e r e 'direct v i c t i m s o f c o l o n i a l a g g r e s s i o n . . . expelled f r o m their l a n g u a g e just as t h e f e l l a h s h a d b e e n e x p r o p r i a t e d ' , A l g e r i a n o u t p u t i n c r e a s e d after 1 9 6 5 . D e s p i t e efforts o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o ' r e c u p e r a t e ' s u c h n o v e l i s t s a s M o h a m m e d D i b , a n d t h e y o u n g firebrand R a c h i d B o u d j e r a , t h e y preferred, like their y o u n g M o r o c c a n c o u n t e r p a r t s , M o h a m m e d K h a i r - E d d i n e and Tahar Ben Jelloun, to live abroad. 1

1

L e c a a n d V a t i n , UAlgirie

politique, 295-6.

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I n D i b ' s Le Maitre de cbasse, p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 7 3 , p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y in c o n t e m p o r a r y A l g e r i a , w h i l e n o t explicitly c o n d e m n e d , seems as d i s t a n t a n d a l i e n a s i n t h e c o l o n i a l e r a h e d e s c r i b e d i n a n e a r l i e r t r i l o g y . F o r B o u d j e r a ' t h e C l a n ' r u l e s * B a r b a r y ' , a n d it a r r e s t s a n d p e r h a p s t o r t u r e s t h e h e r o o f La Repudiation, w h i c h a p p e a r e d i n 1969. Boudjera w a s n o m o r e polemical in his descriptions o f A l g e r i a t h a n K h a i r - E d d i n e o f M o r o c c o i n Le Deterreur, p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 7 3 . T h e better y o u n g writers in A r a b i c w e r e also c o n t r o ­ versial. T h e U n i o n o f Tunisian Writers tried t o e x c l u d e y o u n g formalists, b u t o n e o f their leaders, E z z e d i n e M a d a n i , w r o t e plays that criticised the regime b y depicting autocracy in historical settings. T h o u g h a Tunisian propagandist boasted in 1973 o f a ' n e w profession b e i n g created, that o f cultural o r g a n i s e r s ' , a counter-culture also seemed t o b e d e v e l o p i n g , b u t within a national tradition that seemed m o r e assured than that o f A l g e r i a . 1

A s far as e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t w a s c o n c e r n e d , e a c h r e g i m e concentrated o n the m o d e r n agricultural, manufacturing, and m i n i n g sectors that h a d been largely in E u r o p e a n hands before i n d e p e n d e n c e . Little w a s d o n e in the traditional rural areas. C o n s e q u e n t l y u r b a n i s a t i o n c o u l d n o t b e c o n t r o l l e d , d e s p i t e efforts as e a r l y as 1 9 5 8 i n T u n i s i a t o s t e m it b y t e a r i n g u p s h a n t y - t o w n s and sending squatters back t o the countryside. T h e most important economic safety-valve w a s the European labour market. B y the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s as m a n y N o r t h A f r i c a n i m m i g r a n t s w e r e l i v i n g i n E u r o p e , f o r the m o s t part in F r a n c e , as there h a d b e e n E u r o p e a n s i n N o r t h A f r i c a t w o d e c a d e s e a r l i e r - o v e r a m i l l i o n a n d half. T h e m a j o r i t y c a m e f r o m A l g e r i a , w h e r e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t efforts h a d been the m o s t ambitious. Since the Algerian investments w e r e h i g h l y capital intensive, centred o n p e t r o l e u m , iron a n d steel, a n d manufacturing industries i n v o l v i n g a h i g h level o f t e c h n o l o g y , non-agricultural e m p l o y m e n t w a s n o t expanding rapidly e n o u g h t o a b s o r b natural increases in available m a n p o w e r , m u c h less rural m i g r a n t s . B u t t h e E u r o p e a n l a b o u r m a r k e t dried u p as a result o f the w o r l d recession that b e g a n in 1975, a n d France banned further i m m i g r a t i o n . F a m i l y p l a n n i n g w a s officially e n c o u r a g e d in T u n i s i a , w i t h modest success, but w a s virtually abandoned in M o r o c c o d u e t o o p p o s i t i o n b y the Istiqlal. A l g e r i a ' s hospitals d i d n o t publicise 1

Annuaire de PAfrique du Nord, 1 9 7 } , 1 2 , 4 4 .

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c o n t r a c e p t i o n facilities, d u e t o a c o m b i n a t i o n o f religious a n d ideological pressures. A l l three regimes d i d try, h o w e v e r , t o d a m the rural tide b y u n d e r t a k i n g public w o r k s projects : P r o m o t i o n Nationale in M o r o c c o , a n d similar ' w o r k s i t e s for the struggle against u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t ' in Tunisia, w e r e financed largely w i t h assistance f r o m the U n i t e d States until the mid-1960s b u t subsequently they dwindled, because o f decreasing aid. Tunisia, f o l l o w e d b y A l g e r i a , then tried t o stabilise its p e o p l e o n t h e land b y b u i l d i n g a n e x t e n s i v e n e t w o r k o f state c o o p e r a t i v e s . A l l that r e m a i n e d o f b e n S a l a h ' s s c h e m e o f a g r a r i a n r e f o r m in T u n i s i a after 1969, h o w e v e r , w e r e the c o o p e r a t i v e s , i n fact state farms, o r i g i n a l l y i n t r o d u c e d o n s o m e o f the f o r m e r settler estates. N e i t h e r M o r o c c o n o r T u n i s i a w a s w i l l i n g t o e m b a r k o n a real r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f indigenously o w n e d property. B y contrast, Algeria's 'agrarian r e v o l u t i o n ' e f f e c t e d s o m e r e d i s t r i b u t i o n after 1 9 7 2 , b u t o n l y a m i n o r i t y o f t h e landless actually benefited. M o r e o v e r , at least one-quarter o f these apparently refused in 1974 t o stay o n the land because traditional agriculture n o l o n g e r appeared v i a b l e . T h e r e g i m e h a d constructed s o m e h u n d r e d ' socialist villages ' b y 1 9 7 7 , b u t a t c o s t s p e r h a p s t r i p l e t h e b u d g e t e d $5000 p e r f a m i l y d w e l l i n g . T h e second four-year plan (1974-7) continued to favour industry o v e r agriculture, and n e w industrial projects w e r e expected t o cost five t i m e s a s m u c h a s n e w a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d i r r i g a t i o n s c h e m e s . M o r o c c o and Tunisia devoted proportionately more public resources t o agriculture, b u t investments tended (despite s o m e s y m b o l i c land d i s t r i b u t i o n , n o t a b l y i n M o r o c c o in 1 9 7 2 after t h e s e c o n d a t t e m p t o n H a s s a n ' s life) t o b e n e f i t e s t a b l i s h e d l a n d o w n e r s p r o d u c i n g for a m o d e r n e x p o r t sector rather than the rural masses, o n l y s o m e o f w h o m c o u l d b e ' a b s o r b e d ' into that sector as hired h a n d s . I n M o r o c c o t h e n a t i o n a l i r r i g a t i o n office w a s a b o l i s h e d in 1964 s o that t h e M i n i s t r y o f the Interior c o u l d exercise c o n t r o l o v e r irrigated areas. S u b s e q u e n t l y a series o f d a m s , w h i l e d e ­ v e l o p i n g M o r o c c o ' s tremendous irrigation potential, principally i m p r o v e d the properties o f m e d i u m a n d large landowners be­ h o l d e n t o t h e r e g i m e . T u n i s i a ' s irrigated areas m o r e than d o u b l e d after i n d e p e n d e n c e , b u t l a n d o w n e r s b e n e f i t i n g f r o m p u b l i c i n ­ vestments w e r e required to reimburse the government. 1

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Bruno Etienne, U Algérie, cultures et révolution (Paris, 1977), 219. République Algérienne Démocratique et Populaire, Ile Plan quadriennal 1974-1977 Rapport général (Algiers, 1974), 89. 2

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In Algeria, t o o , m o s t o f the public investment in agriculture until the early 1970s w a s channelled t o the m o d e r n sector, especially for the u p k e e p o f lands that h a d b e l o n g e d t o the settlers. T h o u g h s o m e third o f these s e e m t o h a v e b e e n a c q u i r e d after i n d e p e n d e n c e b y p r i v a t e A l g e r i a n o w n e r s , t h e rest w e r e o r g a n i s e d into cooperatives run in theory b y former agricultural w o r k e r s or, in s o m e cases, b y veterans o f the w a r for i n d e p e n d e n c e . M o s t o f t h e s e s o - c a l l e d s e l f - m a n a g e d f a r m s r a n at a c o n s i d e r a b l e l o s s f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e , a n d m u c h o f t h e s t a t e ' s agricultural b u d g e t w a s spent o n an administration designed t o s u p e r v i s e t h e m , p r o v i d e t h e m w i t h seeds, a n d fertiliser, a n d m a r k e t their p r o d u c e . P r o d u c t i v i t y d r o p p e d b y as m u c h as h a l f i n t h e first f i v e y e a r s a n d n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t i o n s u b s e q u e n t l y stagnated o r declined. B y the mid-1970s Algeria w a s spending at l e a s t o n e - t h i r d o f i t s p e t r o l e u m r e v e n u e s o n f o o d i m p o r t s . W h i l e M o r o c c o and Tunisia also had t o i m p o r t w h e a t , their a g r i c u l t u r a l s i t u a t i o n s w e r e n o t as c a t a s t r o p h i c . 1

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In all three c o u n t r i e s , then, a rural sub-proletariat c o n t i n u e d , as b e f o r e i n d e p e n d e n c e , t o m o v e i n t o t h e c i t i e s . B e t w e e n 1 9 6 6 a n d 1973, for example, Algeria's 'urban and semi-urban' population w a s e s t i m a t e d t o h a v e i n c r e a s e d b y a l m o s t 50 p e r c e n t , c o m p a r e d to a rural increase o f o n l y 14 p e r cent. R u r a l dislocation w a s least severe in M o r o c c o , b u t b y 1971 o v e r one-third o f the p o p u l a t i o n w a s urban. U n e m p l o y m e n t , perhaps highest in Algeria, w a s increasing everywhere, and none o f the regimes seemed capable o f d a m m i n g the rural e x o d u s . I n a l l t h r e e c o u n t r i e s it w a s a s s u m e d i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s t h a t t h e s o l u t i o n t o this p r o b l e m w a s rapid industrialisation. H o w e v e r , t h e M o r o c c a n five-year plan elaborated in i960 w a s never imple­ m e n t e d , in part f o r lack o f a d e q u a t e financial resources, b u t i n part, t o o , b e c a u s e o f the m o n a r c h y ' s interest in s h o r i n g u p its f o l l o w i n g a m o n g r u r a l n o t a b l e s . I n T u n i s i a , B o u r g u i b a g a v e b e n S a l a h full f r e e d o m in 1962 t o i m p l e m e n t plans that the F r e n c h e c o n o m i s t , G e r a r d Destanne de Bernis, had helped h i m elaborate in 1956. H e a v y industry, i n c l u d i n g iron a n d steel, w a s t o b e created t o generate a self-sustaining industrialisation process that w o u l d eventually a b s o r b the rural migrants. T h e o p p o r t u n i t y costs o f 1

E t i e n n e , U Algérie, 213. K a d e r A m m o u r , C h r i s t i a n L e u c a t e a n d J e a n - J a c q u e s M o u l i n , ha Vote algérienne ( P a r i s , 1974), 73. 2

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such industries w e r e n o t carefully studied, for the value o f an industrial infrastructure t o o k precedence o v e r 'capitalist' c o n ­ siderations o f profitability. It w a s a s s u m e d that a steel industry o p e r a t i n g at a l o s s w o u l d n e v e r t h e l e s s i n t h e l o n g r u n s a v e f o r e i g n currency and stimulate manufacturing industries. T h e experiment failed in T u n i s i a t h r o u g h a lack o f capital n e e d e d f o r s u c h expensive investment, and the r e g i m e turned instead t o private foreign enterprise, offering favourable terms for investments in small enterprises geared t o E u r o p e a n markets. M o r o c c o , t o o , a t t e m p t e d t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s e its c a p i t a l b y s t i m u l a t i n g j o i n t v e n t u r e s a i m e d at e x p o r t m a r k e t s , a n d b o t h c o u n t r i e s a l s o generated considerable invisible foreign-exchange earning b y encouraging foreign tourism. Algeria, o n the other hand, rejected dependence o n foreign capital and readily accepted the m y t h o f industrialising industries ' p r o p o u n d e d b y d e B e r n i s . B y acquiring in 1 9 7 1 a majority interest in the major F r e n c h oil p r o d u c e r s o p e r a t i n g in the c o u n t r y , t h e r e g i m e n o t o n l y e n h a n c e d its r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t a n d i n g but acquired a painless means o f accumulating capital. R e v e n u e s a m o u n t e d t o o v e r $4 b i l l i o n a n n u a l l y after 1 9 7 3 , a n d t h e r e g i m e w a s i n v e s t i n g in g a s liquefication plants t o e x p o r t natural g a s , o f w h i c h Algeria held 5 per cent o f the w o r l d ' s reserves. M e a n w h i l e it w a s b u i l d i n g a d i v e r s i f i e d i n d u s t r i a l b a s e c e n t r e d o n s t e e l a n d p e t r o c h e m i c a l s , m u c h as t h e F r e n c h h a d p r o j e c t e d in their 1 9 5 9 C o n s t a n t i n e Plan, b u t o n a m o r e a m b i t i o u s scale. In 1 9 7 5 , f o r instance, w o r k w a s b e g u n o n an integrated electronics industry w h i c h A l g e r i a n s w e r e simultaneously b e i n g trained t o run. T h e g o v e r n m e n t intended to leap into the technectronic era a n d master t e c h n o l o g y a n d p r o d u c t i o n facilities currently available o n l y in t h e m o s t a d v a n c e d i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s . B u t q u i c k t e c h n o l o g i c a l fixes s e e m e d e v e n less likely than d e p e n d e n t b o u r g e o i s d e v e l o p m e n t to resolve problems o f unemployment. Algeria risked b e c o m i n g more technologically dependent o n the multinational companies, t h e m o r e o f t h e i r t e c h n o l o g y it i m p o r t e d . B y 1 9 7 6 , w i t h 1 4 p e r c e n t o f its f o r e i g n - e x c h a n g e e a r n i n g s m o r t g a g e d b y d e b t s e r v i c i n g , it w a s a l m o s t a s i n d e b t e d as T u n i s i a h a d b e e n i n 1 9 7 1 . T h e A l g e r i a n p e r c e n t a g e w a s expected t o reach 24.9 b y 1982 a n d then decline, b u t the liquefication projects expected to p r o d u c e n e w 1

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G é r a r d D e s t a n n e d e Bernis, ' L e s Industries a l g é r i e n n e s ' , Revus Tiers Monde, 1971, 12, 47.

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r e v e n u e s t o p a y off t h e d e b t s w e r e s e r i o u s l y d e l a y e d . I n fact administrative and human shortcomings w e r e endangering m u c h o f t h e A l g e r i a n e c o n o m i c effort. P u b l i c s e c t o r m a n a g e m e n t t e n d e d at i n t e r m e d i a t e l e v e l s t o a v o i d t a k i n g i n i t i a t i v e s , a n d a d m i n i s ­ trative regulations tended in any e v e n t t o obstruct action. W h e t h e r these w e r e g r o w i n g pains o r c o n g e n i t a l defects o f state capitalism remained to be seen. In the short run m a n y o f the n e w industries w e r e operating, i f at a l l , at c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s t h a n full c a p a c i t y . E v e n s o , b e t w e e n 1 9 7 1 a n d 1 9 7 3 m o r e t h a n f o u r t i m e s as m u c h f e r t i l i s e r w a s b e i n g p r o d u c e d as c o u l d b e c o n s u m e d , a n d l o c a l l y a s s e m b l e d t r a c t o r s w e r e saturating the rural markets. T h e agrarian r e v o l u t i o n w a s d e ­ signed in part t o increase the p u r c h a s i n g p o w e r o f the c o u n t r y ­ side sufficiently t o a b s o r b n e w industrial p r o d u c t s , y e t capital intensive industrialisation tended t o increase inequalities o f i n c o m e distribution b e t w e e n urban a n d rural areas. T h e n e w A l g e r i a n industries continued t o be heavily dependent o n imports o f capital g o o d s a n d c o m p o n e n t s ; 70 p e r cent o f the o r i g i n a l investments and comparable proportions o f operating expendi­ tures in the early 1970s required f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e . T h e tripling o f p e t r o l e u m revenues b e t w e e n 1973 and 1974, h o w e v e r , p r o v i d e d opportunities for further industrialisation, t h o u g h p e t r o l e u m p r o d u c t i o n appeared t o h a v e reached a plateau. 2

S o also, the quintupling in 1974 o f the price o f phosphates, M o r o c c o ' s and Tunisia's principal export, g a v e these liberal e c o n o m i e s a s h o t i n t h e a r m , j u s t as T u n i s i a w a s b e c o m i n g a modest petroleum exporter. Neither regime w a s tempted, h o w ­ e v e r , t o risk ' i n d u s t r i a l i s i n g ' industrial d e v e l o p m e n t o n its windfall export earnings, w h i c h remained modest b y Algerian standards. Rather, the M o r o c c a n five-year plan for 1973-8 ap­ peared even to abandon import substitution for a policy o f e x p o r t - l e d g r o w t h that m i g h t m a x i m i s e its c o m p a r a t i v e a d v a n t a g e in w o r l d m a r k e t s . I n d u s t r y w a s g i v e n priority, r e c e i v i n g a l m o s t 40 p e r c e n t o f t h e p r o j e c t e d p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t s , b u t primarily t o m a k e o f M o r o c c o ' a base for assembling and completing' products manufactured elsewhere. H o w e v e r , the 3

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Le Monde, 29 M a r c h 1977. Abdellatif B e n a c h e n h o u , ' F o r c e s sociales et accumulation d u capital au M a g h r e b ' , Annuaire de PAfrique du Nord, 1973, la, 336. C i t e d b y H a b i b a l - M a l k i , ' C h r o n i q u e eco n o m i q u e ' , Annuaire de i*Afrique du Nord, i973> 594. 2

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p e r c e n t a g e o f i m p o r t e d i n p u t in M o r o c c a n industry d i d n o t appear to e x c e e d A l g e r i a ' s . M o r o c c a n (and ' Tunisian) e c o n o m i c de­ v e l o p m e n t seemed passively to c o n f o r m to a n e w international division o f labour, whereas Algeria was actively trying to change b o t h t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r d e r a n d its p l a c e i n it. N e i t h e r a p p r o a c h to d e v e l o p m e n t , h o w e v e r , c o u l d c o m e to grips w i t h the basic d e m o g r a p h i c p r o b l e m . P a r a d o x i c a l l y , the least ' p r o g r e s s i v e ' regime, that o f the M o r o c c a n m o n a r c h y , e m p l o y e d the largest p r o p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n in the s e c o n d a r y sector a n d the least in the over-staffed services sector. C o l o n i a l history and natural a d v a n t a g e s as w e l l as m o n a r c h i c a l s t r a t e g y e x p l a i n , m o r e o v e r , w h y a greater p r o p o r t i o n r e m a i n e d r o o t e d in the c o u n t r y s i d e .

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D o m e s t i c politics largely c o n d i t i o n e d the foreign policies o f the independent regimes, especially w i t h respect to the former colonial p o w e r . M o r o c c o , for instance, a v o i d e d confrontations w i t h F r a n c e o v e r e c o n o m i c i s s u e s d u r i n g t h e first d e c a d e o f i n d e p e n ­ dence because * M o r o c c a n i s i n g ' E u r o p e a n agricultural and c o m ­ mercial interests w o u l d h a v e tended t o benefit the Istiqlal rather than the clients o f the m o n a r c h y w h o c o u l d subsequently be f a v o u r e d . C o n v e r s e l y , B o u r g u i b a b e l i e d his usual p r u d e n c e in 1 9 6 1 w h e n h e b e s i e g e d F r e n c h m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n s at B i z e r t a , a n d a g a i n in 1964, w h e n he nationalised r e m a i n i n g settler lands. H e w a s a t t e m p t i n g t o k e e p u p w i t h A l g e r i a n p r o g r e s s in d e c o l o n i ­ sation, b u t he w a s also t r y i n g t o b u y s u p p o r t for u n p o p u l a r state s o c i a l i s m at h o m e . S i m i l a r l y , B e n B e l l a w a s s e e k i n g s u p p o r t at h o m e w h e n h e o p t e d in 1963 f o r s e l f - m a n a g e d farms at the e x p e n s e o f those o w n e d b y absentee settlers, and B o u m e d i e n n e m a r s h a l l e d sufficient l e g i t i m a c y in 1 9 7 1 , w h e n he nationalised F r e n c h p e t r o l e u m interests, to e m b a r k the f o l l o w i n g year u p o n an agrarian ' r e v o l u t i o n ' that d i v i d e d his r u l i n g coalition o f state technocratic and l a n d o w n i n g interests. T h e three regimes, h o w e v e r , e x p e r i e n c e d less c o n f l i c t w i t h F r a n c e t h a n w i t h e a c h other, and intra-Maghribian relations, in turn, w e r e e v e n m o r e closely related to the internal politics o f the respective r e g i m e s . D e s p i t e the i n t e r m i n g l i n g o f M a g h r i b i a n élites in F r e n c h univer­ sities a n d t h e f o r m a t i o n i n C a i r o o f a M a g h r i b B u r e a u i n 1 9 4 5 , 604

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t h e m o v e m e n t s o f n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o nw e r e n o t c o o r d i n a t e d . I n f a c t elements of the FLN supported Salah ben Youssef, Bourguiba's r i v a l , i n 1 9 5 5 , a n di n 1 9 6 2 B o u r g u i b a f a v o u r e d t h e A l g e r provisionalgovernment that Ben Bella and Boumedienne then defeated. Before Algeria was independent, its struggle was a source of solidarity against a common colonial adversary, yet also an embarrassment to independent Tunisian and Moroccan governments committed to a variety of agreements and under­ standings with France. Leaders of the three dominant political p a r t i e sm e t a t T a n g i e ri n 1 9 5 8 a n d p r o c l a i m e dt h e p r i n c i p l eo f a North African Confederation, but not even a confederation of s t u d e n t u n i o n s g o t o f f t h e g r o u n d . I n a d d i t i o n t o d i f f e r i n gp o l i t i c a l structuresand divergent economic policies,shared borders were a more immediate obstacle to any sort of Maghribian union. Borders established by France had naturally favoured itsfirst colonised territory,Algeria. Morocco feltthat France and Spain had sliced further territoryfrom the historichomeland: not only the traditionalSpanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the M e d i t e r r a n e a n , b u t a l s o T a r f a y a , I f n i ,a n d t h e S p a n i s h S a h a r a , p l u s Mauritania and other portions of French West Africa extending into Mali and Senegal. Morocco peacefullyrecovered Tarfaya, in 1 9 5 8 ,a n dI f n i ,i n 1 9 6 9 ,f r o mS p a i n ,b u tF r a n c eg r a n t e di n d e d e n c e t o i r o n - r i c h M a u r i t a n i a i n i960. B y r e c o g n i s i n g t s t a t e , T u n i s i a i n c u r r e d f o u ry e a r s o f M o r o c c a n e n m i t y . I n 1 9 6 1 Morocco and the Algerian provisional government agreed to form a confederation and also to discuss possible border rectifi­ cations after Algerian independence. Morocco was claiming considerable areas of French Algeria'swestern Sahara, including Tindouf and iron-ore deposits at Gara-Djebilet. Tunisia also claimed 1 piece of desert extending from its southern frontiers, in which oil was discovered. Independent Algeria, however, was as intransigent in defence of itsSaharan borders against itsneighbours' claims as the FLN had been against earlier French plans to establish a separate S a h a r a n e n t i t y . A b o r d e r w a r w i t h M o r o c c o i n 1 9 6 3 ,i n w h i c h p e r h a p s 3 0 0w e r e k i l l e d , c o n v e n i e n t l yr e i n f o r c e d b o t hr e g i m e s home but did not resolve the underlying dispute. A subsequent agreement to ratifythe existing frontier and to exploit the iron m i n e s j o i n t l yw a sn o ti m p l e m e n t e d . I n 1 9 7 4 ,a si n 1 9 6 3 , a f t weathering severe internal crises,King Hassan rallied virtually 60 j

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u n a n i m o u s d o m e s t i c s u p p o r t for i r r e d e n t i s t c l a i m s , t h i s t i m e for the S p a n i s h Sahara. H e tried t o o b t a i n A l g e r i a n s u p p o r t in re­ t u r n for r a t i f y i n g t h e A l g e r i a n - M o r o c c a n b o r d e r a g r e e m e n t o f 1972, b u t A l g e r i a instead s u p p o r t e d self-determination for this territory inhabited b y s o m e 70000 n o m a d s . M o r o c c o , h o w e v e r , p e r s u a d e d M a u r i t a n i a , w i t h w h o m r e l a t i o n s h a d finally b e e n established in 1970, t o accept M o r o c c a n s o v e r e i g n t y o v e r the northern half o f the territory, w h i c h contained the w o r l d ' s largest reserves o f p h o s p h a t e s , in return for Mauritanian s o v e r e i g n t y o v e r the southern part w h i c h contained iron ore. In N o v e m b e r 1 9 7 5 H a s s a n m o b i l i s e d s o m e 3 50000 c i v i l i a n s f o r a ' g r e e n m a r c h ' in the n a m e o f Islam t o ' liberate' the territory, i g n o r i n g an adverse ruling from the International C o u r t o f Justice c o n c e r n i n g M o r o c c o ' s historic claim. W i t h F r a n c o o n his death-bed, Spain agreed to cede administration o f the territory to M o r o c c o and M a u r i t a n i a p e n d i n g a r e f e r e n d u m . M u c h o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n fled to Algeria, w h i c h supported Polisario, the strongest o f the Saharan political factions. T w o years later M o r o c c o w a s m i r e d in a l e n g t h y g u e r r i l l a w a r , its a r m y b e i n g r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e s e c u r i t y not o n l y o f the vast reaches o f the former Spanish Sahara but also o f Mauritania, w h i c h w a s under increasing pressure from Polisario. A l g e r i a , b a c k e d b y L i b y a , persisted in s u p p o r t i n g the S a h a r a n g u e r r i l l a s d e s p i t e S a u d i a n d o t h e r efforts t o m e d i a t e A l g e r i a n — M o r o c c a n differences. T h e r o o t o f the conflict lay n o t so m u c h in either a M o r o c c a n interest in the B o u C r a a phosphate deposits o r an A l g e r i a n o n e i n a n o u t l e t f r o m T i n d o u f t o t h e A t l a n t i c as i n K i n g H a s s a n ' s internal political n e e d s and an A l g e r i a n interest in p r e s e r v i n g a favourable regional balance o f power. Maghribian economic integration, s y m b o l i s e d b y the creation in 1964 o f a P e r m a n e n t Consultative C o m m i t t e e o f e c o n o m i c ministers, also foundered e v e n w h e n not disrupted b y border disputes - against Algeria's determination to consolidate a dominant economic position b e f o r e c o n s e n t i n g t o s i g n i f i c a n t m u l t i l a t e r a l tariff r e d u c t i o n s . Algeria, too, pressured Tunisia not to implement a union w i t h L i b y a that had b e e n p r o c l a i m e d jointly by Presidents B o u r g u i b a and Q a d h d h a f i in 1974. It w a s natural, w i t h i n d e p e n d e n c e , that the M a g h r i b s h o u l d reknit ties w i t h o t h e r p a r t s o f t h e A r a b w o r l d t h a t t h e c o l o n i a l c o n q u e s t s 606

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had largely severed. M o r o c c a n and Tunisian independence c o ­ i n c i d e d , h o w e v e r , w i t h t h e rise o f N a s i r , E g y p t ' s u n i o n w i t h S y r i a , and the unedifying struggles b e t w e e n Nasirists and Ba'athists o v e r precedence within the v a n g u a r d o f A r a b unity. T h e M o r ­ occan monarchy w a s w a r y o f a m o v e m e n t that subverted monar­ chies, w h i l e B o u r g u i b a a n d m u c h o f his F r e n c h - e d u c a t e d elite v i e w e d P a n - A r a b i s m as a t h r e a t t o t h e i r w e s t e r n - o r i e n t e d v a r i a n t o f nationalism. T h e Tunisian president, t o o , h a d m o r e immediate reasons for detesting Nasir. E g y p t harboured Salah b e n Y o u s s e f a n d a p p e a r e d i n 195 8 t o h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d i n a p l o t t o a s s a s s i n a t e B o u r g u i b a . A s late as 1 9 6 6 t h e T u n i s i a n f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r w a s accusing Nasir o f ' micro-imperialism' and o f using methods o f 'intimidation, blackmail, a n d c a l u m n y ' t o i m p o s e his political line o n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . T u n i s i a as w e l l a s M o r o c c o s u p p o r t e d S a u d i A r a b i a ' s c a m p a i g n at this t i m e f o r a n Islamic s u m m i t t o c o u n t e r Nasir's influence. 1

O n the other hand, personal relations b e t w e e n B e n Bella and N a s i r w e r e c l o s e , a n d A l g e r i a w a s c o u n t e d i n 1963 as o n e o f t h e four r e v o l u t i o n a r y A r a b states, a l o n g w i t h E g y p t , Iraq, a n d Syria. S y m b o l i c ties w i t h t h e e a s t r e i n f o r c e d A l g e r i a ' s q u e s t f o r n a t i o n a l 'authenticity', and massive imports o f Egyptian and Syrian s c h o o l t e a c h e r s c o n t r i b u t e d t o its p r o g r a m m e o f A r a b i s a t i o n . Y e t Algerians, considering themselves the only people in the A r a b w o r l d t o h a v e carried o u t a real r e v o l u t i o n , t e n d e d t o share t h e T u n i s i a n elite's disdain o f A r a b revolutionary posturing. E g y p t i a n schoolteachers w e r e resented. A n d w h i l e consistently supporting the Palestinian L i b e r a t i o n O r g a n i s a t i o n ( P L O ) , A l g e r i a n s scarcely concealed their impatience w i t h the Palestinians' inability t o p u r g e their ranks, b y physical liquidation i f need b e , t o f o r g e a coherent and rational strategy against the Zionist foe. T h o u g h A l g e r i a w a s the o n l y N o r t h African country actually t o send c o m b a t units t o the 1967 w a r , reactions t o E g y p t ' s a g r e e m e n t t o a cease-fire w e r e also s y m p t o m a t i c : there w e r e demonstrations in A l g i e r s n o t o n l y against the British and A m e r i c a n imperialists b u t also against the Russians f o r insufficient military aid t o E g y p t a n d Syria a n d a g a i n s t t h e E g y p t i a n s f o r g i v i n g u p t h e fight. T h e w a v e o f A r a b sympathies raised t h r o u g h o u t t h e M a g h r i b by the June w a r did, h o w e v e r , stimulate the regimes into greater 1

C i t e d b y W i l f r i d K n a p p , North West Africa: t h i r d e d i t i o n , 1977), 394.

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s u b s e q u e n t i n v o l v e m e n t i n A r a b affairs. T u n i s i a ' s P r i m e M i n i s t e r , B a h i L a d g h a m , p l a y e d a c e n t r a l r o l e i n t h e efforts o f t h e A r a b L e a g u e to mediate b e t w e e n the P L O and the Jordanian g o v e r n ­ m e n t . K i n g H a s s a n dealt brilliantly w i t h fractious military officers b y s e n d i n g an e x p e d i t i o n a r y c o r p s t o Syria in 1 9 7 2 . Its fortuitous p r e s e n c e a n d b r a v e s h o w i n g in the O c t o b e r w a r o f 1973 g a v e the m o n a r c h y a d d i t i o n a l A r a b - I s l a m i c l u s t r e at h o m e , as d i d t h e c o n v e n i n g o f t w o A r a b s u m m i t m e e t i n g s at R a b a t i n 1 9 6 9 a n d 1 9 7 5 . M o r o c c a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s a l s o e n s u r e d official A r a b s i l e n c e o v e r the e x - S p a n i s h Sahara, d e s p i t e c o n s i d e r a b l e A l g e r i a n aid t o E g y p t and Syria in 1973. W i t h support from S u d a n and E g y p t , M o r o c c o b l o c k e d A l g e r i a n efforts t o h a v e t h e O r g a n i s a t i o n o f A f r i c a n U n i t y e n d o r s e its p o s i t i o n o n S a h a r a n s e l f - d e t e r m i n a t i o n . M o r o c c a n military assistance t o Z a i r e in 1977 seemed an i n g e n i o u s tactic for m o b i l i s i n g d i p l o m a t i c s u p p o r t f r o m c o n s e r v a t i v e A f r i c a n regimes, and ensuring France's continuing favour. T h e f o r e i g n p o l i c i e s o f all t h r e e r e g i m e s c o n t i n u e d , t w o d e c a d e s after d e c o l o n i s a t i o n b e g a n , t o r e v o l v e a b o u t their r e s p e c t i v e French connexions. I f the C o m m o n Market, w i t h w h i c h each c o u n t r y s i g n e d a similar a g r e e m e n t in 1 9 7 6 , had b r o k e n F r a n c e ' s virtual trade m o n o p o l y , the former Protectorates continued to rely h e a v i l y u p o n F r e n c h military, e c o n o m i c , and cultural assis­ t a n c e , w h i l e A l g e r i a l o o k e d a b o v e all t o t h e G a u l l i s t t r a d i t i o n o f F r e n c h f o r e i g n p o l i c y f o r s u p p o r t o f its n e w w o r l d e c o n o m i c order and o f a Mediterranean cleansed o f super-power military presences. E a c h N o r t h A f r i c a n c o u n t r y w e n t t h r o u g h a series o f crises w i t h F r a n c e , and the breaks c o n t i n u e d t o be m o r e traumatic than disputes w i t h other industrial p o w e r s . M o r e o v e r the illusion usually persisted after a crisis that the antagonistic F r e n c h p o l i c y t h a t h a d p r e c i p i t a t e d it w a s a n a b e r r a t i o n t h a t a s u b s e q u e n t F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d correct. Since the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r B o u r g u i b a h a d c o n s i s t e n t l y a r t i c u l a t e d s u c h a p e r c e p t i o n ; it w a s c o n s o n a n t w i t h his step-by-step ' B o u r g u i b i s t ' tactics o f national l i b e r a t i o n a n d w a s a p p a r e n t l y v i n d i c a t e d i n 1 9 7 2 b y h i s first official v i s i t , as p r e s i d e n t , t o P a r i s : ' W i t h w h a t j o y , w i t h w h a t p r i d e , w i t h w h a t e m o t i o n I r e d i s c o v e r , i n t h e e v e n i n g o f m y life, F r a n c e , a n d h e r f r i e n d s h i p as I d r e a m e d o f it i n m y e a r l y y o u t h . I f I w a s t h e d e t e r m i n e d a n d l o y a l a d v e r s a r y o f a c e r t a i n F r a n c e , it w a s i n o r d e r

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to cooperate better w i t h another, eternal F r a n c e . . . If hardly a sentimental francophile like B o u r g u i b a , B o u m e d i e n n e also acted o n the assumption o f an eternal F r e n c h debt. H e b l a m e d France for A l g e r i a n deficits in their 197 5 balance o f p a y m e n t s a n d for b a c k ­ ing M o r o c c o ' s d i p l o m a c y o n the Spanish Sahara. Earlier K i n g Hassan had considered de G a u l l e to be misconstruing the F r e n c h national interest in f a v o u r i n g A l g e r i a . A s a c o u n t e r w e i g h t t o F r e n c h i n f l u e n c e , all t h r e e c o u n t r i e s relied principally u p o n the U n i t e d States, despite the latter's basic interest in c o u n t e r i n g n o t F r e n c h b u t S o v i e t influence. In the cases o f M o r o c c o and T u n i s i a , d e p e n d e n c e o n U n i t e d States aid, w h i c h t o t a l l e d r o u g h l y $1 b i l l i o n , w a s e v i d e n t . W h e n F r a n c e c u t o f f c r e d i t s t o T u n i s i a i n 1 9 5 7 b e c a u s e o f its a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e F L N , the U n i t e d States replaced t h e m . W h e n F r a n c o - M o r o c c a n re­ l a t i o n s w e r e r u p t u r e d i n 1965 o v e r t h e b e n B a r k a affair, t h e U n i t e d States c o n t i n u e d t o s u p p o r t M o r o c c o . Neutralist A l g e r i a , b y c o n t r a s t , r e l i e d f o r m u c h o f its a r m a m e n t s u p o n t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , n o t the U n i t e d States. O n m o s t international issues, w h e t h e r V i e t n a m , A n g o l a , o r e c o n o m i c relations b e t w e e n the industrial countries and the T h i r d W o r l d , the A m e r i c a n s and the A l g e r i a n s w e r e at l o g g e r h e a d s , a n d d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w e r e o f f i c i a l l y s e v e r e d f r o m 1 9 6 7 t o 1 9 7 4 . B u t A l g e r i a p a i d f o r its a r m s a n d f o r carefully limited S o v i e t military c o o p e r a t i o n , e n s u r i n g just sufficient c o n t a c t t o reinforce a n t i - C o m m u n i s t biases a m o n g the A l g e r i a n officers, w h o c o n t i n u e d t o b e l a r g e l y French-trained. T h e n a v a l b a s e a t M e r s - e l - K e b i r r e m a i n e d i n A l g e r i a n h a n d s after t h e F r e n c h d e p a r t e d i n 1 9 6 8 , j u s t as t h e T u n i s i a n o n e at B i z e r t a , r e c o v e r e d in 1 9 6 4 , r e m a i n e d in T u n i s i a n , n o t A m e r i c a n , h a n d s . T h e o n e t y p e o f assistance A l g e r i a really did need, h o w e v e r , i n its s t r u g g l e s w i t h F r a n c e o v e r e c o n o m i c i s s u e s , w a s m a n a g e r i a l a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l . S h o r t l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e t h e n e w s t a t e p e t r o l e u m c o m p a n y , Sonatrach, enlisted private A m e r i c a n c o n ­ sultants. B y p u r c h a s i n g considerable p r i v a t e t e c h n o l o g i c a l assis­ tance, Sonatrach w a s able to m a n a g e progressively larger sectors o f the p e t r o l e u m industry, culminating in the nationalisations o f 1 9 7 1 . O n e astute F r e n c h o b s e r v e r also n o t e d in 1 9 7 7 that the principal threat to French cultural supremacy w a s perhaps not so m u c h A r a b as A n g l o - S a x o n c u l t u r e . S o m e o f t h e p u b l i c - s e c t o r 2

1

2

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companies w e r e s p o n s o r i n g a d v a n c e d training and entire under­ graduate p r o g r a m m e s t a u g h t in E n g l i s h . T h e U n i t e d States, t o o , had b e c o m e Algeria's largest export market, and w a s w i t h W e s t G e r m a n y s e c o n d o n l y t o F r a n c e as t h e p r i m e s o u r c e o f i m p o r t s , whereas the p r o p o r t i o n o f trade w i t h C o m m u n i s t countries remained almost negligible and was declining. W h e t h e r o r n o t flags w o u l d f o l l o w t r a d e i n t h e final q u a r t e r o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , t h e A l g e r i a n e c o n o m y s e e m e d at l e a s t as i n t e r l o c k e d w i t h t h o s e o f t h e a d v a n c e d c a p i t a l i s t c o u n t r i e s as those o f M o r o c c o and Tunisia. ' N e o - c o l o n i a l ' or ' d e p e n d e n c y ' r e l a t i o n s h i p s are p e r h a p s i n d e f i n a b l e , s u b j e c t t o t h e p e r s u a s i v e definitions o f countries like A l g e r i a that try to restructure their e c o n o m i c relationships. B u t the m o r e A l g e r i a continued to i m p o r t a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y into hastily i m p r o v i s e d structures, the m o r e d e p e n d e n t o n c o n t i n u e d i n j e c t i o n s o f w e s t e r n c a p i t a l it w a s l i k e l y to b e c o m e , o n terms that neither an i d e o l o g y o f autocentric d e v e l o p m e n t n o r p e t r o l e u m revenues c o u l d indefinitely soften. Ultimately the three regimes remained equally dependent o n the political and e c o n o m i c e v o l u t i o n o f the industrial w o r l d , especially o f their E u r o p e a n n e i g h b o u r s , and their degrees o f d e p e n d e n c e w e r e perhaps p r o p o r t i o n a t e to the variations in the character o f their responses.

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TROPICAL AFRICA

F r e n c h c o l o n i s a t i o n in t r o p i c a l A f r i c a resulted in the c r e a t i o n o f 14 n e w c o u n t r i e s , all o f w h i c h b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t i n i960, w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f G u i n e a w h i c h h a d b e c o m e a s o v e r e i g n state t w o years earlier. T o g e t h e r these c o u n t r i e s - n a m e l y B e n i n , C a m e r o u n , the Central A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c , C h a d , C o n g o , G a b o n , G u i n e a , the I v o r y C o a s t , M a l i , Mauritania, N i g e r , Senegal, T o g o and U p p e r V o l t a — c o v e r a v a s t area o f o v e r three m i l l i o n square m i l e s , b u t t h e i r c o m b i n e d e s t i m a t e d p o p u l a t i o n i n 1975 w a s o n l y j u s t o v e r 50 m i l l i o n . T h u s t h o u g h t h e y a r e l a r g e r i n s i z e t h a n E u r o p e less t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , t h e y h a v e o n l y a t e n t h o f its population. 1

T o d i s c u s s f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a as i f it w e r e a u n i t is m i s l e a d i n g . T h o u g h all t h e s t a t e s t h a t c o m p r i s e it w e r e c o l o n i s e d b y F r a n c e a n d still u s e F r e n c h as t h e i r official l a n g u a g e , t h e s e facts c a n n o t d i s g u i s e t h e m a n y d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g t h e m t h a t h a v e b e c o m e m u c h m o r e p r o n o u n c e d since independence. S o m e c o u n t r i e s , s u c h as C h a d a n d U p p e r V o l t a , suffered d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d under consideration f r o m their l a n d - l o c k e d position and scarce resources, w h i c h resulted in l o w i n v e s t m e n t and a s l o w , a n d s o m e t i m e s n e g l i g i b l e rate o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h . O t h e r s like G a b o n a n d t h e I v o r y C o a s t , b o t h r e l a t i v e l y r i c h in a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d mineral resources, enjoyed rapid e c o n o m i c g r o w t h . T h e i r coastal l o c a t i o n and g o o d p o r t facilities h e l p e d t h e m t o sustain an a c t i v e foreign trade and to attract w o r k e r s from p o o r e r n e i g h b o u r i n g states. G u i n e a , b y contrast, t h o u g h rich in mineral a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l resources and located o n the Atlantic O c e a n , had a g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h throughout our period p r o v e d incapable o f harnessing t h e s e a d v a n t a g e s t o t h e b e n e f i t o f its p e o p l e . T h e states o f f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a i n h e r i t e d a u n i f o r m p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m f r o m F r a n c e at i n d e p e n d e n c e , b u t w i t h i n a s h o r t time m a n y o f t h e m had u n d e r g o n e institutional changes, s o m e o f 1

A t i n d e p e n d e n c e B e n i n w a s still c a l l e d b y t h e n a m e it w a s g i v e n as a F r e n c h c o l o n y , D a h o m e y . It c h a n g e d t o B e n i n i n 1975.

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t h e m a b r u p t o n e s i n t h e form o f m i l i t a r y c o u p s . A m o n g g o v e r n ­ ments led b y the military there w e r e striking variations. S o m e , like that o f G e n e r a l L a m i z a n a o f U p p e r V o l t a , s o u g h t to return to civilian rule, w h i l e that o f M a r i e n N g o u a b i in C o n g o tried to e s t a b l i s h a s o c i a l i s t state. E v e n a m o n g l e a d e r s w h o r e t a i n e d t h e p o s i t i o n s they acquired d u r i n g the transfer o f p o w e r b y F r a n c e , there w e r e w i d e d i v e r g e n c e s in the w a y they u s e d t h e m . P r e s i d e n t L e o p o l d S e n g h o r o f Senegal, for example, pursued policies o f moderate reform and cooperation w i t h the former colonial p o w e r , while President S e k o u T o u r e o f G u i n e a p u s h e d for radical social and e c o n o m i c c h a n g e , k e e p i n g his distance f r o m F r a n c e w h i l e actively courting the Eastern E u r o p e a n countries. S o m e states h a d l a r g e M u s l i m m a j o r i t i e s , o t h e r s C h r i s t i a n m a j o r i t i e s . T h e i r p o p u l a t i o n s differed m a r k e d l y i n m a n y o t h e r w a y s - density, place o f residence, ethnic and social b a c k g r o u n d and sources o f i n c o m e . S o m e states, like M a l i , N i g e r a n d C h a d , are e n o r m o u s , e a c h l a r g e r t h a n F r a n c e a n d G e r m a n y c o m b i n e d , y e t t h e d e n s i t y o f t h e i r p o p u l a t i o n s w a s p a t h e t i c a l l y t h i n . A l l 14 states t o g e t h e r h a d a p o p u l a t i o n t h a t w a s o n l y t w o - t h i r d s t h a t o f N i g e r i a . P e r c a p i t a i n c o m e i n states l i k e M a l i a n d C h a d w a s as l o w as $80 i n 1975, w h i l e t h a t o f t h e I v o r y C o a s t a n d G a b o n w a s as h i g h as $3 50, a n d u r b a n i s a t i o n a n d t h e m o n e y e c o n o m y w e r e w e l l advanced. G i v e n t h e v a r i e t y o f d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g t h e 14 s t a t e s , it b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult t o t r e a t t h e m as a u n i t . S u c h a n a p p r o a c h m a y m a k e s e n s e f o r t h e y e a r s b e f o r e i n d e p e n d e n c e w h e n t h e y w e r e all r u l e d b y F r a n c e in a l a r g e l y s i m i l a r m a n n e r , a n d w h e n t h e F r e n c h administration w a s able t o dictate the terms o f the m o n e y e c o n o m y , to control their borders and to i m p o s e certain c o m m o n social, political and e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s . T h e general c o n ­ s e n s u s h a s b e e n t h a t t h e effect o f t h i s F r e n c h c o n t r o l w a s u n i q u e , a n d is o f m a j o r i m p o r t a n c e i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e s i t u a t i o n in t h e f r a n c o p h o n e s t a t e s o f t r o p i c a l A f r i c a . It is t r u e t h a t d u r i n g the c o l o n i a l era F r e n c h administrators, soldiers and traders did i m p o s e c o m m o n structures u p o n these states, b u t the F r e n c h t h e m s e l v e s w e r e thinly spread o n the g r o u n d . T h e i r greatest i m p a c t w a s o n the small A f r i c a n elite that attended F r e n c h s c h o o l s a n d w o r k e d in F r e n c h offices o r c o m m e r c i a l h o u s e s . O f c o u r s e the d e p t h o f the impact o f F r a n c e varied f r o m c o l o n y to c o l o n y b u t , h o w e v e r d e e p it m a y h a v e b e e n , w h a t h a s b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y

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c l e a r s i n c e i n d e p e n d e n c e is t h a t m a n y o f t h e f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n s t a t e s h a v e as m u c h i n c o m m o n w i t h A r a b i c - , E n g l i s h - o r P o r t u g u e s e - s p e a k i n g n e i g h b o u r s as w i t h e a c h o t h e r . T r a d i t i o n a l pre-colonial relationships, m a s k e d b y the colonial frontiers i m ­ p o s e d b y F r a n c e , h a v e b e g u n t o reassert t h e m s e l v e s . N e w political and e c o n o m i c centres h a v e strained the links f o r g e d a m o n g these states b y t h e c o l o n i a l e x p e r i e n c e . N i g e r i a a n d t h e c o u n t r i e s o f t h e M a g h r i b , for instance, b e g a n to exert an influence o n the former A f r i q u e O c c i d e n t a l e Française ( A O F ) i n c o n c e i v a b l e in c o l o n i a l t i m e s . W h a t w a s s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h e first 15 y e a r s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e n , w a s the e m e r g e n c e o f a n e w state s y s t e m in the r e g i o n w h e r e the F r e n c h c o n n e x i o n diminished in i m p o r t a n c e . E v e n t s since i n d e p e n d e n c e a g g r a v a t e d t h o s e differences a m o n g states that h a d been neutralised b y colonial rule, w h i l e n e w e c o n o m i c and political relationships e m e r g e d in the r e g i o n . S o , t h o u g h w e w r i t e a b o u t the f r a n c o p h o n e states o f t r o p i c a l A f r i c a as a g r o u p , it is i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o g n i s e t h a t w h i l e t h i s m a k e s g o o d s e n s e f o r t h e p e r i o d u p t o i n d e p e n d e n c e , d u r i n g t h e 15 y e a r s that f o l l o w e d such a g r o u p i n g b e c a m e increasingly arbitrary.

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T h e constitutional history o f francophone tropical Africa during c o l o n i a l t i m e s is r e l a t i v e l y e a s y t o d e s c r i b e b e c a u s e o f t h e n a t u r e o f F r e n c h policy. U n l i k e E n g l i s h colonial administration, that o f F r a n c e w a s h i g h l y c e n t r a l i s e d , w i t h all p o l i c y d e c i s i o n s b e i n g m a d e b y the M i n i s t r y o f C o l o n i e s in F r a n c e and passed o n to the g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l o f the F r e n c h W e s t African Federation ( A O F ) w i t h its c a p i t a l i n D a k a r , a n d t h e g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l o f t h e F r e n c h E q u a t o r i a l A f r i c a n F e d e r a t i o n ( A E F ) w i t h its c a p i t a l i n B r a z z a v i l l e , w h o i n t u r n t r a n s m i t t e d t h e m m o r e o r less u n i f o r m l y to the g o v e r n o r s o f the constituent territories. T o g o and C a m ­ e r o u n , f o r m e r G e r m a n c o l o n i e s and thereafter L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s Mandates and United N a t i o n s T r u s t Territories, w e r e treated separately, a l t h o u g h essentially the same policies w e r e p u r s u e d in them. O f c o u r s e the i m p a c t o f those central decisions varied considerably depending o n the environment, o n existing social and e c o n o m i c c o n d i t i o n s , o n the state o f A f r i c a n political o r ­ g a n i s a t i o n , a n d o n s u c h f a c t o r s as t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c o l o n i a l administrators themselves. 615

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A f t e r t h e fall o f F r a n c e at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , t h e V i c h y r e g i m e a p p o i n t e d P i e r r e B o i s s o n as H i g h C o m ­ missioner for Black Africa. Effectively he w a s only g o v e r n o r general o f A O F for, under the leadership o f the G u y a n e s e Felix E b o u e , C h a d g a v e its s u p p o r t t o t h e F r e e F r e n c h o f G e n e r a l d e G a u l l e a n d w a s s o o n f o l l o w e d b y t h e o t h e r c o l o n i e s o f A E F as w e l l as b y C a m e r o u n . A f t e r t h e A l l i e d l a n d i n g i n F r e n c h N o r t h Africa, B o i s s o n t h r e w in his lot w i t h the Free F r e n c h , t h o u g h he w a s s o o n replaced b y a Gaullist g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l . U n d e r the Free French administration, compulsory crop cultivation and extensive recruitment to help the Allied cause b e c a m e the order o f the day, b u t the w a r t i m e support o f the A f r i c a n colonies w a s n o t i g n o r e d b y d e G a u l l e : at t h e B r a z z a v i l l e C o n f e r e n c e i n l a t e January 1944 a n u m b e r o f major reforms w e r e projected w h i c h g a v e a n e w c h a r a c t e r t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n F r a n c e a n d its t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s a n d , t h o u g h it d i d n o t e n v i s a g e selfg o v e r n m e n t for t h e m , permitted a measure o f self-rule. I n r e t r o s p e c t , it is c e r t a i n t h a t F r a n c e , l i k e G r e a t B r i t a i n a n d other colonial p o w e r s , w o u l d not have been able to hold o n to its c o l o n i e s . W i t h t h e r i s e o f t h e s u p e r - p o w e r s , t h e E u r o p e a n s t a t e s ceased to dominate the non-industrialised countries. E c o n o m i c , social a n d political difficulties in F r a n c e p u s h e d F r e n c h leaders t o r e l i n q u i s h c o l o n i a l c o n t r o l w h i l e , w h e n it b e c a m e c l e a r t h a t n e i g h b o u r i n g B r i t i s h c o l o n i e s w e r e set f i r m l y o n t h e r o a d t o i n d e p e n d e n c e , f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n l e a d e r s w e r e l e s s a n d less willing to accept French domination. T h e m o v e to independence from France o f the tropical A f r i c a n colonies w a s generally a peaceful one, t h o u g h there w e r e periods o f violence, particularly in C a m e r o u n . It can also b e a r g u e d that the 14 f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n states b e n e f i t e d f r o m d e c o l o n i s i n g v i c t o r i e s w o n w i t h b l o o d s h e d in o t h e r parts o f the F r e n c h e m p i r e - especially Algeria and Vietnam. T h i s l a r g e l y p e a c e f u l t r a n s f e r o f p o w e r is p a r t l y e x p l a i n e d b y the p o s t - w a r reforms s t e m m i n g f r o m the Brazzaville r e c o m m e n ­ dations that w e r e adopted b y the F r e n c h National A s s e m b l y . T h e reforms progressively extended citizenship to Africans and granted them freedom o f assembly and association. Before 1945, F r e n c h colonial policy had oscillated b e t w e e n t w o f o r m u l a e . T h e first w a s ' a s s i m i l a t i o n ' - * t h e f i c t i o n w h e r e b y t h e

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c o l o n i e s w e r e t r e a t e d as i n t e g r a l p a r t s o f F r a n c e ' . A s s i m i l a t i o n had roots in the principle that all m e n are equal, asserted b y Jean-Jacques Rousseau and expressed in the French R e v o l u t i o n o f 1789. I n their enthusiasm t o translate t h e principle into l a w t h e F r e n c h revolutionary leaders extended the legal rights o f F r e n c h citizenship t o the f e w colonies France then possessed. H o w e v e r , the n u m b e r s o f citizens in France's tropical African colonies remained small. Before the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r the policy o f assimilation w a s applied only in the four c o m m u n e s o f Senegal Dakar, St L o u i s , Rufisque and G o r é e . A l l persons, black and white, b o r n in these c o m m u n e s w e r e legally F r e n c h citizens governed by French law, although Africans were allowed to follow M u s l i m personal l a w ; they also had the right t o elect o n e d e p u t y t o the F r e n c h C h a m b e r o f D e p u t i e s . T h e y elected their o w n mayors and municipal councillors and members o f a local a s s e m b l y w i t h p o w e r s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f t h e conseils-généraux i n France. The only other Africans w h o became legally eligible for French citizenship w e r e s o m e g r a n t e d t h e p r i v i l e g e in the 1930s. O n l y a handful o f highly educated Africans w i t h the appropriate quali­ fications a c t u a l l y a p p l i e d f o r t h e s t a t u s o f citoyen* s i n c e i t m e a n t f o r e g o i n g their cultural identity, family l a w a n d c u s t o m s . I n d e e d t h i s w a s t h e flaw o f t h e a s s i m i l a t i o n p o l i c y e v e n i n t h e o r y - it h a d validity only for those few Africans w h o s e b a c k g r o u n d and values w e r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f F r e n c h m e n , t h a t is f o r a m e r e h a n d f u l o f individuals w h o p r o v e d t o be m o r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h their n e w F r e n c h identity than w i t h their A f r i c a n o n e . T h e s e c o n d colonial formula identified in p r e - w a r F r e n c h p o l i c y w a s ' a s s o c i a t i o n ' . T h i s p o l i c y w a s a d v a n c e d at t h e e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w h e n i m p e r i a l i s m w a s o n t h e rise i n E u r o p e . W h e r e assimilation had been the demand o f the French Left, association b e c a m e that o f the F r e n c h R i g h t . It implied a p a t e r n a l i s t b e l i e f t h a t it w a s r i g h t a n d p r o p e r f o r F r e n c h m e n t o care for * b a c k w a r d ' g r o u p s o f associated ' Africans - t o protect t h e m as w e l l a s c o n t r o l t h e m . A s s o c i a t i o n b e c a m e t h e d o m i n a n t theme o f French colonial policy before the Second W o r l d W a r , €

1

See Thomas Hodgkin and Ruth Schachter, 'French-speaking West Africa in transition International Conciliation (New York : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, no. 528), May i960, 389. In 1940, for instance, there were less than 2000 in French West Africa as a whole. 2

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a n d u n d e r it A f r i c a n s w e r e ' s u b j e c t s ' o f F r a n c e w i t h v i r t u a l l y n o rights o f representation, either in F r a n c e o r in the c o l o n i e s . T h e y had n o access to higher civil service posts, or universities, w h i c h w e r e o n l y o p e n t o ' c i t i z e n s '. N o r d i d t h e y h a v e m u c h o p p o r t u n i t y to gain a secondary education. ' S u b j e c t s ' c o u l d be drafted into colonial forced l a b o u r brigades and the a r m y , and c o u l d b e tried and sentenced o n the spot b y F r e n c h administrators under the indigénat t h e c o l o n i a l c o d e o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e j u s t i c e , f o r w h a t e v e r suspected offence. T h u s they lived u n d e r the authoritarian rule o f colonial administrators w i t h virtually n o legal recourse. O n l y the h a n d f u l o f ' c i t i z e n s ' h a d a r i g h t t o j u d i c i a l trial. y

T h e s e t w o concepts o f assimilation and association w e r e i n v o k e d in the d e b a t e s o n d e c o l o n i s a t i o n a m o n g F r e n c h a n d A f r i c a n l e a d e r s after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r . B o t h c o n c e p t s excluded the possibility o f the d e v e l o p m e n t o f nationalism in the F r e n c h A f r i c a n territories. E v e n the F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t s w e r e a s s i m i l a t i o n i s t s a n d h a d little s y m p a t h y f o r A f r i c a n n a t i o n a l i s m . T h e y believed the r e v o l u t i o n in France had t o take priority. M o s t African leaders w e r e striving to achieve the p r o m i s e o f assimilation: equal, n o t separate, rights. Y e t the l o g i c o f n u m b e r s m a d e full e q u a l i t y a m o n g F r e n c h m e n a n d A f r i c a n s i n a g r e a t e r F r e n c h polity impossible, for African v o t e r s , i n c l u d i n g those o f N o r t h Africa, w o u l d outnumber metropolitan French voters. F u r t h e r m o r e , the e c o n o m i c costs o f assimilation w o u l d h a v e been p r o h i b i t i v e , g i v e n the disparity in l e v e l s o f F r e n c h a n d A f r i c a n e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . W h e r e c o u l d t h e f u n d s b e f o u n d t o raise workers' compensation, welfare, education and other economic and social benefits in f r a n c o p h o n e Africa t o the levels o b t a i n i n g i n m e t r o p o l i t a n F r a n c e ? B y t h e late 1 9 5 0 s , t h e F r e n c h L e f t a n d m a n y o f the A f r i c a n nationalists w e r e clear that assimilation w a s impracticable. Independent right o f association w i t h the m o t h e r c o u n t r y n o w b e c a m e their g o a l , and the w a y w a s o p e n t o nationalist d e v e l o p m e n t and in time i n d e p e n d e n c e . T o b e g i n w i t h , the p o s t - w a r F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t s initiated colonial reforms that c o n f o r m e d w i t h the old assimilationist policies, rather than a separate national existence for their colonies. Liberal reforms, p r o p o s e d b y t h e first C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y i n A p r i l 1 9 4 6 , g i v i n g the c o l o n i e s a d e g r e e o f a u t o n o m y , w e r e defeated in the s u b s e q u e n t referendum. T h e second Constituent A s s e m b l y drafted the m o r e c o n s e r v a t i v e O c t o b e r 1946 constitution o f the F o u r t h F r e n c h 618

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R e p u b l i c . It h e l d that the R e p u b l i c w a s ' i n d i v i s i b l e ' ( A r t i c l e I) a n d p l a c e d t h e ' o v e r s e a s t e r r i t o r i e s ' , as t h e c o l o n i e s w e r e n o w d e s i g n a t e d , firmly w i t h i n t h e u n i t a r y R e p u b l i c ( A r t i c l e 60). A l t h o u g h France and her colonies w e r e called a ' U n i o n ' , the eight territories in A f r i q u e O c c i d e n t a l e Française a n d the f o u r in A f r i q u e E q u a t o r i a l e F r a n ç a i s e (see fig. 29) h a d n o s e p a r a t e i n t e r ­ national existence. T o g o and C a m e r o u n , in contrast, w e r e ' a s ­ sociated territories ' in the U n i o n , a n d n o t an integral part o f the F r e n c h R e p u b l i c , because o f their U N T r u s t e e s h i p status. P o w e r o v e r legislation for the ' overseas territories ' in matters o f ' criminal l a w , the organisation o f p u b l i c freedoms, and political and administrative o r g a n i s a t i o n ' (Article 72) b e l o n g e d to the French executive. T h e council o f ministers had the right to adopt decrees n o t e x p r e s s l y c o n t r a d i c t e d b y l e g i s l a t i o n - ' after p r e v i o u s consultation w i t h the A s s e m b l y o f the U n i o n ' (Article 72). A l t h o u g h this p r o v i s i o n w a s enacted largely b e c a u s e delegates t o the Constitutional C o n v e n t i o n r e c o g n i s e d that the French National Assembly was unlikely to spend m u c h time o v e r African p r o b l e m s , it r e s u l t e d i n a c o n t i n u a n c e o f c o n t r o l o v e r A f r i c a n affairs b y t h e F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h a l s o h a d full c o n t r o l o f the overseas civil service. Y e t the F o u r t h R e p u b l i c m a d e s o m e significant c h a n g e s in the rights o f Africans. Forced labour w a s abolished. A l l African s u b j e c t s r e c e i v e d F r e n c h c i t i z e n s h i p ( A r t i c l e 8 1 ) t h o u g h n o t all w e r e e n f r a n c h i s e d . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e a b o l i t i o n o f t h e indigénat a n d a c o n c o m i t a n t r e v i s i o n o f t h e p e n a l c o d e g a v e all A f r i c a n s access to courts and legal rights. M o r e o v e r , the extension o f ' republican liberties ' a l l o w e d Africans t o f o r m their o w n political o r g a n i s a t i o n s , w h i c h had n o t existed o p e n l y b e f o r e , e x c e p t in the four c o m m u n e s o f Senegal. A further s t r o n g i n d u c e m e n t to f o r m African political organisations w a s the elections that t o o k place o n three levels o f political representation. T h o s e Africans w i t h the v o t e elected delegates to territorial assemblies w h i c h m e t in the i n d i v i d u a l capitals o f the 12 territories a n d t w o T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s . Until 1957 they w e r e elected b y t w o electoral c o l l e g e s in each t e r r i t o r y . T h e first c o m p r i s e d F r e n c h m e n a n d t h e h a n d f u l o f pre-war African citizens; the second comprised the n e w African citizens w i t h the v o t e . In 1946 the criteria for the v o t e w a s status. T h u s , for example, m e m b e r s o f assemblies or cooperatives o r unions, or holders o f French decorations w e r e enfranchised. 619

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Literates a n d t a x - p a y i n g heads o f families w e r e a d d e d later. T h e early franchise w a s severely limited, b u t w a s gradually e x p a n d e d u n t i l t h e loi-cadre o f 1 9 5 6 g r a n t e d v i r t u a l l y u n i v e r s a l a d u l t s u f f r a g e . I n S e n e g a l , f o r e x a m p l e , w h i c h , as a r e f l e c t i o n o f its s p e c i a l s t a t u s had a single electoral college, only 2 per cent o f the total p o p u l a t i o n w a s registered t o v o t e in 1 9 4 5 . B y 1 9 5 1 this h a d i n c r e a s e d t o 29 p e r c e n t a n d , i n 1 9 5 6 , t o 36 p e r c e n t . U n i v e r s a l a d u l t s u f f r a g e i n 195 7 r a i s e d t h e p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e r e g i s t e r e d p o p u ­ lation t o 46. B y contrast, in the I v o r y Coast, w i t h a substantially smaller E u r o p e a n p o p u l a t i o n , t h e p e r c e n t a g e s registered w e r e less t h a n o n e p e r c e n t i n 1 9 4 5 , 8 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 5 1 , 36 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 5 6 a n d 60 p e r c e n t i n 1 9 5 7 . 1

E a c h t e r r i t o r i a l a s s e m b l y i n t h e 1 9 4 5 - 5 6 p e r i o d e l e c t e d f r o m its r a n k s five m e m b e r s o f t h e t w o f e d e r a l G r a n d s C o n s e i l s o f F r e n c h W e s t Africa o r o f Equatorial Africa, w h i c h m e t in D a k a r and Brazzaville respectively. A t the metropolitan level, Africans were represented in b o t h houses o f the French parliament, in the A s s e m b l y o f the French U n i o n and in the E c o n o m i c C o u n c i l . T o g o a n d C a m e r o u n w e r e e x c l u d e d f r o m representation at the federal level b e c a u s e o f their special status, b u t they d i d send deputies t o Paris. T h e n u m b e r o f African representatives in France w a s never large, since the l o g i c o f assimilation w a s never accepted, a n d o n e F r e n c h v o t e n e v e r c o u n t e d as less t h a n t h e e q u i v a l e n t o f t e n African votes. African deputies were n o t numerous e n o u g h directly t o decide major issues in the F r e n c h assembly, b u t b y collaborating o n F r e n c h issues w i t h parties in the successive French multi-party g o v e r n m e n t s , they managed to exact some concessions for Africa. T h e federal assemblies a n d the territorial assemblies w e r e initially largely consultative a n d o n l y h a d limited p o w e r s i n t h e fields o f finance. T h o u g h African representatives w e r e relatively powerless, the existence o f three levels o f representation w a s important for p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t s i n f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a . R o u g h l y e v e r y 18 months b e t w e e n 1946 t o 1958, African voters turned o u t t o elect representatives t o o n e o r other o f the assemblies. W h e t h e r o r n o t 1

Percentages are calculated w i t h the figures p r o v i d e d in R u t h Schachter M o r g e n t h a u , Political parties in French-speaking West Africa ( O x f o r d , 1964), A p p e n d i x e s 5, 7. T h e p o p u l a t i o n f i g u r e s f o r b o t h c o u n t r i e s a r e a p p r o x i m a t e f o r 1945 a n d a r e b a s e d o n 1958 estimates f o r the other three years. I v o r y Coast population figures are apparently substantially underestimated.

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the political parties w h i c h d e v e l o p e d in response actually o r g a n i s e d the p o p u l a t i o n o n d e m o c r a t i c lines o v e r the l o n g r u n , t h e y d i d p o l i t i c i s e it s i g n i f i c a n t l y . A f r i c a n s b e c a m e a c c u s t o m e d t o a c k n o w l e d g i n g territorial issues a n d personalities. T h e y b e c a m e familiar w i t h the n o t i o n that they o r their leaders, a n d n o t o n l y the F r e n c h , c o u l d m a k e decisions. Finally, the A f r i c a n élite g a i n e d significant political experience w h i c h led eventually t o d e m a n d s to g o v e r n their o w n countries. T h u s , the p o s t - w a r reforms prepared the w a y for the peaceful transition to independence. N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o r t h e first t e n y e a r s after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s s e l d o m a m a t t e r o f p u b l i c d e b a t e . I t w a s , after all, i l l e g a l u n d e r t h e F r e n c h c o n s t i t u t i o n . A f r i c a n s e l e c t e d t o t h e F r e n c h National A s s e m b l y pushed rather for reforms that w e n t further t o equalise the position o f Africans and F r e n c h m e n . T h e deuxième loi Lamine Guèye o f 30 J u n e 1 9 5 0 , n a m e d a f t e r t h e first depute o f S e n e g a l , f o r e x a m p l e , g a v e A f r i c a n c i v i l s e r v a n t s e q u a l pay a n d conditions o f w o r k w i t h their F r e n c h counterparts, i n c l u d i n g v a c a t i o n s i n m e t r o p o l i t a n F r a n c e . ( T h e première loi Lamine Guèye', p a s s e d i n M a y 1 9 4 6 , h a d e x t e n d e d c i t i z e n s h i p t o a l l A f r i c a n sujets, w h i l e a l l o w i n g t h e m t o r e t a i n t h e u s e o f c u s t o m a r y l a w . ) I n 1 9 5 2 A f r i c a n t r a d e - u n i o n l e a d e r s o b t a i n e d t h e code du travail w h i c h satisfied m a n y u n i o n c l a i m s f o r m i n i m u m w a g e standards, limitation o n hours o f w o r k , family allowances, holidays with pay, the right o f collective bargaining and the validity o f c o l l e c t i v e a g r e e m e n t s , t h e c o s t o f w h i c h w a s t o p r o v e far b e y o n d the e c o n o m i c capacity o f t h e A f r i c a n s u c c e s s o r states. O n another level, African politicians consistently pressed for universal suffrage a n d the elimination o f the dual electoral c o l l e g e . S t e p b y s t e p b e t w e e n 1945 a n d 1 9 5 7 A f r i c a n s a c h i e v e d t h e s e g o a l s . A t the level o f the territorial assembly there w a s a p r o g r e s s i v e r e d u c t i o n in t h e n u m b e r o f seats r e s e r v e d f o r E u r o p e a n v o t e r s . F i n a l l y , u n d e r t h e loi-cadre o f 1 9 5 6 , t h e f r a n c h i s e f o r a l l d i r e c t elections b e c a m e universal o n the basis o f a single electoral college. B y this date pressures in m e t r o p o l i t a n F r a n c e a n d overseas had p r o d u c e d a change in attitudes o f the E u r o p e a n m i n o r i t y , s u c h as p l a n t e r s a n d b u s i n e s s m e n , w i t h i n t e r e s t s i n Africa, w h o f o r m e d an influential l o b b y in France. T h e y c a m e t o the v i e w that they h a d m o r e t o gain from attempting t o collaborate with dominant African g r o u p s than b y trying t o o p p o s e them. I n d e e d b y 19 5 6 A f r i c a n d e m a n d s f o r s e l f - g o v e r n m e n t w e r e v e r y 621

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strong. African political parties, trade unions and youth m o v e m e n t s w e r e organised for, and experienced in, placing pressures o n the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t . Simultaneously, the w e a k ­ ness o f F r a n c e w a s increasingly e v i d e n t : defeated in V i e t n a m and facing a major w a r in A l g e r i a , F r e n c h leaders did n o t w a n t t r o u b l e o n yet another front, and w e r e therefore prepared to consider a c h a n g e in p o l i c y t o w a r d s their increasingly restive tropical African territories. T h e first s i g n o f a c h a n g e i n F r e n c h p o l i c y t o w a r d t r o p i c a l Africa c a m e w h e n the 1954 M e n d e s - F r a n c e g o v e r n m e n t , u n d e r pressure from the United Nations, projected n e w constitutions for the T r u s t Territories o f T o g o and C a m e r o u n , w h i c h a l l o w e d t h e m a m e a s u r e o f a u t o n o m y . A l t h o u g h t h e s e d i d n o t satisfy e i t h e r T o g o l e s e o r C a m e r o u n i a n n a t i o n a l i s t s , t h e y d i d raise t h e q u e s t i o n i n n e i g h b o u r i n g F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s as t o w h y they t o o should n o t h a v e internal self-government. Discussions escalated, and resulted in a redefinition o f the p o s i t i o n o f f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n territories in relation to F r a n c e . T h e loi-cadre o f 1 9 5 6 , w i t h i m p l e m e n t i n g d e c r e e s i n 1 9 5 7 , c o n c e d e d a d e g r e e o f a u t o n o m y to the francophone tropical colonies. T h e territorial assemblies acquired n e w legislative p o w e r s o n specified matters - land, soil c o n s e r v a t i o n , agriculture, f o r e s t r y , fisheries, m o s t m i n e r a l r i g h t s , i n t e r n a l t r a d e , c o d i f i c a t i o n o f customary law, primary and secondary education, health, cooperatives and urbanisation. M o s t important, the assemblies c o u l d e l e c t p r e d o m i n a n t l y A f r i c a n e x e c u t i v e s , k n o w n as C o n s e i l s du G o u v e r n e m e n t , w h i c h assumed control o v e r the civil servants w o r k i n g in t h e fields e n u m e r a t e d a b o v e . T h e F r e n c h g o v e r n o r remained in c o n t r o l o f the o t h e r (French) ' s t a t e ' services, p o s ­ sessed certain reserve p o w e r s and presided o v e r the C o n s e i l d u G o u v e r n e m e n t . B u t the elected A f r i c a n vice-president a c q u i r e d in p r a c t i c e t h e s t a t u s a n d i n i t i a t i v e o f a p r i m e m i n i s t e r - at l e a s t i n the majority o f territories w h e r e h e w a s the leader o f the party w h i c h effectively controlled the assembly. T h e r e f o r m s o f 1 9 5 6 - 7 w e r e a t u r n i n g p o i n t in the relations b e t w e e n F r a n c e a n d t h e o v e r s e a s t e r r i t o r i e s . B y g r a n t i n g selfg o v e r n m e n t , e x c e p t i n finance, d e f e n c e a n d f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s , t o the tropical A f r i c a n territories, the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t admitted that the 1946 constitution was impracticable. T h e reforms n o w d i v i d e d t h e ' indivisible' Republic into c o m p o n e n t territories, and 622

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distributed p o w e r b e t w e e n t h e m and France. T h e next step, total i n d e p e n d e n c e , w a s a l m o s t i n e v i t a b l e , a l t h o u g h this w a s n o t immediately recognised b y the moderate F r e n c h leaders in p o w e r in F r a n c e . After the collapse o f the F o u r t h R e p u b l i c , the n e w 1958 constitution o f the Fifth R e p u b l i c reflected France's c h a n g e d a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e c o l o n i e s . T h e r e f e r e n d u m o f 28 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 5 8 g a v e A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s t h e o p t i o n o f v o t i n g 'non t o t h e n e w constitution, and thus o f c h o o s i n g total independence. President d e G a u l l e e m p h a s i s e d t h a t 'non m e a n t a n e n d t o a l l F r e n c h e c o n o m i c , t e c h n i c a l a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a i d . T o v o t e 'out m e a n t a c c e p t i n g the status o f an a u t o n o m o u s R e p u b l i c in the n e w F r e n c h C o m m u n i t y a n d b e i n g assured o f c o n t i n u e d F r e n c h aid. In spite o f d e G a u l l e ' s threat, the c h o i c e w a s real, t h o u g h the t e r m s w e r e set b y F r a n c e . I n 1 9 5 8 F r e n c h p o l i t i c i a n s still b e l i e v e d a u t o n o m y w a s a feasible alternative t o total i n d e p e n d e n c e . ' A u t o n o m o u s R e p u b l i c s ' w e r e created w h i c h n o l o n g e r sent deputies t o France a n d h a d m u c h m o r e c o n t r o l o v e r d o m e s t i c affairs. T h e p o w e r s o f the territorial assemblies b e c a m e residual rather than e n u m e r ­ ated, and the C o u n c i l s o f Ministers remained responsible t o t h e m (as t h e y h a d b e e n s i n c e t h e loi-cadre o f 1 9 5 6 ) . E a c h R e p u b l i c a d o p t e d its o w n c o n s t i t u t i o n . O n l y c e r t a i n e n u m e r a t e d m a t t e r s c u r r e n c y , c o m m o n e c o n o m i c a n d financial p o l i c y , d e f e n c e a n d foreign policy, higher education — were to be indirectly subject to c o n t i n u i n g F r e n c h control in that they w e r e reserved for the C o m m u n i t y . T h e F r e n c h a s s u m e d that c o n t i n u e d aid w a s sufficient inducement for the small and generally p o o r individual African territories to f o r g o c o m p l e t e independence. 9

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Indeed, the French g o v e r n m e n t had hitherto reinforced the d e p e n d e n c e o f t h o s e t e r r i t o r i e s b y not g r a n t i n g p o w e r o r a u t h o r i t y t o t h e f e d e r a l a s s e m b l i e s , w h i c h w o u l d a t least h a v e g i v e n t h e s e s m a l l t e r r i t o r i e s s o m e s t r e n g t h as a g r o u p . T h e r e f o r m s o f 1 9 5 6 - 7 h a d r e d u c e d t h e i r p o w e r s a n d d i d n o t p r o v i d e f o r e x e c u t i v e s at the federal level. T h e 1958 constitution d i d n o t r e c o g n i s e the e x i s t e n c e o f t h e federations, a n d in 1 9 5 9 t h e y w e r e officially dismantled. T h e y w e r e easy e n o u g h to break u p — and the d e c i s i o n c o n d e m n e d t h e p o o r i n l a n d states i n p a r t i c u l a r t o g r e a t e r p o v e r t y a n d i s o l a t i o n after t h e b r i e f e u p h o r i c b i r t h o f t h e s e p a r a t e n e w nations. N o w o n d e r m o r e powerful neighbours s o o n began t o n i b b l e a t t h e i r b o r d e r s after i n d e p e n d e n c e . B y c o n t r a s t , B r i t i s h 623

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p o l i c y in N i g e r i a transferred p o w e r t o a federal g o v e r n m e n t . F e d e r a t i o n d i d n o t h a v e a n e a s y c o u r s e after i n d e p e n d e n c e , f o r N i g e r i a suffered a n a g o n i s i n g c i v i l w a r w h e n t h e o i l - r i c h a r e a o f Biafra attempted t o s e c e d e ; yet afterwards the prospects o f a large, p o p u l o u s and p r o s p e r o u s state m a d e N i g e r i a into the d o m i n a n t W e s t A f r i c a n p o w e r , t o w e r i n g o v e r its m a n y f r a n c o p h o n e n e i g h ­ b o u r s . I t is h a r d t o e s c a p e t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t w a n t e d the t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n states t o b e small, p o o r , weak, divided and thus dependent. F u l l i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s at t h e t i m e o f t h e r e f e r e n d u m n e v e r ­ t h e l e s s a l r e a d y u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n i n all A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s , t h o u g h m o s t A f r i c a n leaders w e r e n o t ready t o g i v e u p F r e n c h aid. T h u s , o f the 12 territories v o t i n g in the 1958 r e f e r e n d u m , o n l y G u i n e a v o t e d ' n o n \ T o g o a n d C a m e r o u n , as U N T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s , w e r e already scheduled for independence, and did not v o t e . E l e v e n territories then joined the F r e n c h C o m m u n i t y , presided o v e r b y the president o f France, w i t h a consultative E x e c u t i v e C o u n c i l c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e h e a d s o f 13 c o n s t i t u e n t g o v e r n m e n t s . In principle, there w a s also a H i g h C o u r t o f Arbitration and a C o m m u n i t y Senate, consultative only, w h i c h included represen­ tatives o f the constituent legislatures; but the C o m m u n i t y n e v e r really t o o k f o r m , b e i n g o v e r t a k e n b y e v e n t s . 1

B y 1 9 5 9 - 6 0 t h e t e m p o o f p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e all o v e r t h e A f r i c a n continent had q u i c k e n e d . Radical African leaders w e r e actively d e m a n d i n g independence from France, w h i c h faced a c o n t i n u i n g w a r in A l g e r i a and w a s threatened internally b y the possibility o f c i v i l w a r . B e l e a g u e r e d o n all s i d e s , t h e F r e n c h g a v e w a y t o t h e idea o f i n d e p e n d e n c e for Africa, w h i l e c l i n g i n g to the n o t i o n that aid w o u l d assure F r e n c h influence, i f n o t c o n t r o l , in the area. T h e F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t s p o n s o r e d an a m e n d m e n t to T i t l e X I I o f the 1958 c o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i c h p e r m i t t e d the 11 m e m b e r s t o b e c o m e independent yet remain w i t h the C o m m u n i t y and r e c e i v e aid. B y t h e e n d o f i 9 6 0 all t h e 1 4 t e r r i t o r i e s o f f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a h a d b e c o m e politically s o v e r e i g n states a n d m e m b e r s o f the U n i t e d N a t i o n s . T h e s o v e r e i g n t y w a s p o l i t i c a l o n l y ; it w a s h a r d t o a r g u e that a n y o f the n e w states w a s v i a b l e in an e c o n o m i c sense and m a n y o f the borders appeared p o r o u s indeed. C r e a t i n g viable nation states o u t o f these n o m i n a l l y i n d e p e n d e n t units b e c a m e the difficult a n d c h a l l e n g i n g tasks o f the A f r i c a n f o u n d i n g fathers. 1

T h e other members were Malagasy and metropolitan

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T h e constitutional advances m a d e in francophone tropical Africa after t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e d e v e l o p ment o f political parties and other p o p u l a r organisations, i n c l u d i n g trade unions and y o u t h m o v e m e n t s . Because o f the special nature o f the F r e n c h colonial system, w h i c h rejected the idea o f independence and for m a n y years e n t w i n e d political reforms w i t h the concept o f 'assimilation', m a n y o f the African organisations w h i c h eventually b e c a m e part o f the nationalist m o v e m e n t s in A f r i c a w e r e b o r n w i t h labels m a d e in F r a n c e . T h e r e w a s a b r a n c h o f the French Socialist Party ( S F I O , Section Française de l'Internationale O u v r i è r e ) in S e n e g a l ; there w e r e A f r i c a n parties affiliated t o t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t , C h r i s t i a n D e m o c r a t i c , a n d Radical Socialist Parties; the A f r i c a n trade-union m o v e m e n t s w e r e s i m i l a r l y affiliated w i t h m e t r o p o l i t a n u n i o n s . 1

G i v e n the alliance w i t h F r e n c h parties and the federal arrangements in Africa, political parties f o r m e d interterritorial n e t w o r k s at t h e o u t s e t . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t w a s t h e R a s s e m b l e m e n t D é m o c r a t i q u e A f r i c a i n ( R D A ) , f o u n d e d in B a m a k o in O c t o b e r 1 9 4 6 . R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f v i r t u a l l y all t h e t e r r i t o r i e s w e n t t o t h e f o u n d i n g m e e t i n g . T h e c o n v e n e r s w e r e six F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a n deputies: Félix H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y o f the I v o r y Coast, L a m i n e G u è y e and L e o p o l d S e n g h o r o f Senegal, S o u r o u M i g a n A p i t h y o f D a h o m e y , Fily D a b o Sissoko o f Soudan and Y a c i n e D i a l l o o f G u i n e a . Unfortunately, f r o m the point o f v i e w o f creating a c o m m o n A f r i c a n front, o p p o s i t i o n b y the socialist minister for overseas France caused the Africans allied w i t h the S F I O to w i t h d r a w , w i t h the result that, a l t h o u g h representatives appeared from m o s t territories, s o m e o f the m o s t i m p o r t a n t leaders o f the time w e r e excluded. Perhaps the m o s t notable w i t h d r a w a l w a s Senegal, w h o s e leaders w e r e then m e m b e r s o f the S F I O . T h u s b e g a n the rivalry b e t w e e n Senegal and the I v o r y Coast. T h e most powerful R D A leader w a s H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y , t h o u g h t h e r e w e r e s e c t i o n s i n all t h e t e r r i t o r i e s o f A O F , w i t h t h e exception o f Mauritania, and several o f the A E F territories. T h e R D A w a s the d o m i n a n t party in S o u d a n , G u i n e a , the I v o r y C o a s t , G a b o n a n d C h a d , a n d its s e c t i o n s p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n politics (if n o t d o m i n a n t ) in U p p e r V o l t a , N i g e r , C a m e r o u n 1

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a n d C o n g o - B r a z z a v i l l e . I t e x i s t e d as a m i n o r p a r t y i n S e n e g a l a n d D a h o m e y . T h e unity o f the R D A w a s n o t based o n tight interterritorial organisation b u t rather o n cooperation b y the leaders, their c o m m o n colonial experiences in e d u c a t i o n a n d e m p l o y m e n t , and their c o m m i t m e n t t o African emancipation. T h e weakness o f interterritorial organisation became evident as, once the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t p u s h e d for separate territorial a u t o n o m y u n d e r t h e loi-cadre r e f o r m s , l e a d e r s d e f e n d e d t h e i r s e p a r a t e t e r r i ­ torial interests. T w o major internal crises in the R D A illustrate the c o m p e t i t i o n w h i c h l e d t o i t s d e m i s e . T h e first c a m e t o a h e a d i n 1 9 5 0 , w h e n H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y and the majority o f the party's parliamentary r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s d e c i d e d t o b r e a k p a r l i a m e n t a r y ties w i t h t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , ties w h i c h d a t e d f r o m t h e t i m e w h e n the C P w a s in p o w e r in France. I n the c h a n g e d political climate o f France the alliance w i t h the C o m m u n i s t s had b e c o m e a serious liability for the R D A leaders w h o n o w w a n t e d t o a d o p t a p o l i c y o f constructive collaboration with the French government. T h e crisis w a s e v e n t u a l l y r e s o l v e d at t h e c o s t o f r e m o v i n g t h e secretary-general o f the party, expelling dissident party sections i n C a m e r o u n , S e n e g a l , a n d i n d i v i d u a l s o n t h e left w i n g o f t h e N i g e r s e c t i o n . A s a r e s u l t t h e official R D A f a c e d s t r o n g c r i t i c i s m f r o m t h e left f o r s o m e y e a r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y f r o m t r a d e u n i o n s , y o u t h movements and student organisations. T h e s e c o n d c r i s i s a r o s e o u t o f t h e loi-cadre d e c r e e s o f 1 9 5 6 - 7 . It t u r n e d o n t h e r e l a t e d i s s u e s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d f e d e r a l i s m v e r s u s territorialism, a n d w a s b r o u g h t into the o p e n at t h e third R D A C o n g r e s s , w h i c h a l s o t o o k place at B a m a k o in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 5 7 . B y t h i s t i m e , t h e p o w e r f u l G u i n e a a n d S o u d a n sections — w h i c h s t o o d for m o v i n g rapidly t o w a r d total i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d f o r p r e s e r v i n g t h e f e d e r a t i o n as t h e o n l y m e a n i n g f u l f r a m e w o r k for that independence - w e r e in a position t o challenge the leader­ ship o f the I v o r y C o a s t . H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y , reluctant t o see his prosperous territory p a y i n g the greater part o f the cost o f an expensive federation o f largely impoverished members, advocated the principle o f territorial a u t o n o m y within a closely knit F r e n c h A f r i c a n c o m m u n i t y . T h i s i s s u e , a n d H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y ' s atti­ tude, b r o u g h t a b o u t the disintegration o f the interterritorial R D A , after t h e r e f e r e n d u m o f S e p t e m b e r 1 9 5 8 . O t h e r interterritorial g r o u p i n g s n e v e r a c q u i r e d as m u c h influ626

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e n c e as t h e R D A . T h e y t o o k t h e f o r m o f t e m p o r a r y a l l i a n c e s a m o n g t e r r i t o r i a l p a r t i e s ; a n d t h e i n i t i a t i v e in t h e f o r m a t i o n o f such alternative g r o u p i n g s generally c a m e from the d o m i n a n t m a s s p a r t y i n S e n e g a l . T h e first o f t h e s e g r o u p i n g s w a s t h e I n d é p e n d a n t s d ' O u t r e - M e r ( I O M ) , f o u n d e d b y S e n g h o r i n 1948 to project the influence o f his n e w l y f o u n d e d B l o c D é m o c r a t i q u e S é n é g a l a i s ( B D S ) at t h e l e v e l o f t h e F r e n c h p a r l i a m e n t , i n c l u d i n g parliamentary representatives from U p p e r V o l t a , D a h o m e y and G u i n e a . F o r five y e a r s t h e I O M e x i s t e d o n l y as a p a r l i a m e n t a r y a l l i a n c e w i t h t h e F r e n c h C h r i s t i a n D e m o c r a t s . A t its c o n f e r e n c e in B o b o - D i o u l a s s o i n 1 9 5 3 , it a t t e m p t e d t o b e c o m e a n e x t r a parliamentary m o v e m e n t , e m p h a s i s i n g the principle o f A f r i c a n a u t o n o m y w i t h i n a federal F r e n c h R e p u b l i c . T h e I O M w a s r e p l a c e d in e a r l y 1 9 5 7 b y t h e C o n v e n t i o n A f r i c a i n e , a n d t h i s i n t u r n in 195 8 b y t h e P a r t i d u R e g r o u p e m e n t A f r i c a i n ( P R A ) , w h i c h u n i t e d a l m o s t all n o n - R D A p a r t i e s o u t s i d e M a u r i t a n i a . It t h e n m a d e s t r e n u o u s , a l t h o u g h u n s u c c e s s f u l , efforts t o e s t a b l i s h a s i n g l e unified p a r t y c o v e r i n g all o f t h e A O F t h r o u g h a m e r g e r w i t h t h e R D A . T h e initiative failed; Senegalese leaders w e r e unable to o v e r c o m e a pattern o f resistance against their claims to leadership w h i c h h a d its o r i g i n s i n r e s e n t m e n t s a g a i n s t t h e p r e - w a r p r i v i l e g e s o f the ' o l d citizens'. B y 1 9 5 8 - 9 t h e different l e a d e r s o f A O F w e r e o p e n l y c l a s h i n g o n strategies and goals. S é k o u T o u r é and M o d i b o K e i t a w a n t e d immediate independence, for example, but T o u r é w a s w i l l i n g and a b l e t o p u s h f o r it, e v e n i f it m e a n t G u i n e a b e c o m i n g i n d e p e n d e n t o n its o w n . K e i t a , in a l a n d - l o c k e d c o u n t r y w i t h f e w r e s o u r c e s , b e l i e v e d i n d e p e n d e n c e s h o u l d b e a c h i e v e d as a g r o u p . T h u s T o u r é l e d G u i n e a t o v o t e 'non* t o t h e 1 9 5 8 r e f e r e n d u m , w h i l e K e i t a v o t e d r e l u c t a n t l y oui\ but led M a l i into a union w i t h Senegal b y f o r m i n g a n e w i n t e r t e r r i t o r i a l p a r t y , t h e P a r t i d e la F é d é r a t i o n Africaine ( P F A ) in M a r c h 1959, w i t h the intention o f r e v i v i n g the n o w defunct federation. Initially the P F A had sections in D a h o m e y , U p p e r V o l t a a n d N i g e r , b u t its s t r o n g e s t o p p o n e n t was H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y w h o h a d m o r e t o offer t h e s e c o u n t r i e s t h a n either the S e n e g a l e s e o r M a l i a n leaders. H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y w a s n o t in f a v o u r o f i m m e d i a t e i n d e p e n d e n c e , and m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y h e w a s n o t a f e d e r a l i s t , s i n c e t h e I v o r y C o a s t , as t h e w e a l t h i e s t t e r r i t o r y in t h e A O F , s t o o d t o l o s e f r o m j o i n i n g a s t r o n g independent federation. H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y c h o s e to t e m p t his t

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w e a k e r n e i g h b o u r s w i t h promises o f assistance a n d w a s able t o f o r m t h e m i n t o a counter-alliance as distinct f r o m a federation. T h u s the Entente came into being, to oppose the P F A and the Mali Federation. T h e Entente included the I v o r y Coast, U p p e r Volta, D a h o m e y and Niger. Mali w a s composed only o f Senegal and Soudan. In A E F similar tensions existed. T h e strongest o p p o n e n t s o f a federation w e r e in G a b o n w h i c h , b e i n g rich like the I v o r y C o a s t , resented C o n g o - B r a z z a v i l l e ' s p r e - e m i n e n c e in t h e federation, as the h o m e o f t h e capital o f an o t h e r w i s e p o o r federation w h i c h G a b o n subsidised. G a b o n ' s leaders preferred a u t o n o m y , a l t h o u g h later o n G a b o n p r o v e d w i l l i n g t o j o i n in u n i o n s f o r limited cooperation in b o t h e c o n o m i c and political matters. T h u s t h e c e n t r i f u g a l t e n d e n c i e s s e t i n m o t i o n b y t h e loi-cadre p r e v a i l e d . T o m o s t o b s e r v e r s it s e e m e d c l e a r t h a t t h e s t a t e s o f francophone tropical Africa w o u l d h a v e been better off politically and economically had they continued t o be organised o n the federal basis that h a d b e e n established b y t h e F r e n c h at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f the colonial era. W h a t e v e r France's role in ensuring the break-up o f these federations o n the e v e o f independence, there c a n b e n o d o u b t that for the great majority o f A f r i c a n s the principle o f a u t o n o m y w i t h i n their g i v e n territorial b o r d e r s w a s m o r e attractive than federation. Indeed, h o w e v e r m u c h their l e a d e r s m a y h a v e b e e n c o n c e r n e d w i t h i n t e r t e r r i t o r i a l affairs, a s far a s s e c u r i n g t h e i r h o m e b a s e w a s c o n c e r n e d , t h e y w e r e s t r i c t l y national in organisation and appeal. T h e struggle t o create interterritorial alliances p r e o c c u p i e d o n l y the handful o f educated Africans w h o constituted the political élite. M o s t A f r i c a n s h a d their o w n idea o f w h a t a political party s h o u l d b e . I n d e e d , i n spite o f t h e identity o f labels, it w o u l d b e a mistake t o assume that the African organisations h a d the same characteristics as their m e t r o p o l i t a n h o m o n y m s . O f necessity, t h e A f r i c a n institutions reflected their e n v i r o n m e n t s , a n d these w e r e q u i t e different f r o m F r a n c e . M o s t A f r i c a n s w h o w e r e e d u c a t e d h a d been ' subjects ', and c o u l d o n l y attend schools w h i c h discriminated against t h e m . T h e y a c q u i r e d certificates w h i c h w e r e n o t e q u a l t o those g i v e n in F r e n c h schools and prepared t h e m o n l y for p o s i t i o n s a s s u b o r d i n a t e s t o F r e n c h officials o r commerçants. Paradoxically, their experience w i t h the inequalities o f assimilation 628

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led t h e m to place great v a l u e o n equivalencies. E d u c a t e d A f r i c a n s , r e s e n t i n g c o l o n i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , t o o k as t h e i r m o d e l s F r e n c h f o r m s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s . It w a s n a t u r a l f o r t h e m t o o r g a n i s e i n t h e f o r m o f parties and natural that the constitutions a d o p t e d before a n d after i n d e p e n d e n c e w e r e b a s e d o n F r e n c h t r a d i t i o n . Y e t a b r o a d g u l f separated A f r i c a n reality f r o m F r e n c h reality. M o s t A f r i c a n s w e r e i l l i t e r a t e in F r e n c h , t h o u g h q u i t e a f e w w e r e l i t e r a t e in A r a b i c . M o s t w e r e o r i e n t e d t o t h e i r e t h n i c c o m m u n i t i e s a n d had never been exposed to national representative institutions. T r a d i t i o n a l l e a d e r s still m a i n t a i n e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n d i r e c t i n g t h e affairs o f t h e m a s s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , w h o c o n t i n u e d t o l i v e in r u r a l a r e a s . E v e n t o w n s m e n m a i n t a i n e d c o n t a c t s w i t h traditional leaders in the c o u n t r y s i d e . M o s t traditional leaders w e r e a c c u s t o m e d t o h a v i n g F r e n c h - t r a i n e d m e n a c t as i n t e r m e d i ­ aries w i t h t h e E u r o p e a n s : t h e s e F r e n c h - t r a i n e d m e n w e r e t h u s in p o s i t i o n s o f p o l i t i c a l p r o m i n e n c e . B u t t h e y , in t u r n , h a d t o w i n the support o f traditional and religious leaders, or devise a means o f undercutting their p o w e r and reaching directly to individual m e n and w o m e n . R e l i g i o u s leaders like M u s l i m marabouts, chiefs, a n i m i s t s a g e s a n d official o r ' s e p a r a t i s t ' C h r i s t i a n l e a d e r s c o u l d exact their price f r o m the elected representatives. T h e i r ability t o b l o c k or control p r o g r a m m e s , or influence party d e v e l o p m e n t s , d e p e n d e d o n the n u m b e r o f p e o p l e under their c o m m a n d o r influence, and the resources they controlled. T h e conditions facing the n e w party leaders varied w i d e l y from c o u n t r y to country. E v e n t h o u g h m a n y had shared such c o m m o n e x p e r i e n c e s as b e i n g s t u d e n t s at t h e É c o l e N o r m a l e W i l l i a m P o n t y in S e n e g a l o r i n t e r r i t o r i a l s c h o o l s , t h e p o l i t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t l e a d e r s w e r e n o t i d e n t i c a l . T h e y differed in e t h n i c o r i g i n s and status, in religion, w e a l t h , practical e x p e r i e n c e , i d e o l o g y , and in the c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h t h e y b u i l t their o r g a n i s a t i o n s . T h e 14 c o u n t r i e s v a r i e d in t h e s i z e a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e i r e t h n i c g r o u p s , the size and experience o f their western-educated élite, the presence or absence o f large n u m b e r s o f F r e n c h colonisers, their g e o g r a p h y and e c o n o m i c resources, their infrastructure and the m o d e r n i s i n g impact o f colonial rule. T h u s t h e w i d e s p r e a d rise o f p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s i n all t h e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a n c o l o n i e s o b s c u r e d s o m e real differences. N e v e r t h e l e s s , a pattern e m e r g e s . A t the outset, w h e n the franchise w a s limited, parties w e r e d o m i n a t e d b y the important p e o p l e o f the territory, 629

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o f t e n t h e r e f o r e b y officially d e s i g n a t e d ' c h i e f s ' . T h e s e ' p a t r o n * p a r t i e s f r e q u e n t l y h a d d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t F r e n c h official b l e s s i n g and c o m p e t e d w i t h ' m a s s ' parties, w h i c h d r e w their leaders f r o m a m o n g the m o r e anti-colonial educated Africans, w h o m a d e s e r i o u s efforts t o e n r o l l t h e m a s s e s d i r e c t l y . I n s o m e t e r r i t o r i e s , mass party leaders reached villages before the franchise b e c a m e universal, and u n d e r c u t the local leaders. B y the early 1950s a mass party b e g a n t o a s s u m e p r e c e d e n c e in m a n y territories, b u t d i d n o t b e c o m e s e c u r e , e x c e p t i n S e n e g a l , u n t i l after t h e loi-cadre r e f o r m s of 1956-7. Thereafter most countries w e r e dominated by a single party, w h i c h stressed direct participation in politics t h r o u g h the multi­ plication o f local branches, parallel w o m e n ' s and y o u t h organis­ ations, regional, territorial and e v e n interterritorial m e e t i n g s and o r g a n s o f the Press. T h e s e parties e m p l o y e d organisers, distributed party cards and collected dues. T h e U n i o n Progressiste Sénégalaise ( U P S ) , the Parti D é m o c r a t i q u e de G u i n é e ( P D G ) , the Parti D é m o c r a t i q u e d e la C ô t e d ' I v o i r e ( P D C I ) o f t h e I v o r y C o a s t , t h e C o m i t é de l'Unité T o g o l a i s e ( C U T ) , and the B l o c D é m o c r a t i q u e d u G a b o n ( B D G ) all c o n s i d e r e d t h e m s e l v e s t o b e m a s s p a r t i e s , identified m o r e o r less w i t h d e m o c r a t i c r e f o r m s in their n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e s . E v e n c o u n t r i e s w h e r e it w a s d i f f i c u l t t o d i s c e r n a s e r i o u s effort t o o r g a n i s e t h e r u r a l m a j o r i t y — s u c h as Mauritania - developed one major controlling party under a French-educated leader w h o espoused modernising goals. Indeed, the distinction b e t w e e n p a t r o n and mass parties, best seen t h r o u g h a t u r n o v e r o f l e a d e r s h i p at t h e l o c a l l e v e l b e f o r e independence, usually faded a w a y in the period after independence. W e discuss b e l o w t w o examples o f mass party d e v e l o p m e n t , G u i n e a a n d S e n e g a l , in o r d e r t o illustrate the c o m m o n t r e n d in t h e 1 4 c o u n t r i e s , a n d t h e d i v e r s i t i e s a m o n g t h e m as w e l l . S o m e ' mass ' parties w e r e led b y nationalists w h o also supported radical social reform. S é k o u T o u r é , the G u i n e a n President, for example, had been i n v o l v e d in a G r o u p e d ' É t u d e s C o m m u n i s t e s ( G E C ) , o r g a n i s e d b y F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t s in his c o u n t r y in the i m m e d i a t e p o s t - w a r p e r i o d , and in trade-union politics initially associated w i t h the C o m m u n i s t unions in France. T h e imprint o f the F r e n c h p r e s e n c e , h o w e v e r , w a s less m a r k e d in G u i n e a than in c o u n t r i e s s u c h as S e n e g a l o r t h e I v o r y C o a s t , b e c a u s e f e w s e t t l e r s h a d 630

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e s t a b l i s h e d t h e m s e l v e s t h e r e a n d t h e r e h a d b e e n little c a p i t a l investment. A n A f r i c a n élite h a d n o t b e e n able t o o r g a n i s e p o l i t i c a l l y i n p r e - w a r G u i n e a , b u t S é k o u T o u r é , w h o h a d little f o r m a l e d u c a t i o n a n d h a d b e e n a p o s t a l c l e r k b e f o r e h i s rise t o p o w e r , w a s a b l e t o c r e a t e a s u c c e s s f u l m a s s p a r t y after t h e w a r . A l t h o u g h the immediate impact o f the French reforms under the F o u r t h R e p u b l i c in G u i n e a w a s the creation o f ethnic a n d regional parties, T o u r é ' s o w n Parti D é m o c r a t i q u e d e G u i n é e ( P D G ) , h o w e v e r , had national pretensions and followed the o r g a n i s a t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s o f its p a r e n t R D A . B u t w h e n m o s t R D A t e r r i t o r i a l b r a n c h e s b r o k e t h e i r ties w i t h t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , S é k o u T o u r é ' s t r a d e u n i o n r e m a i n e d affiliated t o t h e F r e n c h C o m m u n i s t - d o m i n a t e d u n i o n . H e r o s e t o p r o m i n e n c e as t h e territorial leader b y o r g a n i s i n g a successful strike in 1953 against t h e i n s u f f i c i e n c y o f t h e n e w l y p a s s e d code du travail. T h e r e a f t e r he c o n s o l i d a t e d his gains politically w i t h a rapid national spread o f his party w h i c h w o r k e d closely w i t h his u n i o n — indeed, the leaders w e r e m o s t l y the same p e o p l e . A l t h o u g h the P D G lost the 1954 elections, p r o b a b l y t h r o u g h interference b y alarmed c o n s e r v a t i v e F r e n c h a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , it c o n t i n u e d t o g r o w . A c h a n g e in the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t in 1 9 5 4 b r o u g h t in a m o r e tolerant colonial administration and the P D G w o n the 1 9 5 6 - 7 elections. M e a n w h i l e , T o u r é sought to appeal to v a r y i n g regional a n d e t h n i c g r o u p s b y n o t i n g h i s f a m i l y ties t o g r e a t t r a d i t i o n a l leaders o f the past and emphasising the unifying principles o f Islam, anti-colonialism and M a r x i s m . A t the same time he de­ plored ethnic divisions and the d o m i n a n c e o f ' c h i e f s ' o r trad­ itional leaders. In 1 9 5 7 he engineered a major c h a n g e in territorial adminis­ t r a t i o n t h a t r e m o v e d official c h i e f s f r o m t h e i r p o s t s a n d h e c o n t i n u e d thereafter to undercut their p o w e r w h e n e v e r possible. Still t h r e a t e n e d b y l e a d e r s o f t h e r e m n a n t e t h n i c p a r t i e s a n d b y other G u i n e a n intellectual g r o u p s , S é k o u T o u r é w a s impelled b y his u r b a n u n i o n s u p p o r t e r s t o t a k e a r a d i c a l s t a n d c o n c e r n i n g independence. His o w n anti-French orientation and nationalism led h i m naturally t o f a v o u r i n d e p e n d e n c e , b u t the penalities f o r G u i n e a ' s 'non' v o t e i n 1 9 5 8 w e r e v e r y h i g h . T h e l a c k o f p o w e r o f traditional leaders and the effectiveness o f his organisation e n s u r e d a 'non v o t e i n t h e 1 9 5 8 r e f e r e n d u m . T h e n , as it w a s still to be in the 1970s, c o m m u n i c a t i o n w a s irregular a n d i n c o m p l e t e , 9

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e v e n a m o n g c l o s e A f r i c a n p o l i t i c a l allies in t h e v a r i o u s f r a n c o ­ p h o n e s t a t e s . I t is p o s s i b l e t h a t T o u r e m i g h t n o t h a v e c a l l e d f o r a non v o t e h a d h e n o t t h o u g h t t h a t o t h e r p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s w o u l d f o l l o w h i s s u i t , as D j i b o B a k a r y i n N i g e r d i d , a n d h a d h e n o t h a d an a n g r y confrontation w i t h de G a u l l e , w h o w a s actively c a m p a i g n i n g f o r a 'out* v o t e , o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f t h e l a t t e r ' s official visit to C o n a k r y in A u g u s t 1958. Separate, early independence led t o isolation for G u i n e a . It u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y r e i n f o r c e d the difficulty o f territorial r e g r o u p i n g into o n e o r m o r e federations w h i c h w e r e already unlikely to be realised, since the F r e n c h had already dismantled the federal institutions o f b o t h A O F and A E F . It w a s i n f a c t t h e m o d e r a t e l e a d e r - L e o p o l d S e d a r S e n g h o r w h o i n 195 9 c r e a t e d a n e w f e d e r a t i o n - t h e M a l i F e d e r a t i o n - w i t h the radical Soudanese leader, M o d i b o K e i t a . S e n g h o r w a s n o t identified w i t h s w e e p i n g social reforms. H e w a s n o t fiercely anti-colonial and n o t u r g e n t l y M a r x i s t in his e c o n o m i c p r o ­ g r a m m e . N o n e t h e l e s s h e , l i k e all t h e o t h e r s o - c a l l e d m o d e r a t e s , d e v e l o p e d into a nationalist. €

9

S e n e g a l w a s u n i q u e b e c a u s e o f its l o n g a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h F r a n c e , the early existence o f a s m a l l ' c i t i z e n ' class in the f o u r c o m m u n e s , a relatively l a r g e n u m b e r o f e d u c a t e d p e o p l e h a v i n g at least s e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l t r a i n i n g , a n d its r e l a t i v e l y e x t e n s i v e i n f r a s t r u c ­ t u r e , i n c l u d i n g a m a j o r p o r t . F u r t h e r m o r e , it h a d b e e n t h e c a p i t a l o f the A O F federation. S e n e g a l had, h o w e v e r , o n l y o n e e x p o r t crop, groundnuts, and few mineral resources. Early contacts w i t h France assured a relatively h i g h degree o f politicisation, e v e n b e f o r e 1948. It w a s n o t e x c l u s i v e l y ' c i t i z e n s ' in the c o m m u n e s w h o entered politics. A t a v e r y early stage traditional leaders learned to put pressure indirectly o n French administrators to obtain favours. African elected representatives, too, kept judicious ties w i t h p o w e r f u l t r a d i t i o n a l l e a d e r s o u t s i d e t h e c o m m u n e s f o r the m o n e y and support they c o u l d obtain. T h e first w o u l d - b e n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l p a r t y in S e n e g a l , f o u n d e d in 1936, w a s c o n n e c t e d w i t h the m e t r o p o l i t a n F r e n c h Socialist Party and headed by a ' c i t i z e n ' lawyer, Lamine G u e y e . His c o n s t i t u e n c y w a s initially o n l y the ' c i t i z e n ' g r o u p , t h o u g h his p a r t y d i d m a i n t a i n ties w i t h t h e u n e n f r a n c h i s e d i n t e r i o r . T h e r e f o r e w h e n t h e B r a z z a v i l l e r e f o r m s w e r e u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n , h e c h o s e as his d e p u t y a candidate w h o c o u l d appeal t o the masses outside the c o m m u n e s , L e o p o l d Sedar S e n g h o r . In s o m e w a y s G u e y e ' s

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choice w a s ironic. S e n g h o r w a s an intellectual, poet and g r a m marian, a naturalised citizen. Furthermore, he w a s a Catholic in a predominantly M u s l i m country, and a Serer rather than a m e m b e r o f the dominant W o l o f g r o u p . B u t S e n g h o r also p r o v e d a masterful politician. H e immediately perceived the need t o w o o the rural masses a n d their traditional leaders directly, a n d w a s critical o f G u è y e for n o t d o i n g this appropriately. A p o w e r s t r u g g l e s o o n d e v e l o p e d b e t w e e n t h e t w o m e n a n d i n 1948 S e n g h o r formed his o w n party, the B l o c D é m o c r a t i q u e Sénégalais ( B D S ) . D e s p i t e efforts b y G u è y e t o w i n o v e r r u r a l l e a d e r s , it w a s S e n g h o r w h o g a i n e d the r e p u t a t i o n as t h e ' m a n o f the p e o p l e ' . B y 1951 h i s p a r t y h a d b e c o m e d o m i n a n t i n S e n e g a l . S e n g h o r , and his s e c o n d - i n - c o m m a n d , M a m a d o u D i a , stressed that theirs w a s a socialist mass party c a l l i n g f o r r e f o r m . T h e y built t h e B D S , w h i c h b e c a m e t h e B l o c P o p u l a i r e S é n é g a l a i s i n 1956 a n d t h e U n i o n P r o g r e s s i s t e S é n é g a l a i s e i n 1958, o n t h e b a s i s o f e t h n i c and religious g r o u p s w h i c h asserted their p o w e r in relation t o the ' o l d citizens'. F u r t h e r m o r e , they built alliances w i t h s o m e o f the m o s t p o w e r f u l M u s l i m leaders in central Senegal. Y e t , b e t w e e n 1951 a n d i960, S e n g h o r a l s o t o o k i n t o a c c o u n t p e r i o d i c d e m a n d s o f radical t o w n s m e n , ' y o u n g T u r k s ', w h o w a n t e d i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n t e r n a l r e f o r m s , s u c h as r e d u c i n g t h e p o w e r s o f traditional leaders. S e n g h o r astutely g a u g e d the m o m e n t w h e n c o m p r o m i s e w a s n e c e s s a r y a n d a b s o r b e d d i s s i d e n t g r o u p s i n 1956 a n d a g a i n i n 195 8. B y o f f e r i n g p o s i t i o n s w i t h i n t h e p a r t y , a n d l a t e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o t h e d i s s i d e n t s a n d t a k i n g at l e a s t n o m i n a l l y m o r e radical stances, S e n g h o r deflected the g r i e v a n c e s o f successive groups o f ' y o u n g T u r k s ' . I n t e l l e c t u a l s o f t h e left c o n t i n u e d t o d i s a g r e e w i t h S e n g h o r : a t t h e 1958 r e f e r e n d u m a l e f t - w i n g g r o u p b r o k e o f f f r o m t h e U P S to f o r m the Parti d u R e g r o u p e m e n t Africain ( P R A ) , w h i l e a g r o u p o f university students h a d f o r m e d the Marxist Parti Africain de l'Indépendence ( P A I ) the year before. B o t h parties c a m p a i g n e d f o r a 'non t h o u g h S e n g h o r s u c c e s s f u l l y o b t a i n e d a 'oui m a j o r i t y . t

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S e n g h o r w a s consistently p r a g m a t i c in p o l i c y , a n d called o n l y for a g r a d u a l m o v e t o state socialism. H e j o i n e d w i t h M o d i b o K e i t a , despite the radical i d e o l o g y o f the latter, t o f o r m t h e M a l i Federation, since he believed the e c o n o m i c and political p o w e r o f the t w o countries combined w o u l d be m u c h greater than if they r e m a i n e d separate. L i k e i m p e r i a l A u s t r i a , S e n e g a l , as h e a d q u a r t e r s

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Table 1 2 . 1 . Francophone tropical Africa, 1960-7j. Population Size (sq.m) Capital Benin (Dahomey until 197;)

3030000

4347;

Porto N o v o

Head of government 1963 Hubert Maga 1963 General Christophe Soglo* 1963-4 Sourou Migan Apithy and Justin Ahomadegbe 1965 General Christophe Soglo* 1967 Colonel Alphonse Alley* 1968 Emile Zinsou 1969 Major Kouandete* 1970 Maga, Apithy, Ahomadegbe Lt-Colonel Mathieu Kerekou (president since 1972)*

Cameroun

6600000

183736

Yaounde

Central African Republic (Oubangui-Chari until 1958)

2100000

*4<>5}5

Bangui

Chad

3950000

493750

Ndjamena

President Francois Tombalbaye General Felix Malloum (since 1975)*

Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)

1 300020

132000

Brazzaville

i960 President A b b e Fulbert Youlou 1963 President Alphonse Massemba-Debat* President Marien Ngouabi (since 1968)*

978000

103347

Libreville

President Leon M'ba

Gabon

President Alhaji Ahmadou Ahidjo President David D a c k o Field Marshall Jean-Bedel Bokassa (since 1966)*

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Conakry

President Sikou Toure

124500

Abidjan

President Felix Houphouet-Boigny

5600000

478822

Bamako

i960 President M o d i b o Keita Colonel Moussa Traore (since 1968)*

Mauritania

1500000

598000

Nouakchott

i960 President Mokhtar Ould Daddah

Niger

4500000

489000

Niamey

i960 President Hamani Diori Lt-Colonel Seyni Kountche (since 1974)*

Senegal

5900000

105 870

Dakar

i960 President Leopold Sedar Senghor

Togo

2400000

21925

Lome

i960 President Sylvanus Olympio 1963 President Nicolas Grunitsky General Etienne Gnassingbe Eyadema (since 1967)*

Upper Volta

5 900000

105 870

Wagadugu

i960 President Maurice Yameogo General Sangoule Lamizana (since 1966)*

Guinea

4310000

949x6

Ivory Coast

5600000

Mali (Soudan until i960)

* coup

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o f A O F , had the m o s t to lose f r o m a b r e a k - u p o f the federation. B u t S e n g h o r w a s u n w i l l i n g to tolerate the interference o f K e i t a in S e n e g a l e s e p o l i t i c s , o r the p o s s i b i l i t y that radical S e n e g a l e s e l e a d e r s m i g h t find a n a l l y i n t h e S o u d a n e s e p r e s i d e n t . T h i s i s s u e o f political trust precipitated the break-up o f the M a l i Federation i m m e d i a t e l y after its i n d e p e n d e n c e i n A u g u s t i 9 6 0 . S e n g h o r r e m a i n e d in secure c o n t r o l in S e n e g a l , based o n his alliances w i t h traditional leaders, while projecting a p r o g r a m m e o f gradual reform. I n all 1 4 states t h e 1 9 5 0 s w e r e t h e h i g h p o i n t o f n a t i o n a l i s m , w h e n leaders rose to p r o m i n e n c e , and built political parties to g i v e substance to the liberation that decolonisation had b r o u g h t to f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a . U p till t h e t i m e o f F r e n c h w i t h d r a w a l , the desire for i n d e p e n d e n c e unified Africans. T h e r e f o r e they a c c e p t e d t h e b o r d e r s set b y t h e F r e n c h . W h e n t h e F r e n c h w i t h d r e w , the c l e a v a g e s in A f r i c a n society b e g a n t o c o m e to the fore; independence seriously strained, indeed eroded, the w e a k n e w national institutions o f the n e w nations. I n d e p e n d e n c e d e m o n s t r a t e d that leaders, e v e n charismatic f o u n d i n g fathers, w e r e barely skilful e n o u g h to c o p e w i t h these c l e a v a g e s . Inde­ p e n d e n c e c a m e as a s h o c k t o m o d e r a t e a n d r a d i c a l l e a d e r s a l i k e . T h e brief period o f reforms, f o l l o w i n g the c o m p a r a t i v e l y short period o f colonial rule, had not prepared t h e m o r their p e o p l e for s o v e r e i g n t y . T h e 1 4 n e w s t a t e s w e r e w e a k at b i r t h .

T H E

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N A T I O N - B U I L D I N G ,

1960-75

T h e c o l o n i a l e x p e r i e n c e d i d little t o p r e p a r e A f r i c a n s for the m u l t i p l e tasks o f c r e a t i n g v i a b l e s o v e r e i g n states w h e r e n o n e h a d existed p r e v i o u s l y . T h e distance b e t w e e n the A f r i c a n élite and the r e s t o f t h e p e o p l e b e c a m e q u i t e e v i d e n t , as i n m a n y c o u n t r i e s political institutions withered. F r o m the pre-independence period o n w a r d s , African leaders had been a w a r e o f the need to create a national loyalty. B u t to w h i c h African entity? T h e ethnic g r o u p , the territory, A O F , the continent? T h e y used ' e t h n i c arithmetic' in an attempt t o add u p r e g i o n a l loyalties into national o n e s , c h o o s i n g t e r r i t o r i a l p a r t y l e a d e r s , a n d l a t e r g o v e r n m e n t officials, in a balance reflecting the ethnic c o m p o s i t i o n o f their states. M a j o r ethnic g r o u p s w e r e thus able to identify w i t h leaders c h o s e n for i m p o r t a n t national g o v e r n m e n t a l offices, and in this w a y w i t h 636

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national g o v e r n m e n t . In v a r y i n g d e g r e e s all the f r a n c o p h o n e leaders f o l l o w e d this p o l i c y w h i c h , h o w e v e r , r e v e a l e d the n e w s t a t e s ' w e a k n e s s e s , f o r it r a n c o u n t e r t o t h e e g a l i t a r i a n c u r r e n t s in n a t i o n a l i s t i d e o l o g y . A r a d i c a l l e a d e r l i k e S é k o u T o u r é d i d n o t w i s h t o admit in public that he selected personnel partly for their ethnic attributes. H e insisted that o n l y merit c o u n t e d , and m o v e d firmly t o u n d e r c u t t r a d i t i o n a l l e a d e r s w h o h a d a f o l l o w i n g i n t h e countryside a m o n g their o w n ethnic g r o u p s and c o u l d threaten the national g o v e r n m e n t there. In Senegal, a so-called democratic country, p o w e r f u l traditional l e a d e r s e x i s t e d i n t h e f o r m o f M u s l i m m a r a b o u t s w h o w e r e firmly entrenched in the m o n e y e c o n o m y , d o m i n a t i n g the g r o u n d n u t p r o d u c i n g z o n e s in the central W o l o f - s p e a k i n g area. A l t h o u g h marabouts tolerated the appointment from D a k a r o f trained administrators w h o w e r e carefully rotated t o prevent them from forgetting their national v o c a t i o n , these administrators w e r e ineffectual i f t h e y w e r e u n a b l e t o d e a l w i t h p o w e r f u l r e g i o n a l M u s l i m leaders. T h i s often meant g i v i n g them m o n e y o r tem­ pering a g o v e r n m e n t a l p r o g r a m m e w h i c h offended a m a r a b o u t . It also meant administrative pleading for the support o f the marabouts for agricultural production campaigns, health and vaccination p r o g r a m m e s and for settling disputes, for example, b e t w e e n Fula n o m a d s w h o w e r e gradually b e i n g pushed off their g r a z i n g lands, and the encroaching W o l o f , Serer o r T u k o l o r farmers. T h e continued importance o f the marabouts t h r o u g h the early 1970s ensured that g o v e r n m e n t a l national reforms p r o ­ gressed at a snail's pace a n d reduced the prospects for a d é m o ­ cratisation o f local politics. In Mali, b y contrast, neo-traditional l e a d e r s w e r e w e a k e r a n d less e n t r e n c h e d i n t h e m o n e y e c o n o m y than in Senegal. Leaders o f the national party, the U n i o n Soudanaise (US), had come to p o w e r b y appealing to opponents o f traditional leaders rather than relying solely o n marabouts o r t h e i r e q u i v a l e n t s . T h e S o u d a n e s e l e a d e r , first M a m a d o u K o n a t e , and then his successor, M o d i b o K e i t a , obtained support from radical t o w n s m e n a n d f r o m e x p l o i t e d g r o u p s in the c o u n t r y s i d e , s u c h as fishermen w h o w e r e b a r r e d f r o m fish p r e s e r v e s , r a d i c a l M u s l i m s r e p r e s s e d b y F r e n c h officials, a n d f o r m e r s l a v e s o f t h e n o r t h e r n B e r b e r s . Y e t M o d i b o K e i t a also e m p h a s i s e d ties t o g r e a t 1

1

See L u c y C r e e v e y (Behrman), ' M u s l i m politics a n d d e v e l o p m e n t in S e n e g a l ' , Journal of Modern African Studies, 1977, 1 5 , 2, 2 6 1 - 7 7 .

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leaders o f the past, a n d paid h o m a g e t o selected l i v i n g n e o traditional leaders w h o claimed descent from p r e - E u r o p e a n Sudanic rulers. T h e platform o f the U n i o n Soudanaise called for e l i m i n a t i o n o f t h e p o w e r o f l o c a l t r a d i t i o n a l l e a d e r s , a s w e l l as reduction o f the privileges o f the n e w l y e m e r g i n g administrative class. T h e U n i o n Soudanaise attempted to follow a national pro­ g r a m m e o f egalitarian reform and austerity, b u t w a s severely handicapped b y poverty and communication problems. B y 1968, w h e n M o d i b o K e i t a w a s imprisoned b y a military uprising, he had l o s t v i r t u a l l y all h i s s u p p o r t , u r b a n a n d r u r a l . A m o n g t h e dissatisfied g r o u p s w e r e leaders o f t h e traditional t r a d i n g families. S o m e , in pre-colonial times, h a d b e c o m e w e a l t h y in trans-Saharan trade, a n d others, in the c o l o n i a l era, o p e r a t e d a W e s t A f r i c a n trade n e t w o r k . K e i t a ' s military successor, Captain D i a k i t e , tried t o g i v e s o m e e n c o u r a g e m e n t t o the W e s t A f r i c a n traders, b u t w a s unable to o v e r c o m e the barriers t o trade established b y his independent n e i g h b o u r s . T h u s , a l t h o u g h it h a d b e e n a w e l l i m p l a n t e d p a r t y , the U n i o n Soudanaise disintegrated under the w e i g h t o f e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s and the dissatisfaction o f important urban a n d rural families. 1

S e n g h o r w a s forced to placate selected regional and religious l e a d e r s , w h i l e K e i t a l o s t office i n p a r t b e c a u s e h e l o s t t h e confidence o f p o w e r f u l c o m m e r c i a l families. In CongoBrazzaville A b b e Y o u l o u and his successor, Marien N g o u a b i , also h a d their p r o b l e m s balancing ethnic loyalties. Y o u l o u had relied o n s u p p o r t f r o m the F r e n c h administration, b u t h e also h a d an ethnic base a m o n g a s u b - g r o u p o f the K o n g o , the Lali, w h o w e r e located in Brazzaville and had a l o n g history o f political activity. Y o u l o u did n o t d e v e l o p an elaborate national political party and w a s therefore unable t o consolidate his p o w e r . H i s s u c c e s s o r , after a m i l i t a r y c o u p , w a s A l p h o n s e M a s s e m b a - D e b a t w h o s e base o f support w a s a m o n g the K o n g o . Y o u l o u had been a c o n s e r v a t i v e a t t a c k e d b y t r a d e u n i o n i s t s a n d leftist i n t e l l e c t u a l s . Massemba-Debat's regime, therefore, t o o k o n the rhetoric o f M a r x i s m a n d p l e d g e d radical social reforms. Unrest c o n t i n u e d 2

1

S e e R u t h Schachter M o r g e n t h a u , ' S t r a n g e r s , nationals a n d m u l t i n a t i o n a l s ' in W i l l i a m A . S h a c k a n d E l l i s H . S k i n n e r ( e d s . ) , Strangers in African societies ( B e r k e l e y , «979)C a l l e d s i m p l y C o n g o a f t e r 1970 b e c a u s e t h e B e l g i a n C o n g o w a s b y t h e n Z a i r e . 2

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C o n g o ' s w e a k national institutions did n o t attract c o o p e r a t i o n f r o m the e x i s t i n g social g r o u p s , w h e t h e r m o d e r n o r traditional. T h u s , w h e n another military c o u p placed M a r i e n N g o u a b i in office i n 1 9 6 8 , h e h a d t o r u l e a c o u n t r y w h i c h h a d n e v e r c o a l e s c e d . His o w n support c a m e from the n o r t h e r n M b o s h i , and right t h r o u g h t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s h e i n d i c a t e d h i s fear o f t h e p o w e r f u l K o n g o . H e d i s m i s s e d officials o f K o n g o o r i g i n a n d h a d u n e a s y r e l a t i o n s w i t h Z a i r e , w h i c h h e f e a r e d m i g h t s e r v e as t h e b a s e f o r a K o n g o c o n s p i r a c y a g a i n s t h i m . T h u s , e v e n u n d e r a leftist military g o v e r n m e n t rival ethnic g r o u p s w e r e a threat to stability and a clear hindrance to m o d e r n i s a t i o n . M o r e o v e r , ethnic c o n ­ s i d e r a t i o n s affected f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s w i t h n e i g h b o u r i n g A f r i c a n states, in p a r t i c u l a r Z a i r e . T h e s e three national e x a m p l e s illustrate n o t o n l y the i m p o r t a n c e o f ethnicity, but also, m o r e generally, the ephemeral quality o f the p a r l i a m e n t a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s left b y t h e F r e n c h c o l o n i s e r s . A t independence, African leaders t o o k control o f political institutions left b e h i n d b y t h e d e p a r t i n g c o l o n i s e r s . T h i s w a s a s t e p i n t h e transfer o f p o w e r , b u t n o t t o stability. In fact, the political institutions w i t h w h i c h the 14 nations w e r e b o r n either disap­ peared or became empty forms. After independence, elections, if t h e y t o o k p l a c e at a l l , i n c r e a s i n g l y r e s e m b l e d l o y a l t y p a r a d e s . Party structures w e r e eroded. T h e francophone countries w e n t rapidly from multi-party to one-party states; m a n y w e r e subse­ q u e n t l y supplanted b y military regimes. G o v e r n m e n t rested in the hands o f increasingly authoritarian leaders w h o , w h a t e v e r their political i d e o l o g y , if they kept legislatures, unions and parties, m a d e sure they w e r e w e a k and tried to build s o m e k i n d o f national s t a b i l i t y a r o u n d p e r s o n a l l o y a l t y t o t h e m s e l v e s , as e x e m p l i f i e d b y Presidents T o u r e o f Guinea, Senghor o f Senegal, H o u p h o u e t B o i g n y o f the I v o r y C o a s t and A h i d j o o f C a m e r o u n . In s o m e states, the c o n s e n s u s that had s u r r o u n d e d the f o u n d i n g fathers faded, p a r t l y d u e t o pressures r e s u l t i n g f r o m rapid b u t u n e v e n e c o n o m i c g r o w t h . I n o t h e r states t h e c o n s e n s u s d i s s o l v e d altogether, partly because o f e c o n o m i c stagnation or decline. Rapid c h a n g e characterised the I v o r y C o a s t , w h i c h attracted larges c a l e F r e n c h i n v e s t m e n t , b o t h b e c a u s e o f its n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e , a n d because the g o v e r n m e n t f a v o u r e d overseas investors. Senegal, a l t h o u g h p o o r e r , h a d e n o u g h in the w a y o f o n g o i n g c o m m e r c i a l concerns to keep French m o n e y - and m a n p o w e r - c o m i n g into 639

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the country. C a m e r o u n h a d an injection o f m o n e y f r o m the discovery o f oil; G a b o n and Niger had revenues from uranium, and G u i n e a from bauxite. In these countries the g o v e r n m e n t leaders c o u l d c o u n t , at least in part, o n m e e t i n g e x p e c t a t i o n s o f u r b a n as w e l l as traditional rural leaders o u t o f t h e s t e a d y g r o w t h o f revenues. T h e s e countries b e c a m e richer. B u t others b e c a m e p o o r e r , a n d g o v e r n m e n t s in t h e p o o r states h a d t o s t r u g g l e m u c h h a r d e r f o r s t a b i l i t y t h a n t h e i r affluent n e i g h b o u r s . T h i s o f c o u r s e d i d n o t m e a n that t h e richer states d i d n o t h a v e problems. Félix H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y ' s g o v e r n m e n t in the I v o r y Coast, for example, faced major political obstacles d u r i n g the period in question. T h e r e w e r e border p r o b l e m s in the north, partly caused b y U p p e r V o l t a ' s dependence o n the I v o r y Coast, and the migrations o f M o s s i labourers w h o came to the I v o r y Coast t o w o r k o n the c o c o a farms and returned h o m e periodically. Within the I v o r y Coast there w e r e ethnic and regional problems. Before independence H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y h a d created an alliance o f t r a d i t i o n a l l e a d e r s f r o m t h e r u r a l a r e a s ; after i n d e p e n d e n c e , h o w e v e r , the alliance disintegrated. O n e i m p o r t a n t reason f o r this w a s that e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t spread v e r y unevenly. T h e p e o p l e s in t h e b u r g e o n i n g coastal area a r o u n d A b i d j a n b e c a m e better off than their n e i g h b o u r s in m o r e remote interior sections ; the c o c o a - g r o w i n g area, w h i c h w a s H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y ' s h o m e area, benefited greatly. I n t h e t o w n s a n d in the rapidly c h a n g i n g countryside there w a s tension between ' n a t i v e ' Ivoiriens and D a h o m e a n and other 'strangers' from poorer neighbouring states : M a l i , G u i n e a a n d U p p e r V o l t a , f o r e x a m p l e . T h e r e w e r e g r o w i n g cleavages also b e t w e e n m o d e r n Ivoirien leaders, t h e n e w élite, a n d t h e rest o f the p e o p l e . T h i s p r o b l e m w a s c o m m o n t o a l l n e w l y i n d e p e n d e n t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , b u t it w a s m o r e m a r k e d in the I v o r y C o a s t because g r o w t h w a s m o r e rapid and m o r e resources w e r e i n v o l v e d . A n additional special feature o f cleavages in the I v o r y Coast and other francophone countries r e s u l t e d f r o m t h e F r e n c h c o l o n i a l a s s i m i l a t i o n p o l i c y . T h e deuxième loi Lamine Guèye a n d t h e code du travail left A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s w i t h a tradition o f h i g h w a g e s a n d benefits o r i g i n a l l y g i v e n t o F r e n c h citizens. S e n e g a l a n d the I v o r y C o a s t t h r o u g h the 1960s, for e x a m p l e , paid for vacations in France for their higher-level administrators. G o v e r n m e n t officials e x p e c t e d , a n d r e c e i v e d , m u c h better h o u s i n g than that available t o others, as w e l l as cars 640

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and o t h e r valuable benefits. T h e small g r o u p o f w a g e - e a r n e r s in t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r , t h r o u g h t h e code du travail, a l s o r e c e i v e d m i n i m u m - w a g e g u a r a n t e e s far a b o v e w h a t r u r a l w o r k e r s c o u l d r e c e i v e . I n d e e d , t h e s t a t e i n w e s t e r n A f r i c a w a s b y far t h e l a r g e s t e m p l o y e r , a n d p r o d u c e d little w e a l t h , y e t t a x e d t h e a l r e a d y hard-pressed African peasants t o p a y for the disproportionately high privileges o f the frequently n o n - p r o d u c t i v e wage-earner. In the 1950s, the a v e r a g e w a g e o f A f r i c a n s in t h e p u b l i c sector in Senegal w a s t w i c e that o f G h a n a , e v e n t h o u g h t h e latter c o u n t r y was m u c h richer. E v e n t h o u g h prices w e r e higher in Senegal, a n d strict c o m p a r i s o n w a s d i f f i c u l t , t h a t d i f f e r e n c e u n d e r l i n e s t h e financial p r o b l e m i n m a n y f r a n c o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s . 1

T h e I v o r y C o a s t w a s n o e x c e p t i o n . T h r o u g h o u t t h e 1960s a n d 1970s, H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y m a n a g e d t o c o n t a i n p e r i o d i c instability stemming from these m a n y sources. B a c k e d b y the French, he disarmed dissatisfied elite m e m b e r s w i t h a r e g u l a r reshuffling o f the g o v e r n m e n t , c o - o p t i n g , w h e n h e c o u l d , o u t s p o k e n o p p o n e n t s . O c c a s i o n a l l y h e held state d i a l o g u e s w i t h ethnic leaders, r a n g i n g from civil servants to lorry drivers. T h e s e dialogues s h o w e d c o n s u m m a t e political skill, yet e v e n H o u p h o u e t - B o i g n y m i g h t n o t h a v e b e e n s o s u c c e s s f u l o v e r m o r e t h a n 30 y e a r s o f l e a d e r s h i p w i t h o u t the phenomenal g r o w t h in the wealth o f his country. T h e e c o n o m i c stagnation o f Mali forms a striking contrast. W h e n t h e M a l i F e d e r a t i o n split apart, S o u d a n t o o k t h e n a m e M a l i and c l o s e d its b o r d e r s w i t h its f o r m e r partner, despite t h e fact that it w a s n o w l a n d - l o c k e d , w i t h its m a j o r t r a d e - r o u t e s t o D a k a r c u t off. I t s m o n e y e c o n o m y w a s p a r a l y s e d . T o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h i s s e l f - i n f l i c t e d w o u n d , its l e a d e r s s o u g h t a l t e r ­ native political unions, in particular a close link w i t h G u i n e a . T h e l e f t - w i n g i d e o l o g y o f the t w o g o v e r n m e n t s m a d e this a reasonable c o m b i n a t i o n , b u t e c o n o m i c a l l y it d i d n o t h e l p . T h e e c o n o m y a n d infrastructure o f G u i n e a w e r e oriented t o its coast, there w a s n o rail-link w i t h M a l i , a n d G u i n e a itself w a s p o o r . T r a n s p o r t links w i t h the I v o r y Coast w e r e inadequate and the distance to Abidjan w a s great. A s dissatisfaction w i t h the resultant e c o n o m i c hardships g r e w , Keita's g o v e r n m e n t became increasingly authoritarian. H e w o r s e n e d the e c o n o m i c situation b y w i t h d r a w i n g M a l i from the F r e n c h W e s t A f r i c a n franc z o n e in 1962. T h e price o f c o n t r o l o f 1

See R u t h Schachter M o r g e n t h a u , ' O l d cleavages a m o n g n e w W e s t African states: t h e h e r i t a g e o f F r e n c h r u l e ' , Africa Today, A p r i l 1 9 7 1 .

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A F R I C A

his o w n c u r r e n c y w a s t h a t t h e M a l i a n franc w a s n o l o n g e r t r a n s f e r a b l e o u t s i d e its b o r d e r s w i t h its s e v e n different n e i g h b o u r s . A s c o n d i t i o n s deteriorated, K e i t a tried t o return t o the franc z o n e , b u t this d i d n o t h e l p . O p p o s i t i o n g r e w , as K e i t a b e c a m e m o r e stridently Marxist a n d dictatorial, until his a r m y arrested h i m in

1968. G u i n e a fared s l i g h t l y b e t t e r e c o n o m i c a l l y t h a n M a l i , a n d S é k o u T o u r é did manage t o hold o n to the leadership. W h e n the French w i t h d r e w all t h e i r p e r s o n n e l after G u i n e a h a d v o t e d t o t a k e i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e y left a w e a k m o d e r n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d a severely u n d e r d e v e l o p e d e c o n o m y - n o industrial structure and a poorly organised agricultural system. T o u r é , t h o u g h a Marxist, called for e c o n o m i c help f r o m w e s t e r n nations like the U n i t e d States as w e l l as f r o m C o m m u n i s t c o u n t r i e s . A t t h e g o v e r n m e n t a l level France ignored the appeal, while the Soviet U n i o n and the e a s t e r n b l o c b e g a n t o t r y t o fill t h e v o i d left b y t h e F r e n c h . B u t it w a s p r i v a t e f o r e i g n i n v e s t m e n t i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f G u i n e a ' s iron and bauxite, and the resulting revenues, that kept the g o v e r n m e n t afloat. I n i960 T o u r é w i t h d r e w f r o m t h e f r a n c z o n e and established a national currency; changed four times b y the e a r l y 1970s, it w a s a l m o s t w i t h o u t v a l u e i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . T h e G u i n e a g o v e r n m e n t also sought to replace the African m i d d l e m e n in t h e t r a d i n g n e t w o r k w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l i s e d d i s t r i b u t i o n o f g o o d s . B y t h e mid-1960s t h e G u i n e a n d o m e s t i c m o n e y e c o n o m y w a s i n disarray; the currency w a s severely devalued and there w e r e f e w g o o d s i n t h e m a r k e t p l a c e t o b u y w i t h it i n a n y c a s e . Guinea did not improve her economic position b y turning to socialist countries for aid a n d trade. T h e r e w e r e m a n y p r o b l e m s w i t h e x c h a n g e a n d p a y m e n t arrangements, w h i c h s o m e critics argue actually made G u i n e a more dependent. G u i n e a ' s e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s a n d lack o f effective administration disillusioned the élite, a n d p r o d u c e d a sense o f hopelessness in the c o u n t r y s i d e . M a n y p e o p l e left t o l i v e a b r o a d , w h i l e it b e c a m e difficult f o r foreigners to receive permission to c o m e to Guinea. T o u r é e m e r g e d as a n a u t o c r a t , r e m o v i n g h i s c r i t i c s w i t h i n t h e p a r t y , real or potential, allegedly for plotting against h i m . H e attempted t o rally n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t b y m o b i l i s i n g t h e p o p u l a t i o n t o resist n u m e r o u s real o r m a n u f a c t u r e d a t t e m p t e d c o u p s , s o m e o f w h i c h 1

1

L a n s i n é K a b a , ' G u i n e a n p o l i t i c s : a c r i t i c a l h i s t o r i c a l o v e r v i e w ' , Journal of Modern Africa Studies, 1977, 1 5 , 1, 39.

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OF

N A T I O N - B U I L D I N G

he suggested w e r e organised from abroad. In i960 he accused the F r e n c h , a n d in 1 9 6 1 h e e x p e l l e d t h e R u s s i a n a m b a s s a d o r o n s u c h a c h a r g e . I n 1965 h e b r o k e r e l a t i o n s w i t h F r a n c e b e c a u s e o f another anti-governmental plot. In 1969 he u n c o v e r e d yet another, t h e * L a b e ' p l o t , as a r e s u l t o f w h i c h 13 p e o p l e w e r e s e n t e n c e d t o death. In 1970 an attack w a s m a d e o n C o n a k r y , s u p p o r t e d b y the P o r t u g u e s e , a c c o r d i n g to a U N investigation. It w a s the largests c a l e a t t e m p t at a n o v e r t h r o w o f t h e T o u r e r e g i m e a n d as a r e s u l t 91 p e o p l e w e r e s e n t e n c e d t o d e a t h . O t h e r a t t e m p t e d c o u p s w e r e ' u n c o v e r e d ' between 1970 and 1974, and T o u r e frequently denounced foreign and domestic plotters. H e did strike a m o r e p e a c e f u l n o t e i n 1975 w h e n , after h i s r e - e l e c t i o n f o r a t h i r d t e r m in office, h e a n n o u n c e d t h a t n o r m a l r e l a t i o n s w o u l d b e re­ established w i t h France. G u i n e a after i n d e p e n d e n c e w a s , t h u s , o f t e n i n p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l . T o u r e c r e a t e d a p e o p l e ' s m i l i t i a t o fight ' s u b v e r s i o n ' , t o s u p p r e s s plots against his g o v e r n m e n t a n d t o c o u n t e r b a l a n c e the a r m y . I n G u i n e a , unlike M a l i , the a r m y barely existed, w a s kept d i v i d e d , in m o t i o n , a n d o u t o f s i g h t . A s m a n y o f t h e f o u n d i n g f a t h e r s w e r e i m p l i c a t e d i n t h e ' p l o t s ' , f e w r e m a i n e d i n p u b l i c life. L e a d e r s i n office c a m e m o r e a n d m o r e f r o m a m o n g t h o s e e d u c a t e d after i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e y r e c e i v e d definite p r i v i l e g e s in the f o r m o f e x c e l l e n t h o u s i n g , a c c e s s t o s c a r c e c o n s u m e r g o o d s a n d fine c a r s . T h u s T o u r e k e p t in p o w e r , t h o u g h the c o u n t r y s t a g n a t e d politically and economically. N a t i o n - b u i l d i n g i n t h e 1 4 f r a n c o p h o n e states d u r i n g t h e 1960s a n d e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s w a s n o t e a s y , as t h e s e c a s e s t u d i e s s h o w . S e n e g a l a n d t h e I v o r y C o a s t h a d f e w e r difficulties t h a n t h e o t h e r s . C a n it b e a r g u e d that the relative stability o f Senegal and the I v o r y C o a s t , c o m p a r e d t o M a l i a n d G u i n e a , w a s in p a r t t h e r e s u l t o f t h e i r different i d e o l o g i e s ? T h e e v i d e n c e is i n c o n c l u s i v e . B o t h M a l i ' s and G u i n e a ' s leaders a d o p t e d policies that d i s c o u r a g e d local agriculture and c o m m e r c e . T o u r e ' s g o v e r n m e n t lived o n foreign investment. H o w e v e r , s o m e moderate g o v e r n m e n t s had similar difficulties w i t h a g r i c u l t u r e a n d c o m m e r c e . T h e d r o u g h t o f t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s i n c r e a s e d p o v e r t y i n all t h e c o u n t r i e s b o r d e r i n g t h e S a h a r a a n d e x a c e r b a t e d p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y in M a u r i t a n i a , C h a d , N i g e r and U p p e r V o l t a , w h a t e v e r the type o f regime. I n all 1 4 states c r e a t i n g t h e e x t e r n a l n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s w a s a s t r u g g l e , and leaders f r o m the m o d e r n elite w e r e a m i n o r i t y that 643

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Table 12.2. Population statistics 3

Education'

Popu­ lation*

Size of largest city

% of pop.*

(Cities over 100000) V. urbanised

Type

Schools

Pupils

% of age 6-14 % of in pop. school

Religion''

Major ethnic groups

Benin 3030000

180000

Primary

10

Cotonou

82 5

n.a.

186000

Fon 2 8

Muslims 13

Adja 7 Bariba 6 Yoruba 5

Catholics 17

Bamileke

Protestants 17 Muslims 20

Beti-Pahouin 10 Tikar 5

Christians 35

Banda 33*

Muslims 5

Baya 29

b

Secondary

&

Cameroun 6600000

Catholics 15

340000 Douala

8 (*4)

d

technical University

7i 1

3M53 600

Primary Secondary

4137

938071

16

80

& technical University

*79 1

Primary Secondary

778

178550

38 1

10960 n.a.

84363 n.a.

Central African Republic 2100000 350000 Bangui

17

2 9

A

(J6)

d

& technical University

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

55

n

c

Chad 3950000

193000 Ndjamena

5

5 (14)

Primary Secondary & technical University

707

183250

664 1

9762 n.a.

5

22

Christians 5

Arab 20*

Muslims 52

Sara

Catholics 34

K o n g o 45*

Protestants 10

Bateke 20

Muslims 1

Babangi 16 Gabonese 15

Catholics 42

Fang

Congo 1300020

290000 Brazzaville

22 (4o)

d

Primary Secondary

I 0

33

3°7'94

30

n.a.

& technical University

122 1

87800 1436

Primary Secondary

734

121400

technical

77

686

University

»

135

Primary Secondary

1984

191287

Gabon 978000

85000

9

Libreville

(*8)

d

13

95

&

Protestants 18

Bakoto

Muslims 1

Mitshogo

Muslims 75

Susu*

Catholics 1.5

Mandingo Fulani

Guinea 4310000

525671 Conakry

12 ('9)

d

5

& technical University

n.a.

2785

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

n.a.

Table 12.2. (cont.) Population statistics Education

Popu­ lation

2

Ivory Coast 5 600000

Size of largest city

% of pop*

600000 Abidjan

(Cities over 100000) % urbanised

Type

Primary Secondary

13

{zof

Schools

n.a.

0

Pupils

681735

% of age 6-14 % of in pop. school

14

65

& technical & University 'Higher'

Mali 5600000

380000 Bamako

7

03)

d

Primary Secondary

1222

9 (11)

Primary Secondary & technical University

%

Catholics 12

Akan

Muslims

Kru

254634

Mande Senufo Lagoon Lobe

22

Muslims 65

Mandingo

Christians ;

Soninke Dogon Songhai

Muslims 99

Moors*

Christians 1

Fulani 75 Tukolor etc. 25

6444

technical University 'Higher'

140000 Nouakchott

0

106517 6500

&

Mauritania 1500000

Religion

5

2200

47000

26

Major ethnic groups

7084 n.a.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

17

Niger 4500000

125 OOO Niamey

(9)

d

Primary Secondary

139000

13

& technical 'Higher' University Senegal 4500000

600000 Dakar

13

13 (28)«»

Primary Secondary

44

Hausa

Christians 1

Tukolor 6 Fulani 7 Fulani

Muslims 80

Wolof i 6

Catholics 10

Tukulor 6 Fulani 7 Serer 7 Diola 3

Muslims 8

Ewe 8

Christians 25

Ouatchi 6 Kabre 10

Muslims 20

Mossi

Christians 10

Fulani Dioula

13810 5*i

n.a.

269997

8

40

& 68 208 5 200 n.a.

technical 'Higher' University

1

Muslims 85

b

Togo 240OOOO

2JOOOO

Lome

(H)

d

934

290000

technical University

90 1

31000 1385

Primary Secondary

1370

144 376

58

14416 450

Primary Secondary

13

60

&

b

Upper Volta 5900000

125000 Wagadugu

(8)

d

& technical University 1

3

11

b

c

1

Africa yearbook and who's mho, London: Africa Journal Limited, 1977. Europa yearbook, 1977. Gwendolen Carter, Five African states, Victor LeVine, ' T h e Cameroon federal republic', Cornell U . Press, 1963, 291. Calculations by Richard Hay, 'Patterns of urbanisation and socio-economic development in the Third World: an overview', in Third World urbanisation, R. Hay and J. Abu-Lughod (eds.), Chicago: Maaroufa Press Inc., 1 9 7 7 , 9 2 - 3 . Hay's percentages depend on country reported 'urbanised' population in 1971 - it refers to % of population in cities o f 20000 or over. d

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F R E N C H - S P E A K I N G

T R O P I C A L

A F R I C A

h a d t o d i l u t e t h e m a j o r i t y ' s t r a d i t i o n a l t i e s , e v e n as t h e y u s e d t h e m to reinforce national loyalties and institutions. A s the capacity o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t s g r e w , as m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n a n d t h e m o n e y e c o n o m y spread, g r o u p s w i t h an interest in the n a t i o n a l institu­ t i o n s a l s o g r e w : s u c h as p l a n t e r s i n t h e I v o r y C o a s t , m i g r a n t f a r m labourers in U p p e r V o l t a , miners in G a b o n and G u i n e a , and, e v e r y w h e r e , civil servants and the urban p o p u l a t i o n tied to w a g e - e a r n i n g jobs. T h e s e g r o u p s had national interests that o v e r r o d e o r at l e a s t c o m p e t e d e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h l o c a l i s e d e t h n i c o n e s . A f r i c a n national leaders also h a d difficulty r e a c h i n g i n d i v i d u a l citizens except rhetorically, t h r o u g h radio, newspaper and w o r d o f m o u t h . In practice they often had to deal t h r o u g h intermedi­ aries, chiefs and o t h e r traditional leaders, to assure results and i m p l e m e n t p r o g r a m m e s . R e a c h i n g the rural p o p u l a t i o n b e c a m e p r o g r e s s i v e l y m o r e difficult for g o v e r n m e n t s in c o u n t r i e s w h e r e t h e v a l u e o f t h e c u r r e n c y h a d d r a s t i c a l l y d i m i n i s h e d , as i n M a l i and G u i n e a . T h e r e the g o v e r n i n g urban elite, financed b y i n j e c t i o n s o f o v e r s e a s a i d , r e m i t t a n c e s o r r o y a l t i e s , a l m o s t floated a b o v e the rural population. F e w national institutions w e r e suited t o deal w i t h s u c h strains, a n d in s o m e states, like C h a d , e v e n the a r m y had difficulty h o l d i n g t o g e t h e r , and indeed e v e n t u a l l y disintegrated. In several cases o n l y outside intervention b y the former colonial p o w e r c o u l d shore u p regimes unable to deal w i t h the strains o f i n d e p e n d e n c e . F r e n c h t r o o p s s t a b i l i s e d P r e s i d e n t S e n g h o r d u r i n g his crisis w i t h M a m a d o u D i a , and President D i o r i o f N i g e r d u r i n g his s t r u g g l e w i t h D j i b o B a k a r y . L e o n M ' B a remained president o f G a b o n in F e b r u a r y 1964 solely because the F r e n c h intervened o n his behalf. In C h a d , President T o m a l b a y e called u p o n F r e n c h t r o o p s t o help h i m fight n o r t h e r n separatists s u p p o r t e d f r o m L i b y a . T h i s did n o t , h o w e v e r , s t o p his assassin­ ation in 1 9 7 5 . T h e F r e n c h did not try to p r e v e n t political r e v o l u t i o n s f r o m o c c u r r i n g in their f o r m e r c o l o n i e s , e x c e p t in areas w h e r e their o w n direct interests w e r e affected. N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y these w e r e the m o s t economically viable o f the former colonies, or those h a v i n g significant mineral potential.

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S O C I A L ,

E C O N O M I C

A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

S O C I A L ,

E C O N O M I C

A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

T h e break-up o f the A O F and the A E F federations shattered the c o h e s i v e n e s s , and r e d u c e d the h o r i z o n s , o f F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g tropical A f r i c a . T h e separate states b e c a m e w e a k rivals. T h e former federal capitals o f D a k a r and Brazzaville declined in i m p o r t a n c e . T h e l a n d - l o c k e d states suffered s e v e r e e c o n o m i c d e c l i n e s , w h i l e the e c o n o m i e s o f m o s t coastal states lost i m p o r t a n t traditional markets and sources o f labour supply. T h e e c o n o m i e s o f s t r o n g e r nations outside the area, like N i g e r i a , the N o r t h A f r i c a n states a n d e v e n Z a i r e , a t t r a c t e d a w a y t r a d e a n d p e o p l e . W i t h i n the f r a n c o p h o n e area n e w centres o f e c o n o m i c d y n a m i s m e m e r g e d , m o s t n o t a b l y in the I v o r y C o a s t , G a b o n and C a m e r o u n . O t h e r e c o n o m i c s h o c k s a c c o m p a n i e d independence, in particular the d r o u g h t in the early 1970s a n d the sharp rise in the c o s t o f oil and i m p o r t e d g o o d s . Inflation in F r a n c e w a s automatically passed o n to the franc-zone A f r i c a n states. L i k e their political institutions, the e c o n o m i c and social institutions o f the franco­ p h o n e states w e r e i n c r i s i s d u r i n g t h e first 15 y e a r s o f independence. T o d e t e r m i n e the patterns that d e v e l o p e d in the 1 4 f r a n c o p h o n e c o u n t r i e s i n t h e 1 9 4 0 - 7 5 p e r i o d , w e s h a l l l o o k at s o m e c o m m o n indicators o f c h a n g e : religion, education, urbanisation and econ­ o m i c g r o w t h . T h e s e indicate the d e g r e e to w h i c h p e o p l e l i v i n g in villages o r g a n i s e d o n a traditional basis w e r e d r a w n i n t o institutions and activities w h i c h c h a n g e d their orientations to their families, ethnic g r o u p s and t o t h e m s e l v e s . S e c o n d , these indicators w e r e important for the A f r i c a n élite, w h o s o u g h t e c o n o m i c p r o g r e s s a n d a b e t t e r life. T h i r d l y , t h e y w e r e i m p o r t a n t to t h o s e in political c o n t r o l for an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p r o b l e m s t h e y m i g h t have to confront. T h e spread o f mass education, for e x a m p l e , raised e x p e c t a t i o n s in states w i t h o u t the r e s o u r c e s t o fulfil t h e m . U r b a n i s a t i o n , t o o , i m p l i e d r a p i d l y e x p a n d i n g p o p u ­ l a t i o n s i n t h e c i t i e s , dissatisfied i f t h e r e w e r e n o j o b s o r a m e n i t i e s . T h e spread o f the universal religions, Islam and Christianity, c o u l d place people b e y o n d the control o f the political leaders, w h i l e e r o d i n g p u r e l y local ties a n d l o y a l t i e s . B e c a u s e , d u r i n g t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , d e c i s i o n s f o r all t e r r i t o r i e s w e r e f o r m u l a t e d i n F r a n c e , t h e official r e c o r d s o f F r e n c h t r o p i c a l Africa s h o w a deceptive uniformity, particularly before the 649

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F R E N C H - S P E A K I N G

T R O P I C A L

A F R I C A

Second W o r l d W a r . In practice, o f course, French colonial officials h a d t o a d a p t t o t h e s p e c i a l c o n d i t i o n s o f e a c h t e r r i t o r y , so that e v e n before independence there w e r e m u c h greater differences b e t w e e n t h e territories in b o t h their infrastructure a n d social c o m p o s i t i o n than the colonial records suggest. T h u s the role o f M u s l i m l e a d e r s i n different W e s t A f r i c a n t e r r i t o r i e s d e p e n d e d in p a r t o n t h e i r r e l a t i v e p o w e r at t h e t i m e o f t h e F r e n c h c o n q u e s t . W h e r e t h e F r e n c h c a m e u p a g a i n s t p o w e r f u l M u s l i m l e a d e r s after s u b j u g a t i n g t h e m militarily they incorporated t h e m a n d their successors into their administration. W h e r e M u s l i m leaders w e r e w e a k o r f e w in n u m b e r they w e r e ignored o r actively repressed. Senegal and the I v o r y C o a s t respectively p r o v i d e e x a m p l e s o f these differing a p p r o a c h e s . A g a i n , in practice t h e F r e n c h i n v e s t e d their resources in territories w h e r e their returns w e r e greatest, s o that the remote a n d inaccessible land-locked territories like C h a d o r S o u d a n h a d f e w e r F r e n c h officials a n d c o l o n i s e r s a n d r e c e i v e d less a t t e n t i o n as far as d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i r s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c infrastructure w a s concerned. 1

W h i l e e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , the spread o f education and u r b a n i s a t i o n w e r e o b j e c t s o f c o l o n i a l effort - e i t h e r t o e x t r a c t profit o r t o i m p r o v e l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s - the spread o f religion w a s l a r g e l y b e y o n d t h e c o n t r o l o f F r e n c h officials. T r u e , a t t i m e s t h e y f a v o u r e d M u s l i m s as s u p e r i o r t o a n i m i s t s b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e l i t e r a t e , a n d u s e d t h e m t h e r e f o r e as c l e r k s a n d i n t e r p r e t e r s : t h i s is n o t t h e m a j o r e x p l a n a t i o n , h o w e v e r , f o r t h e r a p i d s p r e a d o f Islam during the colonial period. Local political dynamics c o u n t e d a great deal m o r e . A d o p t i o n o f o n e o r another universal religion helped cement alliances o r enmities. In the nineteenth century the spread o f Islam w a s an a n s w e r , in part, t o the social u p h e a v a l s o f the time — Islam b o u n d together warring g r o u p s , w h i c h both fought the colonial invaders and attempted to conquer other A f r i c a n g r o u p s . Christianity, t o o , g r e w partly as a result o f the desire b y African g r o u p s t o transcend limits set b y traditional a u t h o r i t i e s o r b y s o c i a l b a r r i e r s , s u c h as s l a v e r y . I n t h e late c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , h o w e v e r , w h e n t h e m o n o p o l y o f g o v e r n m e n t institutions w a s in the hands o f the m o d e r n elite, religion became important to them politically. Religion could be used t o arouse the enthusiasm o f potential supporters for leaders 1

S e e L u c y C r e e v e y ( B e h r m a n ) ' T h e F r e n c h M u s l i m p o l i c y in Senegal*, in D a n i e l F . M c C a l l ( e d . ) , Aspects of West African Islam ( B o s t o n , 1971).

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o f n e w parties, o r to close the ranks o f a n e w political g r o u p a g a i n s t t h e a t t r a c t i o n s o f o u t s i d e r s f r o m a different r e l i g i o n . I n the A E F the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h w a s a p o w e r f u l political force, a l t h o u g h the substantial majority o f the p o p u l a t i o n n e v e r w e n t to c h u r c h and practised rituals m i x i n g A f r i c a n pre-Christian beliefs w i t h Christian doctrine. T h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h had e d u c a t e d m a n y m e m b e r s o f the n e w élite in D a h o m e y , T o g o , C a m e r o u n and the I v o r y C o a s t (and t o a lesser extent Senegal). T h i s training resulted in i n v i s i b l e b u t i m p o r t a n t social links b e t w e e n m a n y leaders and the clergy. T h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h s o u g h t to build o n this r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d t o d e e p e n its i n f l u e n c e i n A f r i c a after independence b y p r o m p t l y a p p o i n t i n g m o r e A f r i c a n priests to h i g h p o s i t i o n s in the c h u r c h . T h e c l e r g y c o n t i n u e d t o h a v e an i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n d a i l y life, e s p e c i a l l y i n r u r a l a r e a s , w h e r e parishioners w o u l d often seek the a d v i c e o f their priest w h e n confronted with a new problem. Individual clergymen continued to h a v e considerable influence w i t h m e m b e r s o f the political élite w h o m they k n e w well. B u t the c l e r g y had to tread w a r i l y to a v o i d , if possible, o p e n clashes w i t h other religious leaders o r w i t h s e c u l a r g r o u p s w h i c h m i g h t l a b e l t h e c h u r c h , w i t h its h e a d q u a r t e r s i n R o m e , as n e o - c o l o n i a l i s t . M u s l i m efforts t o s p r e a d t h e faith w e r e n o t s o h a m p e r e d . T h e r e w e r e M u s l i m s i n all 1 4 c o u n t r i e s , a l t h o u g h t h e y w e r e a m a j o r i t y (in 1 9 7 5 ) o n l y i n C h a d (52 p e r c e n t ) , G u i n e a (75 p e r c e n t ) , M a l i (65 p e r c e n t ) , M a u r i t a n i a (99 p e r c e n t ) , N i g e r (85 p e r c e n t ) a n d S e n e g a l (80 p e r c e n t ) . I s l a m h a d c o n t i n u e d t o s p r e a d b e t w e e n 1 9 4 0 a n d 1 9 7 5 i n all t h e t e r r i t o r i e s . It w a s a b l e t o a d a p t t o A f r i c a n s o c i a l traditions, and to accept p o l y g a m y w i t h o u t demur. M o r e o v e r , Islam w a s unlikely to be identified w i t h a E u r o p e a n colonial p r e s e n c e , e v e n b y its d e t r a c t o r s . A f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e , w h e n M i d d l e Eastern and N o r t h African nations b e g a n to g i v e gifts to support the extension o f K o r a n i c education and the construction o f n e w m o s q u e s i n v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s , I s l a m w a s still s e e n as i n d i g e n o u s , as a c o m p l e m e n t a n d e x t e n s i o n t o A f r i c a n t r a d i t i o n s . M u s l i m leaders, w h o w e r e almost w i t h o u t exception Africans a n d n o t A r a b s ( o r E u r o p e a n s , as m o s t C a t h o l i c c l e r g y h a d b e e n ) , u s u a l l y w e r e less h e s i t a n t t h a n t h e i r R o m a n C a t h o l i c c o u n t e r p a r t s to s u p p o r t a political cause openly. In countries w i t h a large M u s l i m majority, g o v e r n m e n t leaders usually had to strike b a r g a i n s w i t h the M u s l i m leaders, especially in M a u r i t a n i a a n d 651

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Senegal. B u t the roles o f M u s l i m leaders varied. In s o m e localities e s t a b l i s h e d M u s l i m l e a d e r s w e r e m o d e r n i s e r s w h o a c t e d as intermediaries b e t w e e n g o v e r n m e n t leaders and the peasants. T h u s , in S e n e g a l , t h e y h e l p e d t o spread the c u l t i v a t i o n o f g r o u n d n u t s , e n c o u r a g e d trade and u r g e d their f o l l o w e r s to v o t e in elections. M a n y w e r e , h o w e v e r , w a r y o f social r e f o r m , b l o c k e d health c a m p a i g n s , objected to the creation o f rural secular schools a n d w e r e o p p o s e d t o efforts t o o r g a n i s e r u r a l p r o d u c i n g o r s e l l i n g cooperatives. L o c a l l y , thus, s o m e M u s l i m leaders c o u l d s l o w d o w n development schemes while other Muslim reform groups might support them. Internationally, h o w e v e r , the M u s l i m leaders in f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a h a d little w e i g h t . F o r f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n s , b e i n g M u s l i m rarely implied any feeling o f solidarity w i t h n o n - A f r i c a n M u s l i m s — o r indeed w i t h M u s l i m s in o t h e r A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , w h e t h e r English- or French-speaking. T h e notable exception was Shaykh I b r a h i m a N i a s s , the T i j a n i y y a leader o f K a o l a c k in S e n e g a l , w h o had considerable influence in N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a , particularly K a n o . M u s l i m unity in the area w a s rather s y m b o l i s e d b y pilgrimages to M e c c a or international congresses o f M u s l i m s ; but n o close inter-state u n i o n s o f M u s l i m s w e r e f o r m e d . F u r t h e r m o r e , the historic tension b e t w e e n the A r a b s and Berbers o f the n o r t h and the Black A f r i c a n g r o u p s south o f the Sahara m a d e M u s l i m solidarity across this r e g i o n m o r e s y m b o l i c than real. T h i s w a s to b e c o m e v e r y apparent in the civil w a r in C h a d . O n l y a n o m i n a l p o l i c y o f b r e a k i n g r e l a t i o n s w i t h I s r a e l after 1 9 7 3 s i g n a l l e d a l i m i t e d c o m m o n f r o n t , a n d t h i s w a s n o t c o n f i n e d t o states h a v i n g M u s l i m majorities. E v e n the national political p o w e r o f M u s l i m leaders w a s l i m i t e d ; it m i g h t s l o w d o w n m o d e r n i s a t i o n , b u t it n e v e r b r o u g h t it t o a h a l t . I n p a r t i c u l a r , m o d e r n s e c u l a r e d u c a t i o n , a d o p t e d b y all t h e f r a n c o p h o n e l e a d e r s , u n d e r c u t t r a d i t i o n a l I s l a m i c v a l u e s , and spread inexorably. In the pre-independence period few African children had the o p p o r t u n i t y to g o to school, a l t h o u g h w h e r e s c h o o l s w e r e a v a i l a b l e t h e y w e r e filled. T h e F r e n c h h a d instituted a system o f primary and secondary schools w h i c h s e r v i c e d first t h e F r e n c h p o p u l a t i o n s a n d s e c o n d l y t h e A f r i c a n s . After the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r the n u m b e r o f schools increased, a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f D a k a r w a s f o u n d e d in S e n e g a l . P r i m a r y s c h o o l s remained concentrated in the larger t o w n s and cities and 652

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v e r y few w e r e f o u n d in the countryside. T h e handful o f secondary s c h o o l s w e r e also l o c a t e d in t h e larger t o w n s . S u p p l e m e n t i n g this system were the Christian mission schools w h i c h , before independence, h a d been responsible in m a n y territories for training a substantial element o f t h e e d u c a t e d élite. T h e s c h o o l s y s t e m e x i s t i n g at i n d e p e n d e n c e , h o w e v e r , h a d left t h e o v e r ­ w h e l m i n g majority o f school-age Africans w i t h n o access to education. F r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n élites, o n the w h o l e , defined m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n i n t e r m s o f F r e n c h s t a n d a r d s , e v e n if, a s n a t i o n a l i s t s , they s a w the negative impact o f F r e n c h schools o n the sense o f identity o f African children. African children had to study history texts b e g i n n i n g w i t h s u c h i m m o r t a l lines as ' O u r ancestors the G a u l s h a d b l u e e y e s a n d fair h a i r . . . ' a n d r e c o u n t i n g w i t h a p p r o b a t i o n t h e c o l o n i a l feats o f t h e E u r o p e a n p o w e r s . T h e y a l s o had t o study all subjects in a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e : F r e n c h . T h e curriculum basically f o l l o w e d the F r e n c h o n e , t h o u g h F r e n c h colonial administrators d e v e l o p e d s o m e technical p r o g r a m m e s for specific p u r p o s e s , s u c h as a special d i p l o m a f o r m e d i c a l assistants r e q u i r i n g less s c h o o l i n g a n d d i f f e r e n t t o p i c s f r o m t h o s e t a u g h t i n regular F r e n c h medical s c h o o l s . B u t A f r i c a n students - at p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s , a n d t h e l u c k y handful at t h e u n i v e r s i t y w a n t e d equality o f standards a n d s a w t h e m s e l v e s as c o m p e t i n g f o r t h e s a m e g o a l s a n d d e g r e e s as s t u d e n t s i n F r a n c e . W h e n independence came, African leaders, m a n y o f w h o m had studied t o b e c o m e teachers, w e r e faced w i t h a dual p r o b l e m . M o s t w a n t e d t o spread mass education. Y e t they h a d t o redefine educational g o a l s t o meet specifically A f r i c a n needs. T h e y a d o p t e d n e w texts w h i c h included A f r i c a n history. B y t h e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , all 14 c o u n t r i e s h a d either established technical s c h o o l s , i n c l u d i n g schools for public administrators, teacher-training colleges, agri­ cultural training p r o g r a m m e s , and para-medical p r o g r a m m e s for m i d w i v e s and practising nurses, o r added to those already in existence. T h e y had not, h o w e v e r , sorted o u t h o w to Africanise academic p r o g r a m m e s for African applicants to the universities, w h i c h remained for the greater part o f o u r period under French academic direction. M o s t feared there w o u l d b e a loss o f standards as a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e A f r i c a n i s a t i o n o f c o u r s e s . T h e c u r r i c u l u m c o n t i n u e d t o l e a d t o a baccalauréat, a n d r e s e m b l e d t h a t o f t h e French secondary school, so African students other than those

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from G u i n e a could still compete with their French peers for university entrance. M a n y continued to apply for entrance to university courses in France, e v e n after most o f the francophone states had built their o w n universities. T h e French educational system w a s part o f the colonial legacy, a product o f assimilation, rigid and expensive, and required an unusually large number o f expatriates to keep it g o i n g . W i t h the possible exception o f G u i n e a , the independent francophone states built o n French precedents. Technical education w a s w e a k . Most o f the African elite valued the same basic skills and advancements as did the French, and accepted industrialisation and modernised agriculture as necessary; so they emphasised education in the French language. O n l y Guineans departed from the precedent, with disastrous results. E v e n Mauritania, with Arabic as its lingua franca, maintained its French educational system intact, with Arabic merely being made a required subject. In the other countries French remained the official language. W h i l e there were numerous African languages, they were little used in the school systems, t h o u g h there w a s some use o f them on national radio and television. A l l 14 countries attempted to spread education from the t o w n s to the countryside, and they continued to import French teachers. It w a s many years after independence before there were e n o u g h Africans to staff primary schools and then in only a few countries. A t the secondary s c h o o l and university levels, French assistance continued to be required. In G u i n e a , S e k o u T o u r e remained hostile to 'intellectuals', and refused therefore to see the need for arts as well as technical faculties in a university. E v e n Guinea, h o w e v e r , needed assistance in technical and secondary schools. Mauritania was also an e x c e p t i o n ; it did not have a university; lack o f resources rather than i d e o l o g y appeared to be the reason. It also did not have sufficient educated people to staff its schools. T h e differing success in getting children into s c h o o l in the 14 countries reflected varying g o v e r n m e n t a l priorities. But the three richest countries also had the highest proportions o f school-age children in s c h o o l : I v o r y Coast (75 per cent), G a b o n (95 per cent), C a m e r o u n (80 per cent). In 1975 countries w h i c h were the most urbanised also had h i g h numbers o f school-age children in school. T h u s b o t h the Central African R e p u b l i c (55 per cent) and C o n g o (30 per cent) had more in school than most other countries. 654 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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C o r r e s p o n d i n g l y , s o m e o f t h e l o w e s t figures w e r e i n t h e l e a s t u r b a n i s e d a n d p o o r e s t c o u n t r i e s , s u c h as U p p e r V o l t a ( n p e r c e n t ) , N i g e r ( i 3 p e r c e n t ) a n d M a u r i t a n i a ( 1 7 p e r c e n t ) . T o g o (60 per cent) w a s an e x c e p t i o n ; neither h i g h l y urbanised n o r v e r y w e a l t h y , it r a n k e d f o u r t h i n s c h o o l i n g , h a v i n g b e n e f i t e d b o t h f r o m a s t r o n g m i s s i o n a r y p r e s e n c e a n d its T r u s t e e s h i p s t a t u s d u r i n g t h e colonial period. I n f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a , as e l s e w h e r e o n t h e c o n t i n e n t , schooling was linked closely with urbanisation. Large-scale r e c o r d e d u r b a n g r o w t h i n v i r t u a l l y all t h e 1 4 c o u n t r i e s b e g a n with incentives provided by European colonisers. T h e m o n e y e c o n o m y , h o w e v e r , supplied the m o s t p o w e r f u l stimulus: major t r a d i n g p o s t s , a n d later t h e m a j o r d i s t r i b u t i o n c e n t r e s f o r c a s h crops and i m p o r t e d g o o d s , g r e w rapidly d u r i n g the colonial period. Frequently the capital g r e w m o r e rapidly than any other t o w n , sometimes assuming the role o f a ' p r i m a t e ' city, rivalled b y n o o t h e r u r b a n c e n t r e a n d u n i t i n g all a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , i n d u s t r i a l , c o m m e r c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l p o w e r , as w e l l as t h e m o s t e x t e n s i v e infrastructure and service n e t w o r k . After the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e , t h e l a r g e s t t o w n s g r e w at a n e x p o n e n t i a l rate. 1

S e n e g a l p r o v i d e s a n e x a m p l e o f this p a t t e r n , a l t h o u g h e a c h c o u n t r y h a d its o w n i d i o s y n c r a c i e s ( t a b l e 1 2 . 3 ) . I n S e n e g a l t h e trend towards urban concentration continued throughout 1 9 4 0 - 7 5 , w i t h o u t the benefit o f an a c c o m p a n y i n g substantial g r o w t h in the e c o n o m y . T h i s resulted in a v a r i e t y o f p r e d i c t a b l e p r o b l e m s , a m o n g t h e m a n i n c r e a s e in u n e m p l o y e d o r p a r t i a l l y e m p l o y e d w o r k e r s in the u r b a n areas, primarily in D a k a r . In 1 9 7 2 , f o r e x a m p l e , o n l y 18 2 1 8 p e r s o n s o u t o f a p o p u l a t i o n o f 7 1 4 1 4 9 h e l d w a g e - p a y i n g j o b s . T h e rest w e r e u n e m p l o y e d o r e n g a g e d i n the informal sector, w h e r e returns o n w o r k w e r e typically v e r y l o w . M a n y other f r a n c o p h o n e tropical African nations s h o w e d the same pattern o f urban expansion without equally large e c o n o m i c g r o w t h . M i g r a t i o n to the city, and city g r o w t h due to natural causes, w e r e v e r y difficult t o s t o p . Officials s p o k e o f c o n t r o l l i n g 1

S t a t i s t i c s in r e g a r d t o c h i l d r e n i n s c h o o l a n d u r b a n i s a t i o n d e p e n d o n g o v e r n m e n t a l d o c u m e n t s a n d in s o m e c a s e s a p p e a r t o b e g r o s s e s t i m a t e s o r a r e a l t o g e t h e r l a c k i n g . B o t h p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n in s c h o o l a n d p e r c e n t a g e o f s c h o o l - a g e in s c h o o l are r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e 12.2 b e c a u s e t h e l a t t e r figures w e r e n o t a l w a y s r e l i a b l e a n d s e e m t o be m o r e o f an estimate than the f o r m e r ( w h i c h w e r e calculated directly, also f r o m official figures).

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T a b l e 1 2 . 3 . Urban growth in Senegal. 1904

Dakar (and Goree) Rufisquc-Bargny Ziguinchor Diourbel Louga St Louis Kaolack Thies Urban population Total population % urban

1930

I960-I

1974

374000 49000

714149

29800 28600 16 300 48800

49003

2 800

64000 20000 8 200 11 300 6 300 19400 13300 12600

78 500

15 5100

686600

I 290000

1900 000

3 110000

6.1

6.2

25 100 19200 700 500 1400 28 500 300

69 600 69 100

Source: Lucy Creevey, ' Religious attitudes and development World Development, July 1980, 8, 504.

22.1

38574 86851 105878 8

9 437

4222803 44

in Dakar, Senegal',

urbanisation a n d i n v e s t i n g in rural areas, b u t they d i d little. Leopold S e n g h o r a n d Félix H o u p h o u ë t - B o i g n y , a m o n g other leaders, s o u g h t a n d received aid from international organisations to i m p r o v e rural areas, b u t the disparity b e t w e e n urban a n d rural z o n e s in this p e r i o d actually increased, as t h e e x a m p l e o f S e n e g a l demonstrates (see table 12.4). F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e city p o o r a n d their n e w élite n e i g h b o u r s a p p e a r e d t o b e g r o w i n g , d e s p i t e efforts b y s o m e leaders, s u c h as M a r i e n N g o u a b i in t h e C o n g o , t o i m p r o v e t h e l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e city p o o r . A n d in t h e absence o f rural i m p r o v e m e n t s t o offset u r b a n a m e n i t i e s , a n y i m p r o v e m e n t s i n c i t y services f o r the p o o r m a y e v e n h a v e helped attract urban migration. O t h e r r e a s o n s , t o o , influenced t h e rate o f u r b a n i s a t i o n - a m o n g t h e m t h e Sahelian d r o u g h t o f the early 1970s. I n the l a n d - l o c k e d countries o f C h a d , N i g e r , U p p e r V o l t a , M a l i , a n d also t o a lesser e x t e n t i n t h e c o a s t a l states o f M a u r i t a n i a a n d S e n e g a l , t h e d r o u g h t led t o a drastic agricultural decline. W h e r e c r o p s h a d f o r m e r l y g r o w n they could g r o w n o longer. Accurate estimation o f the c o n s e q u e n c e s is n o t p o s s i b l e . M a n y p e o p l e d i e d a n d m a n y m o r e m i g r a t e d t o t h e cities o r t o n e i g h b o u r i n g agricultural z o n e s w h e r e water w a s available, a n d w h e r e they p u s h e d other w o r k e r s off the

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Table 1 2 . 4 . Medical personnel and education in Senegal, 1964 and 1974.

Population (thousands) Regions

Doctors

1964

1974

1964

Cap Vert 517 562 Casamance Diourbel 538 River 371 Sénégal Oriental 162 766 Sine Saloum 442 Thies Total 3358

699 619

81 10 8

635 389

Thousands o f people per doctor

Midwives

1974

1964

1974

1964

214 10 10

6. 56.2

3-3 61.9

90

67.3

79-4 25.9

4

M.7

9 10 12

49.0 58.1

13

40.5 69.6 29.5

42.7

14 2

281

23-3

14.1

138

5

245 814

4 11

H

556

15

3957

144

I

Thousands o f people per midwife

Nurses

Thousands o f people per nurse

Education: percentage in schools, ages 6 - 1 4 Boys

Girls

1974

1964

1974

1964

1974

1964

1974

1964

1974

1964

1974

211 16

5.7 62.4

3-3 38.7

223 106

2.3 5.3

0.8 1.9

43 10

53.8 30.9

33-4 20.5 49.0

9* 147 45 146

5.9 2.5 3.6

2.5

63 21 6

70 42

19 *9 5 26

864 320 250 310

15 33 22

3 6

58 21 10

23 31

13

17 23

45

14

26

34

54.7 54.7

31-3 16.4

330

*4-3

12.0

5-2

2.7

95

97 289

4.7

*-9

14 6 26 20

858

2457

3-9

1.6

*3

127 2

1-3 1.9

I

14

27 16

L. Creevey (Behrman), 'Muslim politics and development in Senegal', Journal of Modem African Studies, 1977, 15, 2, 267. The educational comparison between 1964 and 1974 is not exact - for example, Verrière excluded non-Africans, mainly found in Dakar. Source:

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

Table 12.5. Economic status. Imports/exports million CFA (1976 St = 250 FA)

Economically active population (EAP)

% of EAP in agriculture or herding

Agriculture % of G N P

Per capita GNP (US|) >975*

1110000

7J

}°

110

Cocoa beans Palm oils Cotton lints

1974 I - 27100 E - 12621

Cameroun

(180482)°

75

35

250

Coffee Cocoa beans Cotton Wood Aluminium

'975 I - 12810) E - 102087

Central African Republic

(566 jooy= (45 5 ° ° )

85

5°

160

Coffee Cotton Diamonds

1975 I - 14614 E - 10112

Chad

1 271000

»9

& animal products 100

80

Cotton

1974 I - 2205} E - 9053

Benin

d

Congo

Gabon

Guinea

(381400)'

50 +

80

(5 % of exports)

Major exports

Animal products 340

Wood products Sugar Palm oil Cocoa Tobacco Potash Petroleum

1974 I - 29658 E - 24970

1310

Wood products Manganese Uranium

1975 1 - 100559 E - 201921

Aluminium Pineapples Coffee Palm kernels

1971* (million syli) I - 1976

MO

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E-

IIJ5

exports)

Mali

Mauritania

(360000 Agriculture) (30ooo)

Senegal

1738000

Togo

Upper Volta

2855000

I - 141 396 E - 254572

85

5° (75 % of exports)

70

Groundnuts Cotton Animal products

19748 (million Mali francs) I - 60800 E - 16990

70

(c. 50 % of exports)

200

Iron ore Fish Copper concentrates

19748 (million ouguiya)

b

Niger

Cocoa Timber Petroleum

I - 5 J45 E-8175

90

( 5 7 % of exports)

100

Animal products Peanut products Uranium

'975 I - 26000 E - 20000

70

(50% of exports)

280

Peanut products Phosphates

1975 I - 119876 E - 96151

90

40

180

Phosphates Cocoa Coffee

'974 I - 28612 E-45174

95

(100% of exports)

7°

Animal products Groundnuts Cotton

'975 -I-32386 E - 9369

Notes: Calculations by Richard Hay, 'Patterns of urbanisation', 92-3. Wage earners only. Employed. Unemployed. Guinea has its own unconvertible currency: 1972 | i = 227.4 syli. ^ Major export. 6 Mali has its own currency: 1976 $1 = 500.0 Mali francs. Mauritania has its own currency: 1976 Si = 214.73 ouguiya. Source: Europayearbook, 1977. 1

b

e

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c

d

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land and t o the cities. In these, the p o o r e s t o f the f r a n c o p h o n e tropical African countries, the d r o u g h t accelerated the e c o n o m i c d e c l i n e that f o l l o w e d i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e r e w a s little that g o v e r n ­ m e n t s , w i t h f e w r e s o u r c e s at t h e i r c o m m a n d , c o u l d d o t o s t e m u r b a n m i g r a t i o n o r t o a l l e v i a t e its i m p a c t . T h e e c o n o m i c s t a t u s o f t h e 1 4 n a t i o n s at t h e e n d o f o u r p e r i o d is i l l u s t r a t e d b y t a b l e 1 2 . 5 . T h e I v o r y C o a s t , C a m e r o u n a n d G a b o n demonstrated some modernisation o f agriculture and eventual g r o w t h o f industry. In C a m e r o u n , a g r o w t h in plantation a g r i c u l t u r e - coffee, c o c o a , c o t t o n a n d w o o d p r o d u c t i o n - w a s reinforced by mineral resources : bauxite and oil. C a m e r o u n had one o f the highest G D P per capita and, a l t h o u g h w e a l t h clearly was not evenly spread, there w e r e n e w e c o n o m i c g r o u p s devel­ o p i n g t h r o u g h o u t the country w h o benefited from agricultural production. 1

G a b o n a l s o h a d a c o n s i s t e n t g r o w t h i n its G D P . I t h a d great w e a l t h in natural resources c o m p a r e d t o the o t h e r c o u n t r i e s and the highest G N P per capita - $ 1 3 1 0 - but since the b u l k o f its n a t i o n a l i n c o m e c a m e f r o m o i l , t i m b e r p r o d u c t s , u r a n i u m a n d o t h e r m i n e r a l s , it d i d n o t d i r e c t l y b e n e f i t t h e m a s s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n w h o w e r e directly e n g a g e d in subsistence a g r i c u l t u r e . W i t h its s m a l l p o p u l a t i o n , it w a s t h e ' Y e m e n ' o f f r a n c o p h o n e Africa. It had the largest e x p o r t surplus a m o n g the 14 countries and, next to the I v o r y C o a s t , the largest a m o u n t o f exports. T h e I v o r y C o a s t w a s the one agriculturally based e c o n o m i c success a m o n g the f r a n c o p h o n e tropical states. It had the s e c o n d h i g h e s t G N P per capita a n d the g r o w t h rate o f the G N P w a s a r o u n d 1 1 p e r c e n t p e r a n n u m f r o m 1960—75. T h e c o u n t r y d r e w t h e a t t e n t i o n o f f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s b e c a u s e o f its r i c h r e s o u r c e s i n cash crops, lumber, oil products and minerals. Since success generated further success, the a m o u n t and kind o f investments g r e w larger and m o r e d i v e r s e ; the e c o n o m y w a s in a c t i v e ferment. N e w g r o u p s e m e r g e d into the m o n e y e c o n o m y . A l t h o u g h there w a s s o m e t r i c k l e - d o w n o f benefits r e s u l t i n g in a rise in l i v i n g standards for m a n y people, a major criticism o f the I v o r y Coast's e c o n o m y i n t h i s p e r i o d w a s t h a t it first o f all b e n e f i t e d t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e n e w a n d p r i v i l e g e d é l i t e , a n d m u c h o f its w e a l t h w a s transferred to France. 1

A l l G N P p e r a n n u m g r o w t h r a t e f i g u r e s c o m e f r o m African yearbook and who's who,

1977-

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S O C I A L ,

E C O N O M I C

A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

In the C o n g o l e s e e c o n o m y the b u l k o f trade w a s n o t large, b u t the

Congo

had

considerable

resources

to

exploit,

including

petroleum and potash. In the early p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p e r i o d , the C o n g o ' s g r o w t h r a t e w a s s l o w b u t b y t h e e a r l y 1970s it

had

j u m p e d to a per a n n u m G D P g r o w t h rate o f 11.1 per cent. T h e Congo

was

relatively

prosperous,

even

in

the

early

post-

independence period, b y c o m p a r i s o n w i t h the countries b o r d e r i n g the Sahara. Mali, N i g e r , U p p e r V o l t a and C h a d , f o l l o w e d b y the Central A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c , w e r e t h e p o o r e s t c o u n t r i e s o f t h e 14 w i t h little d e v e l o p e d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e o r r e s o u r c e s f o r e x p o r t . T h e first t h r e e suffered b a d l y f r o m t h e d r o u g h t ; b u t e v e n p r e v i o u s l y t h e i r e c o n o m i e s had n o t exhibited signs o f g r o w t h . Mauritania in c o n t r a s t h a d v i r t u a l l y its e n t i r e s p a r s e p o p u l a t i o n l i v i n g as n o m a d i c h e r d e r s at t h e b a r e s t s u b s i s t e n c e l e v e l , b u t its G D P m u l t i p l i e d b y t w o a n d a h a l f t i m e s f r o m i960 t o 1970. T h i s g r o w t h , h o w e v e r , w a s d e c e p t i v e . It c a m e f r o m i r o n o r e and c o p p e r e x p o r t s b e g u n i n t h e 1960s a n d c o n t r a s t e d w i t h t h e absence o f any substantial exports before. E v e n w i t h a positive balance o f trade and relatively h i g h G N P per capita, Mauritania w a s o n e o f the poorest countries. T h e mineral exports had to c o v e r h e a v y i n v e s t m e n t , a n d s o t h e r e w a s little t o d i s t r i b u t e t o p e o p l e . Benin, T o g o , G u i n e a and Senegal w e r e also p o o r , a l t h o u g h their e c o n o m i c p l i g h t s e e m e d less desperate t h a n the five c o u n t r i e s j u s t m e n t i o n e d , b e c a u s e t h e y h a d s o m e m i n e r a l r e s o u r c e s as w e l l as e x p o r t c r o p s . M o r e o v e r , t h e s e s t a t e s h a d fertile s o i l a n d , w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f S e n e g a l , g o o d rains, so subsistence f a r m i n g c o u l d meet quite a few needs. O f the four, o n l y G u i n e a had extensive resources - a potentially rich c o m m e r c i a l agriculture, iron and v e r y p u r e a l u m i n i u m - b a u x i t e r e s e r v e s , as w e l l as w a t e r - p o w e r p o t e n t i a l . S e n e g a l h a d a r e l a t i v e l y h i g h G N P p e r c a p i t a , b u t it e x p o r t e d little a n d h a d a l a r g e t r a d e d e f i c i t . F o r all its l o n g c o n t a c t s w i t h F r a n c e a n d its a d v a n t a g e s i n t h e f o r m o f i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , derived from h a v i n g been capital o f A O F , Senegal had severe e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s . T h e expansion o f the p r o d u c t i o n o f p h o s ­ phates w a s a hopeful sign, but the major commercial c r o p and export, groundnuts, did not expand. Senegalese groundnuts suffered f r o m c o m p e t i t i o n i n t h e w o r l d m a r k e t i n t o w h i c h t h e y w e r e t h r u s t i n t h e e a r l y 1970s, w h e n F r a n c e w i t h d r e w t h e s u b s i d y she had continued to pay since colonial days.

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T h e o n e area in w h i c h c h a n g e s e e m e d g e n e r a l l y p o s i t i v e w a s in t h e field o f c u l t u r e . T h r o u g h o u t t h e last d e c a d e s o f c o l o n i a l r u l e a n d i m m e d i a t e l y after i n d e p e n d e n c e , F r a n c o p h o n e tropical A f r i c a n artists a n d w r i t e r s b e g a n t o reach a n i n c r e a s i n g l y b r o a d e r and enthusiastic audience in Africa and b e y o n d . T h e r e h a d been o u t s t a n d i n g e a r l y a u t h o r s , s u c h as t h e S e n e g a l e s e w r i t e r s O u s m a n e S o c é , w h o s e n o v e l , Karim, w a s p u b l i s h e d i n P a r i s i n 1937, a n d L e o p o l d S é d a r S e n g h o r , w h o s e c o l l e c t i o n o f p o e m s , Chants d'ombres, w a s p u b l i s h e d , a l s o i n P a r i s , i n 1945. B e r n a r d D a d i é o f t h e I v o r y C o a s t b e g a n w r i t i n g i n t h e 1930s a n d b e c a m e a n o t e d p o e t a n d p l a y w r i g h t . A l l o f t h e m w e r e heavily influenced b y their F r e n c h colonial past. T h e y w r o t e in F r e n c h perhaps in part because o f their e d u c a t i o n , perhaps in part because the m a r k e t for b o o k s w a s primarily French-speaking. Y e t they often described A f r i c a n life a n d c u l t u r e a n d t h e s t r a i n s o f a d a p t i n g t o t h e E u r o p e a n presence and the a c c o m p a n y i n g destructive forces o f m o d e r n i s a t i o n . T h e s e A f r i c a n w r i t e r s a n d artists m a i n t a i n e d a l i v e l y d i a l o g u e i n t h e p a g e s o f Présence Africaine, 2l c u l t u r a l r e v u e f o u n d e d b y A l i o u n e a n d C h e i k h A n t a D i o p o f Senegal. Its headquarters, o n the R u e des É c o l e s in Paris, also h o u s e d a b o o k s t o r e a n d a p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e specialising in A f r i c a n w r i t i n g s . O t h e r o u t s t a n d i n g a r t i s t s i n c l u d e d M o n g o B e t i ( Ville cruelle) : J o s e p h O w o n o {Tante Bella), a n d F e r d i n a n d O y o n o {Une vie de boy), all f r o m C a m e r o u n ; a n d C a m a r a L a y e o f G u i n e a {L'Enfant noir). In Senegal, C h e i k h A n t a D i o p attracted attention w i t h his c o n t r o v e r s i a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f A f r i c a n h i s t o r y , Nations nègres et culture p u b l i s h e d i n 1954. O n e o f t h e b e s t k n o w n A f r i c a n a r t i s t s w a s O u s m a n e S e m b è n e ; h i s b o o k s , s u c h as Les Bouts de bois de Dieu, p u b l i s h e d i n i960 a n d h i s films, b e g i n n i n g w i t h Borom Sarette, generated w o r l d w i d e interest. A l t h o u g h s o m e critics o f the f r a n c o p h o n e tropical A f r i c a n authors, in particular s o m e E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g A f r i c a n writers, h a v e d e c r i e d their w o r k as t o o h e a v i l y influenced b y F r e n c h culture a n d l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n s , m a n y o f t h e i r n o v e l s , p o e m s , p l a y s , films and treatises r e c e i v e d international a c c l a i m f o r their b e a u t y , craftsm a n s h i p a n d distinctive assertion o f an A f r i c a n cultural reality. O n e p o i n t stands o u t f r o m this e x a m i n a t i o n o f e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m 1940 t o 1975 : t h e i n f l u e n c e o f F r a n c e continued t o be great. A l t h o u g h the individual nations m o v e d a w a y f r o m e a c h o t h e r as e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l d i v e r s i t i e s

662

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E C O N O M I C

A N D

C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

i n c r e a s e d a m o n g t h e m , t h e y all s h a r e d t h e s a m e c o l o n i a l l e g a c y . T h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , w h i l e brief, h a d l a u n c h e d t h e i r m o d e r n e c o n o m i e s . E x c e p t for G u i n e a , France continued to control foreign e x c h a n g e and convertibility. T h e F r e n c h had designed thé n e t w o r k o f roads, railroads and c o m m u n i c a t i o n systems oriented to the coast and to France. E c o n o m i c and p o p u l a t i o n m o v e m e n t s f o l l o w e d the n e w transport n e t w o r k w h i c h had replaced the system o f trans-Saharan trade and migration o f the pre-colonial era. T h e t e c h n o l o g y o f the m o d e r n e c o n o m i c system w a s French, and so, t o o , w e r e the c o n c e p t s o f m a n a g e m e n t . A l t h o u g h there w e r e similar concepts in a n g l o p h o n e and f o r m e r B e l g i a n c o l o n i e s , there w a s a special F r e n c h character to institutions and practices in f o r m e r F r e n c h territories. T h e use o f the F r e n c h l a n g u a g e and the continued importance o f the F r e n c h system o f education g a v e depth to the French influence, e v e n t h o u g h traditional culture had d e e p r o o t s . M o r e i m p o r t a n t , h o w e v e r , as p e o p l e left v i l l a g e s a n d w e n t to the t o w n s , o r s i m p l y w e r e d r a w n o n t o the fringes o f a w a g e - b a s e d m o d e r n agriculture, they w e r e t o u c h e d b y the F r e n c h heritage, by French g o o d s , currency, language and practices.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

R E L A T I O N S

T h e colonisers o f French-speaking tropical Africa departed reluctantly. E x c e p t in G u i n e a , the c o n n e c t i n g e c o n o m i c , p o l i t i c a l and cultural ties, w h i c h w e r e established in the c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , d i d n o t s i m p l y b r e a k at i n d e p e n d e n c e , b u t r a t h e r a l t e r e d a n d faded. I n d e p e n d e n c e m a d e p o s s i b l e c h a n g e s in the pattern o f inter­ national relations w h i c h had hitherto been controlled b y the F r e n c h ; it o p e n e d d i r e c t a c c e s s t o all o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , t o t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d o t h e r m u l t i l a t e r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . F o r t h e first t i m e at i n d e p e n d e n c e the states o f f r a n c o p h o n e tropical A f r i c a h a d direct official c o n t a c t , f o r e x a m p l e , w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d R u s s i a , Japan, G e r m a n y , the U n i t e d K i n g d o m and a n g l o p h o n e tropical Africa, w i t h S o u t h Africa, C h i n a and India. Y e t , in practice, p o v e r t y , the limits built into the monetary system b y the rules o f the franc z o n e , a n d the practical barriers t o alternatives, k e p t relations w i t h France preponderant. M o s t other nations r e c o g ­ n i s e d F r e n c h h e g e m o n y i n its f o r m e r c o l o n i e s . 663

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T h e m o s t p e r s i s t e n t ties w e r e t h e e c o n o m i c o n e s , s i n c e t h e y rested o n m u t u a l necessities and a d v a n t a g e s . In the c o l o n i a l era, the French had redirected the bulk o f trans-Saharan trade to the Atlantic coast, and turned the m o n e y e c o n o m y t o w a r d s the export of products which French consumers wanted. French investment flowed into potentially lucrative coastal regions - p ro d u ci n g p a l m - o i l in D a h o m e y , g r o u n d n u t s in S e n e g a l , coffee a n d c o c o a in the I v o r y C o a s t . T h e s e i n v e s t m e n t s w e r e m a d e w i t h o u t any t h o u g h t o f m e e t i n g local needs, e v e n in foodstuffs, o r o f p r o d u c i n g the e c o n o m i c infrastructure that c o u l d eventually support inde­ p e n d e n t states. N o t until after the S e c o n d W o r l d W a r d i d the F r e n c h g o v e r n m e n t p u t a sizeable a m o u n t o f aid into the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e t e r r i t o r i e s , t h o u g h it w a s l i t t l e i n a b s o l u t e terms o r in terms o f A f r i c a n needs. O n l y in 1947 w a s a d e v e l o p m e n t fund, F I D E S , established for the F r e n c h African colonies. B e t w e e n 1947 and 1956 F r e n c h p u b l i c capital i n v e s t m e n t in the A O F alone w a s b e t w e e n 750 million and one billion dollars, w h i l e t h e F r e n c h , i n a d d i t i o n , p a i d 27 p e r c e n t o f t h e n o r m a l c o s t s o f civil administration. F r e n c h funding w a s not e n o u g h for rapid de­ v e l o p m e n t , except in the relatively w e a l t h y territories o f the I v o r y C o a s t a n d G a b o n . R a t h e r , t h e d e p e n d e n c e o f all t h e c o l o n i e s o n the m é t r o p o l e resulted f r o m F r e n c h s u p p o r t for the territorial b u d g e t s and F r e n c h insistence o n b e i n g the d o m i n a n t foreign e c o n o m i c partner. 1

W i t h i n d e p e n d e n c e in i960, France r e v i e w e d her e c o n o m i c obligations to her former colonies. After the devaluation o f the franc in 1958 F r e n c h - m a n u f a c t u r e d g o o d s b e c a m e m o r e c o m ­ petitive o n the international market. T h e need o f F r e n c h industry f o r p r o t e c t i o n in f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a b e c a m e l e s s , a n d m a n y F r e n c h industrialists s o u g h t o u t l e t s in o t h e r parts o f A f r i c a , particularly N i g e r i a . F r e n c h industry b e c a m e increasingly inter­ ested in c o m p e t i n g for markets w i t h G e r m a n y and the U n i t e d K i n g d o m ; global and E u r o p e a n priorities t o o k precedence o v e r fading imperial ones. N o French g o v e r n m e n t , h o w e v e r , wanted to g i v e a w a y the decided a d v a n t a g e o v e r other countries enjoyed b y France in her relations w i t h her former colonies. E v e n so, w h i l e F r e n c h aid and assistance in the 1960s s h o w e d a relative stability in the total figure, there w a s a m a r k e d decline in the p e r c e n t a g e 1

F o n d s d'Investissement et de D é v e l o p p e m e n t É c o n o m i q u e et Social des Territoires d ' O u t r e - M e r , s u c c e e d e d i n 1958 b y t h e F o n d s d ' A i d e e t d e C o o p é r a t i o n ( F A C ) .

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this r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e t o t a l F r e n c h b u d g e t , a n d i n f l a t i o n c u t i n t o the effectiveness o f the s u m . T h e same pattern w a s e v i d e n t in trade and monetary transactions. A p p r o x i m a t e l y h a l f t h e F r e n c h a i d figures r e p r e s e n t e d t e c h n i c a l assistance personnel, o f w h o m a b o u t half w e r e teachers. T h e technicians t o o k the place o f the colonial civil servants and in countries like Senegal and the I v o r y C o a s t the F r e n c h * a d v i s e r s c o n t i n u e d t o b e a f a m i l i a r s i g h t , a l o n g w i t h t h e petits bourgeois w h o had c o m e o u t t o w o r k o r try their fortune in colonial times and d e c i d e d t o s t a y o n after i n d e p e n d e n c e . T h e f a i r l y h e a v y t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e figures - e x c e p t f o r t h e m i l i t a r y c o n t i n g e n t - w e r e justified i n F r a n c e as a n o b l i g a t i o n t o p r o v i d e f o r f o r m e r c o l o n i a l civil servants. 9

G e n e r a l l y in the p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p e r i o d the f r a n c o p h o n e tropical African territories received s l o w l y d e c l i n i n g assistance from France. A l l fourteen, therefore, faced a s t r o n g need to orient t h e i r e c o n o m i e s i n s u c h a w a y as t o a t t r a c t i n v e s t m e n t f r o m o t h e r countries and from multi-national corporations. A few African leaders t o o k the position that F r e n c h d o m i n a t i o n w a s m o r e costly t h a n it w a s w o r t h . T h u s , as a l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d , S e k o u T o u r e t o o k G u i n e a o u t o f the franc z o n e and s o u g h t aid and i n v e s t m e n t f r o m eastern bloc countries; M o d i b o K e i t a pulled M a l i o u t o f the A f r i c a n franc z o n e a n d s o u g h t a i d f r o m C o m m u n i s t c o u n t r i e s . M o s t other f r a n c o p h o n e leaders s t r u g g l e d for aid and trade w h e r e v e r t h e y c o u l d find i t : t h e y c o u l d n o t afford t o d o o t h e r w i s e , and they w e r e t o o w e a k to d e r i v e benefits f r o m c o o p e r a t i n g w i t h each other. In the event France continued to be a major source o f aid to her f o r m e r c o l o n i e s . A g a i n G u i n e a w a s the e x c e p t i o n , b u t M a l i r e t u r n e d t o t h e f o l d a n d m a d e c l e a r its d e s i r e f o r i n c r e a s e d F r e n c h a s s i s t a n c e . C o n g o , f o r all its leftist r h e t o r i c , remained h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n F r a n c e for aid and technical assistance. G u i n e a , also, periodically g a v e indications o f interest in r e s u m e d e c o n o m i c relations w i t h F r a n c e , t h o u g h w i t h o u t t a k i n g concrete steps until 1978. M e a n w h i l e , the U n i t e d States g a v e G u i n e a and the o t h e r countries s o m e aid. T h e E u r o p e a n D e v e l o p m e n t F u n d and other d o n o r organisations made increas­ i n g i n v e s t m e n t s a n d gifts t o these states. T h e C l u b d u S a h e l w a s a m u l t i - d o n o r effort t o i m p r o v e S a h e l i a n c o n d i t i o n s after t h e d r o u g h t . T h u s o t h e r d o n o r s entered the area. After independence France remained the major trading partner 665

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T a b l e 1 2 . 6 . Trade between francophone tropical Africa and France.

Cameroun CAR Chad Congo Dahomey Gabon Guinea Ivory Coast Mali Mauritania Niger Senegal Togo Upper Volta Source:

%

%

Year

Imports

Exports

1975 1971

46 61

1973

4*

1974 1972

52 40

28

1973 1969

56

37

1973 1971 1972

44 42

26

41

18 (24% Ivory Coast) 20 (18% United Kingdom)

1973 1974 1974

35 41 34

49 51 45

1975

43

19 (48 % Ivory Coast)

29 (22% Netherlands) 56

3 (6 % Nigeria, 5 % Congo, 3 % CAR) 38

2 (25 % Norway)

Calculated from import/export figures in Europa yearbook, 1977. 1

f o r t h e states o f f r a n c o p h o n e t r o p i c a l A f r i c a w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of Guinea. T h e countries w h i c h had the most wealth and the h i g h e s t rate o f g r o w t h w e r e able t o attract i n v e s t m e n t f r o m a n d trade w i t h other d e v e l o p e d nations. G a b o n , the I v o r y Coast and, to a lesser d e g r e e , S e n e g a l c o u l d a n d d i d receive investments f r o m other nations, in particular G e r m a n y , the U n i t e d States a n d Japan. T h e Camerounian g o v e r n m e n t w a s e v e n able to make decreasing dependence o n French trade a matter o f priority. In the other p o o r e r f r a n c o p h o n e A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s t h e r e w e r e a l s o shifts f r o m the sole d o m i n a n c e o f F r a n c e in 1940 t o the situation s h o w n in t a b l e 1 2 . 6 . H o w e v e r , it is i m p o r t a n t t o r e a l i s e t h e figures a r e o n l y relative, for there w a s a g r o w i n g * unofficial' sector o f trade that d i d n o t s h o w u p i n official r e c o r d s . I t w a s b a s e d o n s m u g g l i n g across currency zones. L a n d - l o c k e d countries traded m o r e w i t h wealthier African neighbours than w i t h France: Chad, Mali and U p p e r V o l t a h a d neither developed mineral deposits n o r any other item to export to France. N i g e r exported uranium to France, 1

T h e official figures, w h i c h a r e F r e n c h i n o r i g i n , d o n o t i n c l u d e t h e ' u n o f f i c i a l * i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r a d e , w h i c h is e x t e n s i v e .

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otherwise she, too, would have had such a trade pattern; her * unofficial' imports from Nigeria were heavy. A l l the states, Guinea - and Mali for a time - excepted, used foreign exchange controlled by the Bank of France, and French materials inherited from the colonial era. I t was easier to refurbish the railways, for example, by buying from the country of origin. The dominance of France in trade was stronger on the import than the export side of African ledgers. As the Algerian war drew to a close, it became French policy to strengthen the franc zone by encouraging trading outside it. French officials believed their former tropical African colonies were not as rich as other parts of Africa, and initiated policies to allow French businesses access to the resources and markets of the rest of the continent. These objectives followed from a vision in which Europe, led by France, would be more than just a good neighbour to Africa, but rather a big brother with a hegemony that could limit competition from other industrialised states. That meant seizing the moment following the end of colonialism to obtain economic opportunities previously held closely by European rivals. This policy explains why the French government did not hesitate to intervene actively in the Nigerian and Zairean wars, for example. Yet French policy at the same time sought to cooperate w i t h the evolving European Community, so as to limit access by Japan, the United States, and of course Russia to francophone tropical Africa. Though the number of French troops in tropical Africa declined, the French continued to be the self-appointed military guardians of the territorial integrity o f the former colonies, and intervened from time to time to maintain the old colonial borders. French taxpayers grumbled, yet the policy continued of limited intervention to restore domestic balance within one or another African state, to maintain French hegemony, or to reinforce African borders against encroachment by more powerful neighbours. The border between the Mediterranean African states and the Sahelian states was one zone o f French intervention. The zone was thought to have mineral resources, such as uranium (in Niger) or o i l ; there were very few inhabitants, and no water. Pressure in France for mineral resources such as oil or uranium, led it to 667

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intervene in the zone after independence. Libya attempted to intervene, to a limited extent, in Niger, but more directly in Chad. French troops and planes were used to balk Libyan intervention almost from the time of independence itself. The population of the northern part of Chad, Muslim and often nomadic, resented the rule of Christian or animist southerners; Libyan reinforcement of separatism in northern Chad fed the controversy, and threatened the very existence of the state. Chad had the greatest cleavage between Muslims and non-Muslims, a difference which charac­ terised in varying degrees all the people of the Sahel states. Desire to keep hold of potential economic resources, such as uranium mines at Arlit and elsewhere in the Saharan zone, motivated French defence of Niger against encroachment by Libya. After the rise of OPEC, when uranium prices rose sharply in the world market, the French military advisers did nothing to prevent a coup against President Hamani Diori, w h o had ruled since independence. Diori's government was beset by economic troubles after the drought and had made moves to open Saharan uranium concessions to American and other non-French comp­ anies, thus threatening to reduce French influence. Mauritania was another state in whose controversies the French intervened militarily. After Morocco and Mauritania had divided the former Spanish Morocco between them, the Polisario inde­ pendence movement resisted the occupation of their country by these t w o states and were helped in this by Algeria. The Moroccans and Mauritania became allies and therefore the Moroc­ cans were able to place their troops dangerously close to Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. This advanced K i n g Hassan's territorial ambitions for a greater kingdom of Morocco, which had caused Morocco to challenge separate independence for Mauritania and even its entry into the United Nations. This threat to the borders o f Mauritania concerned the Senegal government which did not want a powerful Morocco as a neighbour. Therefore the Senegalese government invited French troops and planes back into Dakar in the 1 9 7 0 s . French aid to Biafra during the Nigerian w a r had a dual objective. One was to eliminate the threat of a potential Nigerian hegemony in Western Africa, by breaking up the most highly populated and richest African state which was attracting more and more migrants from its poorer neighbours. The other French

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objective was to gain access to Nigerian oil and markets. After the Biafran claim to independence failed, the French tried to make friends with the victorious government. A certain tension re­ mained, however, and French power reinforced the wariness of Nigeria that was characteristic of that country's smaller, weaker francophone neighbours. No country sought seriously to replace France in trade, in aid or strategically in francophone tropical Africa during the 1960—75 period. France saw no reason to cede its special place to any other power, including Russia. France shifted its strategy, however, from frequent internal interventions in the 1960s to greater emphasis in the 1 9 7 0 s on keeping encroaching outsiders away. A m o n g the francophone tropical African states, which had been bound together firmly during the French colonial era, ties faded, indeed more quickly than between them and France. For a while after independence some evidence of cooperation remained, such as common membership in the franc-backed monetary zone. Often reluctantly, out of sheer economic necessity, most states shared such luxury items as the airline, A i r Afrique, and stayed in producers' unions to face the world market, or in customs unions to simplify border procedures and control. Yet when the leaders felt it necessary, they dispensed with these forms of cooperation. Thus, even conservative Mauritania moved out of the African monetary zone, Cameroun set up its o w n airline and various countries moved in and out of regional planning groups as their domestic situations dictated. Each nation sought to pursue its o w n self-interest as defined by its ruling elite. Each wanted a university, rather than to share the expense with a neighbour. No national government was willing to surrender any significant amount of national power or to share it. The history of the Mali Federation shows what most African leaders feared might happen in a political union o r federation: intervention by one partner in the local affairs of the other. Another example of an unsuccessful effort to create a federation was the G h a n a Guinea-Mali union. Toure and Keita agreed with K w a m e Nkrumah that a strong federal union was needed to fight neo-colonialism. Guinea accepted aid from and union with Ghana almost immediately after the French withdrew all their aid and services. After the break-up o f the Mali Federation, in December i 9 6 0 , the Republic of Mali joined in the union. The G h a n a 669

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Guinea-Mali union, called the Union of African States ( U A S ) according to its charter issued in Accra in July 1 9 6 1 , was anti-colonial, anti-French and Marxist in tone. In addition, the charter called for the pooling of resources and a common orientation in domestic as well as foreign policy. The U A S had support from some North African leaders, w h o hosted the Casablanca Conference in 1 9 6 1 . In practice, however, the leaders of the three countries continued to run their o w n governments separately. The economies of the three countries were not complementary and the union did not last long enough to allow a real test of the avowed aim to unify the three states. Meanwhile, leaders in the rest of francophone tropical Africa were trying to find their o w n formula for cooperation which was less ambitious. By the early 1960s the political differences between Leopold Senghor and Felix Houphouet-Boigny had diminished. To preserve existing borders and avoid alienating potential foreign donors, all the equatorial states, Cameroun, Madagascar and all the other West African francophone states with the exception of Togo, met at Brazzaville in December i 9 6 0 to form the Union Africaine et Malgache ( U A M ) . They, too, condemned colonialism, but cautiously, and sought to advance their popu­ lations economically and socially by concerted action. But they vowed non-interference in each other's affairs and condemned subversion at the follow-up conference in Monrovia in May 1 9 6 1 . The U A S and the U A M resolved their differences when they formed together the Organisation of African Unity ( O A U ) in Addis Ababa in early 1 9 6 3 . Nevertheless, the francophone tropical African states continued to feel the need for a regional grouping. The U A M states formed the African and Malagasy Common Organisation ( O C A M ) in February 1 9 6 5 , including all the fran­ cophone tropical states except Guinea. Madagascar, Rwanda and Zaire also joined. Mauritania withdrew in 1 9 6 5 , and Mauritius became a member in January 1 9 7 1 when the O C A M became the O C A M M . O C A M M called for cooperation, social and cultural as well as economic. Members reached economic agreements and undertook joint activities, such as a computer-training insti­ tute in Gabon, and the customs and economic union of Central 1

1

T h e extra M stands for ' Mauricienne \ C a m e r o u n also w i t h d r e w , finding m o r e useful e c o n o m i c relations outside the O C A M M .

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A f r i c a , i n c l u d i n g all t h e f o r m e r A E F states a n d C a m e r o u n . A t t h e United N a t i o n s and other international gatherings the franco­ p h o n e A f r i c a n states k e p t their distinct and separate n e t w o r k . T h e s e m o v e s t o w a r d s cooperation a m o n g the francophone tropical A f r i c a n states w e r e h a r d l y w h o l e h e a r t e d , h o w e v e r , a n d w e r e i n r e a l i t y n o t v e r y e f f e c t i v e , s i n c e t h e r e w a s little f o l l o w t h r o u g h o f their plans, and there w e r e often squabbles a m o n g m e m b e r s t a t e s . T h o u g h all f o u r t e e n l a r g e l y r e t a i n e d t h e b o r d e r s established b y the F r e n c h , they often disputed b o r d e r s w i t h each other, for example, Mali w i t h Mauritania, N i g e r w i t h Bénin, U p p e r V o l t a w i t h Mali. T h e y w e r e rivals for F r e n c h favours and for o u t s i d e aid and i n v e s t m e n t . T h e y w e r e u n a b l e f u n d a m e n t a l l y t o alter t h e e c o n o m i c p a t t e r n s t h e y h a d i n h e r i t e d w i t h i n d e p e n ­ dence. Initiative for possible c h a n g e s c a m e f r o m outside their b o r d e r s . T h e r e w e r e m o v e s i n i t i a t e d b y N i g e r i a , after it b e c a m e w e a l t h y f r o m o i l f o l l o w i n g t h e rise o f O P E C , t o c r e a t e a n e c o n o m i c c o m m u n i t y o f W e s t A f r i c a n states, w h i c h also i n c l u d e d Bénin, the G a m b i a , G h a n a , G u i n e a , G u i n e a - B i s s a u , the I v o r y CQast, U p p e r V o l t a a n d N i g e r . N i g e r i a also i n t e r v e n e d in C h a d ' s i n t e r n a l difficulties a n d o f f e r e d s o m e a i d t o N i g e r a n d B é n i n , w h o s e p o r t o f C o t o n o u it u s e d t o r e l i e v e t h e c o n g e s t i o n i n the port o f L a g o s . A n o t h e r i n i t i a t i v e c a m e f r o m W e s t e r n E u r o p e , as F r e n c h p o l i c y c h a n g e d . G r a d u a l l y F r a n c e t r a n s f e r r e d s o m e o f its e c o n o m i c responsibilities for the former colonies to the E u r o p e a n C o m m o n M a r k e t . A s l o n g as B r i t a i n h a d s t a y e d o u t o f t h e C o m m o n M a r k e t , the e x i s t e n c e o f separate franc a n d sterling z o n e s in A f r i c a raised considerable barriers to regional integration and trade. O n c e Britain joined the C o m m o n M a r k e t , the barriers b e t w e e n a n g l o ­ p h o n e and f r a n c o p h o n e tropical A f r i c a b e c a m e less r i g i d , a n d c o o p e r a t i o n b e c a m e m u c h easier. B y 1975 the C o m m o n M a r k e t a n d associated states ( a n g l o p h o n e a n d f r a n c o p h o n e f o r m e r c o l ­ onies) had signed the L o m é C o n v e n t i o n . F r o m the E u r o p e a n side the L o m é C o n v e n t i o n m a r k e d an attempt to protect the f o r m e r colonial markets against n o n - E u r o p e a n competition. O n the African side, the c o n v e n t i o n guaranteed the associated A f r i c a n states p r e f e r e n t i a l t r e a t m e n t i n t h e E u r o p e a n m a r k e t , p r o m i s e s o f aid a n d c o o p e r a t i v e t r a d e a r r a n g e m e n t s , a p r o g r a m m e t o s t a b i l i s e prices o f exported c o m m o d i t i e s ( S T A B E X ) , and foreign capital.

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The African partners were not, however, prevented from ac­ cepting investment from other countries. There were also many changes in francophone tropical Africa, initiated by shifts in the structure of the international economy, coming from international institutions like the UN, from U N C T A D , currency changes, shifts in relations among donors, changes in energy patterns, in commodity prices o r from w o r l d inflation. The initiative for most o f these changes remained outside the hands of the francophone tropical African states. Thus, independence brought a change in the pattern of francophone African international relations, a multiplication of diplomatic contacts and greater vulnerability to changes in the global balance of power. The change in the structure of the international economy that accompanied the rise of O P E C affected the 14 states. They suffered new and higher costs, and found some new sources of aid. Some tried to benefit from the split between China and Russia - Guinea, Mali and Congo, for example, all of which received Chinese aid. The intervention in Africa by Cuban troops worried many of the governments, particularly Senegal, the I v o r y Coast and Cameroun. Many of the states tried also to benefit from the renewed rivalry that accom­ panied the search for raw materials in Africa by developing states, such as the United States, Japan and even South Africa. In spite of difficulties, economic as well as political, all 14 states remained intact during 1960-75. They sought ways to develop, to strengthen their institutions and give substance to their newly acquired statehood. The cluster of French language, habits and institutions inherited from French colonial rule continued to define the area. ' Francophonie', nurtured from France, remained a cultural as well as a political reality in tropical Africa. Economically survival was still a question for the poorer states. Self-reliance was not around the corner. In agriculture imports were growing, and while the population grew, the potential was not realised. In commerce the market potential of the area could not be realised as long as frontiers were not open and free circulation of people and goods was hampered. In industry the 1

1

F o r a m o r e l e n g t h y discussion o f this subject, see R u t h Schachter M o r g e n t h a u , ' T h e d e v e l o p i n g states o f Africa Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, J u l y 1 9 7 7 , 4 3 2 , 80-94, a n d M o r g e n t h a u , ' A f r i c a n p o l i t i c s : b a c k g r o u n d a n d prospects i n F r e d e r i c k A r k h u r s t ( e d . ) , Africa in the seventies and eighties ( N e w Y o r k , 1970), 1 6 - 4 7 .

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start was slow. Separate independence may have appealed strongly to the leading political groups, but for most of the population the economic fruits of freedom remained out of reach. For the future many development tasks could only be done through regional tropical African cooperation, across franco­ phone-anglophone lines : such as developing the Sahel from the regional capital of Wagadugu, or making the inter-state rivers like the Niger, the Volta or Senegal navigable and harnessing them for electric power. Constraints in communications, agri­ culture, capital and human resources, pointed to many years of w o r k ahead. The international transactions of the 1 4 states might in future become relatively less with each other (except culturally) and more with their other neighbours. The Mediterranean states, or states like Nigeria, Zaire and Angola, might become stronger poles of attraction - or they might not, should they threaten to overpower the weaker francophone states. In such a case the latter might group among themselves with smaller West African anglophone states. Meanwhile, the heritage of French colonial rule was fading in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , and the outlines of an African state system were becoming visible.

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MADAGASCAR

P O L I T I C A L

A N D C O N S T I T U T I O N A L

H I S T O R Y :

PRE-IN D E P E N D EN C E

On the eve of the Second W o r l d W a r , the vast majority of Malagasy were French sujets w h o had extracted few political concessions from Paris. But political awareness was developing, especially among the urbanised Merina, whose leaders, Jean Ralaimongo and Joseph Ravoahangy, had agitated in favour of equal civil and political status with the Europeans and the reform of local labour regulations. Their campaign achieved Malagasy representation on a consultative body created in 1 9 2 4 , called the Délégations Économiques et Financières. The administration dominated the Délégations, quarrelled with the settlers' representatives, and ignored the Malagasy delegates. A s a result the Malagasy gained limited knowledge of parliamentary procedure from them. Léon Cayla's term as governor-general ( 1 9 3 0 - 9 ) witnessed the suppression of political activities and a decree establishing arbitrary arrest; anti-government newspapers were banned and labour was tightly controlled. Under pressure from the Popular Front government, he permitted the formation of the first trade unions in 1 9 3 7 . When he returned to France in 1 9 3 9 he left a colony in which the mass of the population accepted French rule. But he also left behind an educated élite which harboured political and personal grievances against the administration. The outbreak of the Second W o r l d W a r produced a wave of Malagasy patriotism, which the new Governor-General, Marcel de Coppet, used to mobilise Madagascar's resources. The collapse of France resulted in de Coppet's recall by the Vichy regime and the re-appointment of Cayla, w h o was forced to leave nine months later because he had reached retirement age. His successor was Armand Annet, w h o repressed all opposition, discriminated against the Malagasy, and abolished the Délégations. The Allies 674

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blockaded the island from late 1 9 4 1 , invaded it with a British force in May 1 9 4 2 , and forced Annet to surrender the following November. The British retained the Vichy administrators until January 1 9 4 3 , when they handed over power to the incoming Free French. In Allied hands, the island became a supplier of men and raw materials for the war. Between 1943 and 1945 the pressure on the Malagasy became intense, as the administration proceeded to conscript men for the army and forced labour, and to extract 150 million francs in 'contributions' for the war effort. Inflation rose rapidly, but wages hardly at all, while shortages became acute and the black market flourished. Farmers were forced in 1 9 4 4 to sell their entire crop to the government's Office du Riz at a low and fixed price, and then when they needed rice for their o w n use to buy it back at a higher cost. Mass discontent became widespread. Governmental reforms were few, though the Free French did give the fokonolonas (village councils) some additional responsibilities and supported the concept of a new representative council. This body, which separated the settlers and Malagasy into t w o electoral colleges and pitted both against the governor-general's 30 ap­ pointees, was established in 1 9 4 5 . The council had no control over the budget; the settlers, w h o represented little more than one per cent of the population, were grossly over-represented on it; and the governor-general could dissolve it at will. Despite its flaws, it was an improvement over the Delegations, and it embodied the principle established at the Brazzaville Conference, whereby colonial representatives could sit in the French National Assembly and Senate. Membership of the French parliament gave Malagasy leaders important contacts with French officials and experience in the art of governing, both of which were later to prove invaluable. The ideas articulated at Brazzaville and the principles of self-determination embodied in the Atlantic and United Nations Charters inspired Ravoahangy and Joseph Raseta, both of whom demanded that they be applied to Madagascar. The Malagasy voters elected the t w o Merina leaders to the first Constituent Assembly of the Fourth French Republic, but, once in Paris, the representatives discovered that all French parties were opposed to Malagasy independence or even autonomy. They therefore joined forces with Jacques Rabemananjara, a Betsimisaraka, w h o was elected to a third Malagasy seat in early 1 9 4 6 , to form the 675

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Mouvement Démocratique de la Rénovation Malgache (MDRM). They attempted unsuccessfully to introduce an independence bill in the assembly in 1 9 4 6 . In early October all Malagasy obtained French citizenship, though only some 1 0 0 0 0 had the vote, when the island became an overseas territory. A t the same time forced labour was abolished. A statute of 25 October divided the island into five provinces, each with its o w n budget and assembly, but the M D R M , dedicated as it was to national unity for independence, interpreted this reform as a French attempt to set the cotters (coastal peoples) against the Merina. They were in part correct; the administration did view the M D R M as a Merina separatist party dedicated to the re-establishment of the former Merina monarchy, and for this reason it supported the Parti des Déshérités Malgache (PADESM). The name of this party reflected very clearly the fact that it was composed of peoples w h o considered themselves socially, economically and politically underprivileged. Prior to the French conquest ( 1 8 9 5 ) the island kingdom of the Merina spread from the high plateaux and established a hegemony over a number of other ethnic groups. Although the French destroyed the monarchy and attempted both to favour the cotters and play them off against their former masters, nonetheless the Merina continued to dominate life in the island. They remained the most well educated, the largest and the most advanced ethnic group in terms of the assimilation of western ideas and technology, and thus the French found themselves forced to recruit them for positions in government, commerce and the military. This Merina monopolisation of key positions at all levels resulted in a form of sub-imperialism which has parallels with the situation in Rwanda and Burundi at the time of their independence. The French naively assumed, as did a number of cotters, that the Merina leadership would attempt to turn back the clock and re-establish the old monarchy, and hence they favoured the P A D E S M . The M D R M gathered support rapidly among the Merina, but its membership also embraced t w o extremist groups born during the Second W o r l d W a r , the Jeunesse Nationaliste ( J I N A ) and the Parti Nationaliste Malgache ( P A N A M A ) . Both contained some cotters, were more aggressive and anti-French than the M D R M leadership, and desired a complete break with France, whereas the M D R M leaders wanted independence within the French Union. In the elections to the National Assembly held in November 1 9 4 6 , 677

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the three M D R M leaders were re-elected. Subsequent elections for the French Senate and Council of the French Union, as well as for Madagascar's provincial assemblies and National Represen­ tative Assembly, produced more M D R M victories. A t the very height of its success, the party was struck a death blow when an anti-European rebellion broke out on 29 March 1 9 4 7 . It is still not clear whether the revolt was coordinated by some central agency. Even if it was, the various attacks were badly organised and poorly executed. The attack on the Manakara military garrison was successful, but assaults on other posts and the major towns and cities were all abortive. The areas hardest hit by the rebels were on the east coast, where export crops and illegal exploitation of Malagasy labour were most prominent, although the rebellion also spilled over into the highlands. Some 28 European settlers and many more Malagasy were killed by the rebels; communications links were severed and public and mission buildings destroyed. Additional French troops arrived in the island, and by late 1 9 4 8 the rebellion was over. The suppression of the rebellion was brutal. The administration claimed that 1 1 0 0 0 people of all races had died; the French Communist Party published a total of 90 0 0 0 . Governor-General de Coppet, during his second term of office from 1 9 4 6 to 1 9 4 8 , accused the three deputies and the M D R M of master-minding the rebellion, and quickly banned the party. Raseta and Ravoahangy were con­ demned to death, although their sentences were later commuted, while Rabemananjara was given life imprisonment. Attempts to probe the rebellion's roots produced a variety of causes, ranging from the discontent over low wartime crop prices and labour abuses to the racism of French settlers and officials. What does seem clear is that the leadership lay not with the three deputies, but with the leaders of J IN A and P A N A M A , notably Rakotondrabe, Betrevola and Ravelonahina. The young extremists in these secret societies wanted a break with France. Once the revolt was under way the deputies, w h o were probably aware of the rebels' plans, disassociated themselves from it, but by then it was too late and all nationalists were branded traitors by the French. 1

The revolt shocked the French, and this feeling was shared by Governor-General Pierre de Chevigne ( 1 9 4 8 - 5 0 ) , w h o succeeded 1

Estimates o f the actual n u m b e r o f M a l a g a s y killed vary widely. F o r e x a m p l e , N . H e s e l t i n e , Madagascar ( L o n d o n , 1971), 181 g i v e s 60-80000.

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de Coppet and instituted surveillance of anti-French suspects, arbitrary arrest, and imprisonment without trial on a wide scale. P A D E S M split into quarrelling factions, and legitimate grievances against the administration went unheard until the arrival of Robert Bargue ( 1 9 5 0 - 4 ) , w h o did much to repair relations between the nationalists and the French. Bargue turned the attention of the island's assembly towards socio-economic ques­ tions and blunted the thrusts of the infant Communist movement, the Parti de l'Union du Peuple Malgache (PUPM), while his successor, A n d r é Soucadaux ( 1 9 5 4 - 6 0 ) , permitted the Malagasy to petition Paris for an amnesty and the release of those convicted of involvement in the rebellion. Paris arranged the requested amnesty and granted a pardon to those sentenced to more than 15 years' imprisonment, while Ravoahangy, Raseta and Rabemananjara were released from prison and exiled to France. In Madagascar, Soucadaux helped establish the socialist Parti Social Democrat (PSD) in 1 9 5 6 , which was led by the cotter leader, Philibert Tsiranana. In the elections to the French National Assembly, Tsiranana was elected deputy just in time to witness the passage of the loi-cadre, which created a common electoral roll for the territory, introduced universal suffrage, granted a measure of internal autonomy, and inaugurated a system of minis­ terial government. Paris, h o w e v e r , continued to control defence, foreign relations, civil liberties, and finance through the governor-general. Political parties emerged in numbers during 1 9 5 6 , and their support ranged from regionalist, to Christian, to socialist. The more stable parties were Norbert Zafimahova's Union Démocra­ tique et Sociale Malgache (UDSM), the Aknonton'ny Kongres'ny Fahaleoventenana Madagaskara ( A K F M - Congress Indepen­ dence Party), the Mouvement National pour l'Indépendence de Madagascar ( M O N I M A ) , the Rassemblement Chrétien de Mada­ gascar (RCM), and the Renouveau National Malgache (RNM). Elections were held in 1 9 5 7 for the new assembly and provincial councils. A ^//>r-PSD-UDSM alliance was carried to p o w e r in Majunga, Tuléar and Fianarantsoa provinces, thereby blocking any Merina domination of those provinces or the nation. Tsiranana was elected head of government on 1 May 1 9 5 8 . In August 1 9 5 8 , not long after he came to power, de Gaulle visited Madagascar to campaign for his constitutional proposals for the overseas 679

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territories. These envisaged full internal autonomy with the status of Republic within a French community. A vote against de Gaulle's proposal would result in Madagascar or any other territory that took this course being given independence ' with all its consequences ' which would mean a withdrawal of all French aid and services. Tsiranana's party campaigned for a vote in favour of de Gaulle's proposals and in the referendum held in September 1958 Madagascar voted 7 7 per cent in favour of them. However, Tsiranana thereafter sought to undercut radical pressures, in particular those from the left-leaning A K F M which had cam­ paigned for a no ' vote, and he pressed France for a more definite separation. The Franco-Malagasy Accords, negotiated in April i 9 6 0 , defined a new relationship and Madagascar achieved formal independence on 26 June i 9 6 0 . 4

P O L I T I C A L

A N D C O N S T I T U T I O N A L

H I S T O R Y :

P O S T - I N D E P E N D E N C E

The period 1 9 6 0 - 7 2 did not witness any sudden changes in Franco-Malagasy relations. Although by i 9 6 0 there were a substantial number of trained Malagasy, Paris arranged to retain up to 1 5 0 0 French technicians and teachers on the island, and ensured that key positions in most of the ministries were held by French nationals. Tsiranana's communications, financial, military and security advisers were all French. In the private sector, 3 6 0 0 0 expatriates remained in commerce, agriculture or the professions because the P S D - U D S M alliance favoured foreign investment and the maintenance of good relations with France. A t the inter­ governmental level the t w o finance ministries cooperated closely. French aid continued at a high level throughout the 1 9 6 0 s , though much of it returned to France in the form of the repatriation of profits and purchases of capital equipment. In 1 9 6 8 France was still supplying 63 per cent o f Madagascar's imports and taking 45 per cent of her exports. A t the military level, the French navy commanded Diego-Suarez, the French air force maintained a base at Ivato, and French nationals were training Malagasy soldiers well into the 1960s. Although Tsiranana possessed a 3000-man mobile police known as the Gendarmerie and a ^//Vr-dominated para-military bodyguard, known as the Force Républicaine de Sécurité (FRS), to offset the power of the army, he nonetheless 680

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kept French forces nearby. In foreign affairs he remained a close supporter of France, and was wary of the Americans. On his initiative, links with South Africa were formed in 1 9 6 8 in order to encourage tourists from that country. Close relations were established with the EEC, West Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Israel, but he discouraged contacts with Communist countries other than Yugoslavia, and did not show much interest in African affairs, though Madagascar became a member of the Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache ( O C A M ) . His attachment to France and his commercial relations with Pretoria angered the A K F M which advocated the expulsion o f white settlers and servicemen, including some 50000 Comorans holding French citizenship, as well as the nationalisation of French firms and South African tourist facilities. When Tsiranana came to power, he had recalled the three deputies exiled in 1 9 5 4 and invited them to join his government. Raseta rejected the offer and became an independent, but Rabemananjara became Minister for the National Economy, while Ravoahangy, w h o died in 1 9 6 9 , was appointed Minister of Health. Andre Resampa became Minister of the Interior, and later in the decade the PSD's secretary-general. Through his efforts the P S D launched Syndicats des Communes (cooperatives), and P S D membership grew rapidly as thousands joined the party in search of jobs and favours. Changes in the structure of government were initiated, and the civil servants were brought to heel with anti-strike legislation and severe penalties for corruption. Within the party ranks, Tsiranana's attempts to impose obedience were less successful. The problem of party discipline and loyalty was partly solved by a constitutional amendment in 1 9 6 2 , which prevented the Senate from delaying legislation, and partly by a combination of coercion, bribery and flattery which w o n o v e r troublesome regional leaders such as Jean Francois Jarison (Fianarantsoa), Justin Bezara (Diego-Suarez), and Jean Natai (Majunga). Tsiranana's policy of playing one faction off against another was largely successful, but an illness in 1 9 6 7 , and P S D in-fighting o v e r posts, loosened his grip on the party leadership and opened the way for ministerial rivalries. The P S D , lacking any firm ideology, dependent upon one strong leader, and over-confident after a long term in office which witnessed no major changes of any kind, was beginning to fall apart. This 681

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lethargy was broken in 1970—i, when Tsiranana first demoted and then arrested his colleague Resampa, w h o m he claimed, somewhat curiously, was, with Jaona of M O N I M A , a leader of a PekingWashington sponsored anti-government revolt among the A n tandroy. Resampa's removal highlighted the weaknesses of both the P S D and Tsiranana, w h o was heavily dependent on his organising abilities. It also marked the arrival of the students on the political stage. Opposition to the P S D before 1 9 7 0 had come from several weak parties whose followings were small and geographically restricted, and w h o shared only a feeling of nationalism and a distaste of Tsiranana. Raseta's Mouvement d'Union Nationale (MUN) eventually collapsed in the 1 9 7 0 national elections; Jaona's M O N I M A enjoyed support only in the Tuléar area; and Bezara's Parti Chrétien Démocratique (PCD) disintegrated in 1 9 7 0 because of internal rivalries. Far more serious a threat was the A K F M . Unlike the P S D with its rural and cotter support, the A K F M was mainly bourgeois, Merina, urban, and intellectual. Its leader, a Protestant pastor, Richard Andriamanjato, had little familiarity with rural life and never managed to make any impact on the rural masses. All in all, the opposition was so ineffective that Tsiranana never found it necessary to curtail freedom of expression until 1 9 7 0 , and A K F M demands for expulsion of the French and nationalisation of their financial holdings fell on deaf rural ears. In order to curb its influence with Catholics and civil servants, Tsiranana labelled the Merina-dominated A K F M 'Communist'. For the Protestant Merina, Tsiranana came to represent everything they detested: a Catholic cotter attempting to govern those w h o viewed themselves as the natural rulers of the island. It was the armed revolt in April 1 9 7 1 of the impoverished Antandroy peasants, frustrated by the greed and corruption of the tax collectors, that gave Tsiranana's career its rudest jolt. The revolt, led by Jaona, was quickly supressed, and Tsiranana used it as an excuse for ridding himself of Resampa, a potential rival, and for reorganising his party for the January 1 9 7 2 presidential elections. A number of reforms placed the reins of party power squarely in his hands and, when the voting was completed, government officials claimed that Tsiranana had won 9 9 . 9 per cent of the votes cast by 86 per cent of the population. But on 13 May, 682

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three weeks after his third inauguration, he was toppled from power as a result of righting which took place between the F R S and the %pam (unemployed) of Antananarivo, students and labourers. The rioting, which claimed 34 lives, was sparked off by student unrest at the Befalatanana medical school. The students demanded equivalence with French medical degrees and when this was not granted they went on strike. Tsiranana closed the school, and his officials later banned the medical students' union, while on 12 May the FRS arrested more than 400 students of the University of Madagascar w h o demonstrated in sympathy and imprisoned them on the island of Nosy Lava, off the north-west coast. A n order by the Interior Ministry to return to their classes brought 50000 demonstrators into Antananarivo's streets, where they were fired upon by the FRS. The demonstrators promptly went on strike on 15 May, forced the release of the 400 students, and demanded Tsiranana's resignation, a revision of the Accords with France and the removal of French troops. Tsiranana resigned on 18 May and the apolitical General Gabriel Ramanatsoa, a Merina, set up a military government. The students formed themselves into a 'committee of struggle' ( K I M ) , while the teachers, trade unionists and %oam met separately. Both groups claimed to be determining the island's future, but Ramanatsoa drove a wedge between the K I M and the others by granting the teachers and trade unionists pay rises, whereupon most of them lost interest in politics. The K I M continued to press changes upon Ramanatsoa, such as a rupture of relations with France, and he gradually saw the need to create his o w n power base. He authorised the establishment of relations with Communist and Arab countries, began the * Malagasisation' of education, re­ negotiated the Accords with France and secured the withdrawal of French forces. 1

These moves w o n Ramanatsoa a short-lived popularity with the K I M and with Manandofy Rakatonorina's new * Power to the People' (MFM), a seemingly Maoist group. The introduction of a reformed Supreme Court and a new national development council and government were accepted, but by early 1 9 7 4 his popularity with the left had begun to wane, while his ability to deal with Merina-cotier friction was failing. The suppression of 1

U n d e r F r e n c h r u l e it w a s k n o w n as T a n a n a r i v e .

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anti-Merina riots on the coast weakened his position in these areas, and he was forced to step down in February 1 9 7 5 , when he proved unable to put down a revolt by the ^//Vr-dominated Groupe Mobile Policier (GMP). Composed of many former members of the FRS, as well as dissatisfied soldiers and police, the rebels were demanding a voice in national politics. Ramanatsoa could not meet their demands, and handed power over to the Interior Minister and head of the Gendarmerie, Colonel Richard Ratsimindrava, w h o formed a new government. But after a few days in office, Ratsimindrava was assassinated by unknown parties, and the suppression of the G M P revolt had to be carried out by the conservative General Gilles Andriamahazo, one of Ramanatsoa's former ministers. A military directorate became the new form of government and when the internal bargaining was completed Ramanatsoa's former Foreign Minister, Captain Didier Ratsirika (Betsimisaraka), emer­ ged as president of the Conseil Supreme Revolutionaire (CSR). To balance Ratsirika and the CSR there was a * Military Develop­ ment Committee' headed by Andriamahazo and dominated by Merina. The choice of a non-Merina appeared to be an effort once again to achieve a measure of national unity in the island; educated as Ratsirika was in France at the Ecole Navale, and having spent considerable time at the Malagasy embassy in that country, he was acceptable to many intellectuals as well as cotters. However, he seemed to have little understanding of rural life. In terms of political ideology he imitated a number of more radical African leaders. A s Foreign Minister he had carried out measures which temporarily placated the K I M and M F M , and then later lobbied successfully for the abolition of the head tax, the nationalisation of banks, shipping lines and power companies, and the adoption of the fokonolona as the main instrument of national development. He nationalised cinemas, the Tamatave oil refinery and all mineral resources, closed down the American satellite-tracking station, and took over the holdings of the Compagnie Marseillaise de Madagascar (CMM). His policies were revealed to the public by radio and published as 'The Charter', or The little red book of the Malagasy Socialist revolution. In it he explained that he would use the fokonolona as the basis of agricultural and administrative reform. However, the armed forces and the youth movement were also to be employed to these ends. A referendum held in December 1 9 7 5 approved the teachings of 'The Charter' and 684 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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gave Ratsirika a seven-year term in office, though it remained to be seen whether he could retain the support of the armed forces and, at the same time, relieve regional disparity and improve the island's gloomy economic situation.

S O C I A L

A N D C U L T U R A L

C H A N G E

Society in Madagascar in 1 9 4 0 was a rigid pyramid with the governor-general at the top and beneath him a hierarchy of civil and military authorities w h o together ruled the Malagasy. Most of the French in the island were transients serving with the military, civil service, or commercial concerns and had little interest in the local peoples. The Malagasy existed apart, with only a few of the educated elite being able to establish regular contact with the foreigners through professional organisations for writers and journalists, or through personal friendships. The mass of the Malagasy people lived simply on small farms o r in villages, or engaged in cattle-herding in the southern part of the island. Contact with the French was not frequent, and the most visible person at the local level was the chefde canton or his French-speaking Malagasy interpreter. A t the village level, the fokonolona took care of purely local matters. Composed of the elders of a village, it maintained local order and from time to time assisted the European administrator in his police duties. A conservative body, it did not act as an instrument of change, though indeed change was about to come as a result of wartime demands for men and raw materials. It was during the w a r that respect for traditional authority, particularly amongst the Merina, the Betsileo and people in urban centres, began to break down. A new force, nationalism, was on the rise. Historically, the Merina had been the first to experience change, and although they shared linguistic and traditional religious bonds with the other ethnic groups, their way of life was more exposed and receptive to French rule and culture. In the years following the 1 8 9 6 conquest, the Merina bourge­ oisie (Hova) had continued to consolidate their position as business­ men and civil servants and to form an alliance with the aristocracy (Andriana) against the French. After independence, the cotters replaced the French and the struggle continued. Official policy after 1945 aimed at rapidly educating and training numbers of cdtiers in order to provide an alternative to continued depen68s Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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dence on Merina technicians, civil servants and teachers. But the Merina hold on the life of the island was too tight to be broken in only a few decades. They had traditionally been more receptive to education and change than the other ethnic groups and, because of their large numbers and central geographic location, they were able to exercise dominance in national life until i960. The Merina adapted with relative ease to the evolution of modern civil law, which replaced many old traditions and customs, and it was in their society that the importance of the clan, the extended family and a large number of offspring had tended to decline most rapidly. Long-standing contact with Europeans produced in the Merina few feelings of cultural inferiority or racial antagonism, and many of the positive traditional values of the society were preserved. After independence other ethnic groups attempted to emulate and overtake the Merina, so that one began to see, for example, a change in attitude towards women in Betsimisaraka society similar to that found on the high plateaux. Among the Merina, women had undergone considerable intellectual devel­ opment through education, and their evolution, as well as the evolution of other Malagasy women, was being accelerated by a rise in their standard of living. As education transformed the social structures of the cotters, the various groups produced their own skilled and professional people, and the Merina grip on national life began to loosen. Another force at w o r k in the island was inter-ethnic marriage. It was most frequent among the Merina and Antandroy, but spread among the cotters because government officials from the high plateaux were increasingly being posted for long periods of time to centres away from their home areas. It was hoped by many of the younger generation that this practice would help to ease ethnic tensions. A government estimate in 1975 placed the population of Madagascar at about eight million persons. Between 1950 and i960 the population rose from 4 207000 to 5 298 000 persons, while an estimate made in 1962 gave a total of 5 5 36243 Malagasy and 121 358 aliens in the island. Of the foreign residents, Indians and Chinese had become more numerous since 1945, though the number of Europeans had declined, especially after the events of May 1972. There were 18 ethnic groups in the island, the largest of which was the Merina with over t w o million people, followed by the Betsimisaraka, Betsileo, Tsimihety and Antandroy. The 686

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population was not spread evenly throughout the island and its rapid growth both in cities and rural areas was due more to a decline in the death-rate than a rise in the birth-rate, though this, too, had occurred. The island's t w o main centres, Antananarivo (500000) and Majunga ( 7 6 500) had more than doubled in popu­ lation since 1 9 4 5 , though elsewhere there was little urbanisation. Antananarivo offered the rural resident opportunities for excite­ ment, wage-earning, education and perhaps even a government job. But there was another side to the capital: the problem of the %pam, shortages in housing, water and sewage facilities, and a spiralling cost of living. The position of the labour force in Madagascar differed little from that encountered in other Third W o r l d countries. In 1 9 7 1 it was estimated that out of a working population of about 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 , there were some 300000 persons drawing regular salaries or wages. In that same year, however, an estimated 1 0 0 0 0 0 young people were about to come onto the job market. By the end of 1 9 7 3 there were 4 0 0 0 0 unemployed young Malagasy, some with diplomas and degrees, others with only primary school education. In 1975 their impact was felt most acutely in the capital and Majunga, as well as the smaller urban centres of Tamatave ( 5 9 6 0 0 ) and Fianarantsoa ( 5 8 9 0 0 ) , where they fed the extremist movements. These s(pam were easily influenced by the indigenous press, which was very large for a nation where only about half of the population was literate. A t independence there were about 200 titles in circulation in Madagascar. Most of these newspapers and periodicals had a small circulation, were limited to Antanan­ arivo, and were politically oriented. Professionalism in the Mala­ gasy press had always been lacking, with the exception of the Catholic weekly Lumiere, and the news reporting was often slanted, inaccurate and frequently shot through with libellous statements. All newspapers had a faithful if small following and in the capital even the unemployed found money to support their favourite. Between May 1 9 7 2 and the coup of February 1 9 7 5 , a truly free press was in existence for the first time in Madagascar's history. After that coup, however, rigid censorship was estab­ lished, and papers were suppressed until there were only about 60 in circulation. Lumiere had to cease production because of its objective reporting, and the Ratsirika regime carried censorship to the point that overseas mail was opened and incoming air 687

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passengers at Ivato were thoroughly searched for foreign papers. But other barriers were lifted, and it was perhaps indicative of Ratsirika's politics that the works of Plato, Rousseau, Marx and Mao, banned during Tsiranana's time, were introduced in 1973 into philosophy classes of the University of Madagascar. Christianity, introduced initially to Madagascar in 1818, established roots among most Malagasy ethnic groups and by 1971 it was estimated that there were about 3 700000 indigenous Christians in the island, representing 3 8 per cent of the population. Protestant sects tended to predominate in Imerina, the Catholics in Betsileo and along the east coast, while the Lutherans had a monopoly in the south. However, much of the island was still untouched by Christianity, but it played a dominant role, as the majority of the elite were Christian and the churches provided an ancillary education system to that of the government.

1

During the colonial perod the Merina Protestant churches, because of their pre-1896 ties with the monarchy, were viewed with suspicion by the administration, a suspicion heightened by the Protestant colour of the emerging nationalist movement. White Protestant missionaries often attempted to ensure the neutrality of their Malagasy colleagues but their efforts were largely in vain. The Catholic Church, rightly o r wrongly, had often been seen by the Malagasy as an appendage of the French colonial power, yet by 195 3 even it had officially recognised the legitimacy of seeking independence. In 1956 there was a change from the earlier mission status to 'The Malagasy Catholic Church \ From that date onwards bishops and later archbishops were drawn from the indigenous clergy; and recruitment of missionary priests increasingly concentrated on countries other than France. A s control of the Protestant and Catholic Churches passed into Malagasy hands, many of the old sectarian animosities began to fade and in their place a new feeling of ecumenism began to appear. After i960 the P S D demonstrated its impartiality towards the various Christian denominations and Islam, and by 1975 all religious bodies were largely ignored by the state and found it necessary to fall back on their o w n human and financial resources. 1

38 p e r c e n t C h r i s t i a n (20 p e r c e n t C a t h o l i c , 18 p e r c e n t P r o t e s t a n t ) ; 5 p e r c e n t M u s l i m ; 57 p e r c e n t t r a d i t i o n a l r e l i g i o n s .

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The system of local, regional and national schools created by Governor-General Joseph Gallieni (i896-1905) existed virtually untouched until the end of the Second W o r l d W a r . The conflict put many French and Malagasy teachers into uniform, produced a scarcity of supplies and equipment, and brought about the physical deterioration of both state and mission schools. Access to the best schools, those reserved for French children, continued to be limited to the offspring of those few Malagasy with French citizenship. Both settlers and administrators ensured that few Malagasy ever went beyond the primary level to attend the lycées or French universities. The middle-grade Malagasy civil servants were trained at écoles régionales, of which the most important was the École Myre de Vilers in the capital. This institution produced many talented Malagasy, but most could never hope to advance to senior government posts. This restrictive system of education was broadened by the Brazzaville reforms, as a result of which the Befalatanana school of medicine, and then later a school of law and one of agriculture, were opened. Most of the secondary schools continued to be located in or around Antananarivo, and by 1951 two-thirds of all Malagasy were still without schooling. The highest proportion of these illiterates were côtiers. This dismal picture existed because the colonial administration was devoting a mere 8 per cent of the local budget to education in 1 9 5 1 . The missions had established the first school system of education in the island during the early nineteenth century and their presence continued to be felt into the mid-1970s. The state schools continued to enrol most of the better students during the period under discussion. W i t h the exception of t w o preparatory institutions, the École Paul Minault (Protestant) and the Collège St Michael (Catholic), the church schools usually had inferior facilities and charged higher fees. In spite of this some parents still sent their children to church schools. There were definite advantages: these schools, apart from offering a religious education, stressed Malagasy language and literature, and frequently offered French taught by French nationals. In some areas they absorbed the surplus students unable to gain entry to state schools. From i960 onwards relations between the govern-

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ment and the churches remained good and there were no state take-overs, as was the case in many other African nations. A five-year plan in education, launched in 1958, was under way when the Accords were signed, and one of its goals was a literacy rate of 70 per cent by 1972. In an attempt to alter the colonial pattern of educational opportunities, the P S D opened schools in cotier areas, a m o v e which helped raise the overall number of children of school-age attending an educational institution to 5 3 per cent by 1967. On a geographical basis, however, only 10 per cent of the children in the extreme south were in school, as opposed to 35-50 per cent of all children in the highlands. The reduction of this disparity continued to be one of the Ministry of Education's key goals. The gradual rise in the national literacy rate, and the expansion of the school population in the 1960s was made possible in part by the increase in numbers and quality of local teachers. For many years Malagasy teachers had been poorly paid and trained, o v e r w o r k e d , and relegated to a position of low social standing. Tsiranana, himself a former teacher, expanded the number of teachers very rapidly in the 1960s, and improved their lot by granting paid vacations and free housing or a housing allowance, by giving rises in pay, and by reducing the number of students per class. M o r e teacher-training colleges were built, though in a number of cases the graduates went into professions other than teaching. The demand for schooling outstripped the number of Malagasy teachers, however, and French nationals still had to be employed. In the early 1960s more than 800 French teachers, financed by French aid, were giving instruction in 416 primary, 248 secondary, and 131 technical schools, as well as assisting youth and sports movements. Technical education was neglected during the colonial era and continued to experience difficulties after i960. Technical trades had low prestige and the education given in technical colleges did not always match governmental and industrial demands; while the stagnating economy found it difficult to absorb graduates after 1970. Higher education in Madagascar after independence was centred on the Befalatanana school of medicine and the University of Madagascar. A t the close of the Second W o r l d W a r , Paris had begun to provide state scholarships for study in France in a wide range of disciplines, while educational reforms enacted in 1955 created an institute of law and natural sciences in the capital to 690

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which a faculté des lettres was added four years later. A s 'indepen­ dence ' drew nearer, Tsiranana began to plan a national university. His motives were three-fold. The first was to keep Malagasy isolated from what he considered the unsavoury political climate of France, while the second was to foster the educational cause of the cotters within the island. Finally, Tsiranana wanted to reduce the cost of overseas training, and during the 1960s and early 1970s those Malagasy w h o went abroad were mainly educated in disciplines connected with development plans. The University of Madagascar began to hold classes in the i960—1 academic year, and the Accords provided for sending French professors and administrators to Madagascar as part of the aid programme. It also made provision for France to pay its operating costs. Until about 1966 a full one-quarter of the students were non-Malagasy, mainly French nationals, w h o could obtain a degree equivalent to those conferred in most French universities. The old educational/ethnic divisions were, however, perpetuated at the university because the bulk of the students were Merina or Betsileo. Most of the undergraduates were in medicine (30 per cent), law and economics (29 per cent), and science (28 per cent), with only 6 per cent in agriculture. The number of students attending the university rose from 3271 in 1 9 6 8 , of whom 2 6 1 0 were Malagasy, 593 French and 148 of other nationalities, to 4000 in 1 9 7 2 , 7000 in 1 9 7 3 , and a peak of 1 1 0 0 0 in 1 9 7 5 . The demand for higher education had become so great that two new university centres were opened in Tuléar and Diego-Suarez, and some 200 Malagasy were sent to study in the USSR. Education changed the face of Madagascar, because the Mala­ gasy, particularly the Merina, seized upon it as a tool for modernisation and personal advancement. Students played a significant part in the process of decolonisation, from the for­ mation of the M D R M to the rise of Ratsirika and the breaking of the French hold on the life of the island. It was the left-wing students, many of w h o m were unemployed or faced bleak employment prospects upon graduation, w h o were Ratsirika's strongest supporters. If their career prospects in Madagascar before 1 9 7 2 had been bleak, they were now almost non-existent. Uncertainty surrounded the new education programme in 1 9 7 2 , as the government debated which aspects of the French system should be retained or discarded. France refused to recognise the 691

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Table 1 3 . 1 . School populations, 1972-4.

Population Primary

Teachers

schools

1972

985 236

1973

n.a.

1974

1 100000

n.a. 9927 11766

Secondary schools 1972

35 000

1165

1973

n.a.

n.a.

1974

57000

1478

equivalence of any new Malagasy system, whereupon the Malagasy retaliated by creating an indigenous as well as a French educational framework. The Malagasy system was orientated towards new curricula and new books, while the French system, restricted to 6000 pupils, remained as before and was supervised by 200 teachers from France. Many Chinese and Indian residents, as well as the French and some wealthy Malagasy, sent their children t o the French schools. By 1 9 7 3 the student body at the university was almost all Malagasy, the French students having departed. Increasingly, however, the relevance o f the university was being questioned because it was graduating students for w h o m there were n o jobs, and the standards had clearly dropped. Similarly, substantial numbers o f secondary and primary students were ready to graduate and g o out in search o f employment. The school system continued to expand after Tsiranana's downfall, as table 1 3 . 1 shows; but opportunities for these graduates were also few, and all but a handful eventually joined the growing and dissatisfied body o f t(pam.

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Madagascar's economy was based almost entirely o n agriculture and 80 per cent of the island's population was on the land. In 1 9 4 0 this economy was monopolised by four French trading and navigation companies, the Compagnie Marseillaise, the Compagnie Lyonnaise, the Compagnie Rochefortaise, and the Com­ pagnie Generate. Their Chinese and Indian agents bought up 692

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agricultural products and had a virtual monopoly over the importation of and the wholesale trade in consumer goods and industrial equipment. The island's economy received a significant boost during the Second W o r l d W a r and from 1942 exports rose rapidly. The mainstays of the agricultural exports were coffee, vanilla, sugar, tobacco, meat, rice, cloves, sisal, raffia and lima beans, and most were produced in the highlands, the homeland of the Merina and Betsileo. Attempts to integrate the peasant farmers' crops into an island-wide system of production and marketing failed. Little real planning took place until after 1945 when France introduced and finance^ an extensive series of projects designed in theory to benefit the farmers, but in fact merely tying the Malagasy economy closer to that of France. Few peasants gained any benefits. The schemes, known variously as Secteurs Expérimen­ taux de Modernisation Rurale (SEMR), Zones de Développement (ZD), and from i960 as Collectives Rurales Autonomes Modern­ isées (CRAM), devoted 44 million francs to the improvement and modernisation of agriculture between 1947 and 1958, but their success was limited and only the seven most productive zones received adequate funding. W h e n the Accords were signed, Madagascar was already part-way through the third (1958-62) colonial five-year plan, a development programme meant to improve the transportation and communication facilities in the island. 'Independence' brought with it no changes in this basic dependency of Madagascar on France; French firms failed to indigenise their senior staff positions and retained their head­ quarters and boards of governors in France. Prior to Tsiranana's overthrow, these firms were not required to leave a share of the profits in the island. Thus, raw materials purchased in Madagascar could be sold in France and the profit used to buy goods for sale in the island. It is small wonder, therefore, that Tsiranana's successors were quick to abolish this classic colonial situation. The first independent Malagasy five-year plan (1964—8) at­ tempted to raise the standard of living, and money was set aside for transportation, agriculture, social affairs and industry. Some increases occurred in agricultural production, but few people experienced increased incomes. Industry, such as it was, did not fare much better. There was no complex of secondary industries in Madagascar and, apart from mining, industrial activity centred 693

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on the rather limited processing of agricultural products such as coffee, vanilla, cloves and perfume. The t w o most important mineral exports, graphite and mica, were also processed only at a basic level. From i 9 6 0 Tsiranana assisted firms which supplied local needs such as textiles, soaps, cigarettes, and shoe factories, breweries, plastics companies, and auto assembly plants, but all were dependent on foreign raw materials and were able to meet only half of the needs of local consumers. The development board which funded these ventures, the Société National d'In­ vestissement (SNI), attempted to assist other schemes such as tourism, but none was very successful. The very slow progress of these development ventures may be accounted for in part by the incompetence and corruption of Malagasy officials and managerial personnel, and in part by the lack of good roads, the high cost of energy, and the reluctance of the Malagasy to invest in anything other than land. In addition, the French trading companies that had been so important during the colonial period maintained their hold on the Malagasy economy until 1 9 7 2 ; they failed to indigenise their senior staff positions o r to localise their boards of directors. Since there were few restrictions on the transfer of currencies, company profits were routinely repatriated to France rather than invested in the Malagasy economy. The A K F M demands for nationalisation were countered by the P S D leaders, w h o argued that it would produce a break with France and that this would retard the island's economic evolution. The PSD's official policy was that, until such time as indigenous managers, capital and expertise developed, the expatriate firms had to be tolerated. A s a result of Ratsirika's p o s t - 1 9 7 2 economic measures, the economic future of the country looked gloomy. Although it had the diversified base necessary to achieve self-sustained g r o w t h , and agriculture had the potential for making the island selfsufficient in food, the problems of economic potential were bound up with foreign investment, marketing, energy costs and managerial problems. A t least two-thirds of French aid had gone into long-term projects, such as transport infrastructure, in the hopes that the discovery o f a new resource would tempt foreign investors. But no new resource materialised. Neither the mining ventures produced much profit, nor were the high costs of oil exploration justified, for either the Malagasy o r the expatriate 694

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firms. A sizeable budget and balance-of-payments problem emerged in 1969 but was alleviated somewhat in 1 9 7 2 when prices for agricultural produce began to rise. However, the demand for rice outstripped local production and from 1 9 7 3 expensive imports had to be purchased. The revolution of 1 9 7 2 , the renegotiation of the Accords, new and very strict currency controls imposed on French firms, and a decree of November 1 9 7 3 stipulating that all French companies had to establish their head offices in the island, shocked the French-dominated expatriate business community. New investment in the island became almost non-existent, and by 1 9 7 4 the French population had sunk to 1 6 0 0 0 . A few local industries operated behind high tariff walls and only the Japanese were now willing to invest in the country. With Malagasy participation, they established t w o plants for meatextract production and fish processing. 1

In 1 9 7 2 the state began reserving for itself, either on a full-ownership or a partnership basis, banking, insurance, trans­ portation, external trade, power, mines, pharmaceutical products and the film industry. The agricultural Syndicats des Communes continued to prove unable to compete with the French e x p o r t import companies, while the Malagasy managers were often appointed without sufficient training or experience. In the months following the 1 9 7 2 revolution it had become clear that the state import and export bodies (SINPA and S O N A C O ) had not gained control o v e r the island's economy. They used the C M M and Compagnie Lyonnaise as their main export and import branches, but the French firms continued to monopolise the key sources of credit, relations with shipping and insurance companies and links with foreign buyers. These t w o state bodies, like the many development boards inherited from the French or developed after i 9 6 0 , were ineffective, top-heavy and costly. Lacking in administrative flexibility and financial autonomy, the various boards increased in number after 1 9 7 2 , and moved into all facets of internal and external trade, including mining, in 1 9 7 5 . Ratsirika nationalised the Compagnie Marseillaise in August 1 9 7 5 , took over its assets, and replaced the French board of directors by three Malagasy. By late 1 9 7 5 investment in mining and industry had become stagnant and, with the exception of foreign-aid projects, foreign investment had all but ceased. Unfortunately Madagascar 1

A g r i c u l t u r a l p r i c e s b e g a n t o fall a g a i n i n 1974.

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lacked persons trained in mining techniques and the ultimate success of this venture was open to question. In the opinion of Ratsirika, however, the development boards were of secondary importance; it was the fokonolona which would bring about real economic g r o w t h and reform in the nation. Ratsirika believed that the local initiative of the fokonolonas would boost economic production, and from 1973 they were empowered to take over many of the duties of the district administration. Their functions were later expanded to include the expropriation and distribution of underdeveloped land to peasants organised into cooperatives. Other responsibilities involved the supervision of irrigation and road-building programmes, as well as the marketing and processing of agricultural products. For this last task the fokonolona organised vatoeka (technical committees) to which they delegated authority in economic matters. These committees were to have replaced the traditional Indian and Chinese produce buyers, but they were unable to buy and distribute sufficient goods for sale, and by the end of 1 9 7 4 the local papers were filled with complaints concerning their inefficiency. Another of Ratsirika's reforms made the fokonolona independent of the local authorities - the chef de cercle, the chef de canton and the chef de province - and restricted local technicians to an adminis­ trative role. Squabbles between them and the civil servants became common. Further problems arose from the fact that the fokonolona were not universal in the island; they were found mainly in the highlands and not on the coast o r in the south. The conservatism of the fokonolonas members was another drawback to using them as the basic development cells, and in spite of government pronouncements the councils were not revolutionary bodies nor did they favour any particular ideology. Groups of revolutionary youth, sent out to w o r k under the elders, left in disgust and returned to the urban centres. Thus, the island swung from French over-centralisation to Malagasy decentralisation, in which petty squabbling, a lack of organisation and incompetent management predominated. The only real changes the fokonolonas produced were negative ones: the disintegration and demoralisation of local agencies and authorities; an unsatisfactory network of food supply and distribution; roads which were allowed to deteriorate; and the slow demise of economic structures without any viable replacements. This string of failures was not an auspicious 9

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beginning for a body which was supposed to produce real economic growth and social reform in Madagascar. The future of Madagascar was both bleak and uncertain. The economy was beginning to slow d o w n and all indications were that it would soon grind to a halt. The general population was unhappy over the acute shortage of the staple food (rice) and consumer goods. Rural banditry was on the increase and the transportation system was beginning to break down. Foreigners whose presence was crucial to the effective functioning of the economy, the government and the educational system were leaving in ever-increasing numbers. Internal politics were in a state of turmoil with talk of plot and counter-plot, 'capitalistsimperialists', and other alleged 'subversive elements'. Ratsirika felt compelled to shift ministers to cope with what he considered to be the political realities of the situation. Ethnic rivalry was still very much alive, and though Ratsirika was attempting by various means to foster a stronger sense of Malagasy nationhood the old antagonisms were working against him. The future of the island seemed destined to be one of social, economic and political distress.

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14

ZAIRE, R W A N D A A N D

BURUNDI

The apocalypse, an influential Belgian magistrate w r o t e at the end of his colonial career, was due in 2026. University graduates, mutinous soldiers, and messianic religious figures would sweep away the massive colonial edifice constructed by Belgium in Central Africa. Nationalism and Pan-Africanism were the ineluc­ table consequence o f education and modernisation; the achieve­ ments of the colonial system, to our satirical jurist, contained 'the germ of their o w n destruction'. Elements of this prophecy were to find their echo in the momentous transformations compressed into the third of a century from 1 9 4 0 to 1 9 7 5 . A series of shock waves totally altered the political landscape: a nationalist explosion in Z a i r e that engulfed the prudent calendars and Eurafrican visions of the coloniser, the turbulent eddies of which finally gave way to the would-be leviathan state o f Mobutu Sese Seko (Joseph-Desire); an ethnic revolution in Rwanda, and a pre­ carious ethnocracy in Burundi, with the liquidation of the historical monarchies in both. A s the Second W o r l d W a r began, however, virtually no one had any premonition of the sea changes in store. 1

2

3

The formal structure of the colonial state was in many respects the logical prolongation of the absolutist Leopoldian state. The centralised personal control the monarch aspired to achieve had as its counterpart the pronounced concentration of powers in the 1

P a u l S a l k i n , UAfrique Centrale dans cent ans ( P a r i s , 1926). T h e B e l g i a n C o n g o b e c a m e k n o w n officially as t h e R e p u b l i c o f t h e C o n g o u p o n i n d e p e n d e n c e i n i960, t h e n t h e D e m o c r a t i c R e p u b l i c o f t h e C o n g o u n d e r t h e 1964 c o n s t i t u t i o n . T o d i s t i n g u i s h it f r o m its n o r t h e r n n e i g h b o u r b e a r i n g t h e s a m e n a m e , it w a s c o m m o n l y r e f e r r e d t o as * C o n g o - L e o p o l d v i l l e \ t h e n * C o n g o - K i n s h a s a ' w h e n t h e p l a c e - n a m e o f t h e c a p i t a l c i t y w a s a l t e r e d i n 1966. I n 1 9 7 1 , t h e d e s i g n a t i o n * Z a i r e ' w a s a d o p t e d f o r b o t h t h e c o u n t r y a n d its p r i n c i p a l w a t e r w a y . T o r e d u c e c o n f u s i o n , * Z a i r e ' is u s e d t h r o u g h o u t h e r e a s t h e t e r m f o r t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e . In 1971, all Z a i r e a n citizens w e r e r e q u i r e d t o d r o p f o r e n a m e s o f E u r o p e a n p r o v e n a n c e in f a v o u r o f n a m e s o f African o r i g i n . F o r p e r s o n s w h o s e role e x t e n d s b e y o n d t h e n a m e - c h a n g e d a t e , t h e f o r m e r C h r i s t i a n n a m e is i n d i c a t e d i n p a r e n t h e s e s . 2

3

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32 Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi. metropolitan colonial organs in Brussels. Executive authority was vested in the Ministry of Colonies, whose s t a f f - a n d usually minister - tended to be recruited from Catholic and conservative milieux. The royal family also maintained an active interest, political and economic, in colonial affairs. The king was on a number of occasions the source of significant political initiatives. The Chamber of Deputies received an annual report on the administration of the colonies, and had to approve the colonial budget, but its role as overseer was often purely nominal. Within the colony, improving communications were making the con­ centration of power in the government-general in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) more effective. The Tilkens reforms in 1 9 3 3 had sharply circumscribed the autonomy once enjoyed at the provincial 699

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level, especially in Katanga and Orientale. The governor-general, w h o had come to be invariably selected from the ranks of the colonial service, had by 1 9 4 0 clearly established his pre-eminence within the colony. Ruanda-Urundi, as a League of Nations mandate, retained a somewhat special status, although it was roughly analogous in 1 9 4 0 to a seventh province of the Belgian Congo. A decree of 1925 provided for its administrative integration with the Belgian Congo for purposes of currency, security, and colonial bureauc­ racy. Colonial legislation applied only if specifically extended to Ruanda-Urundi, which retained a separate budget. The vicegovernors were, however, subordinate to the governor-general in Leopoldville. Parenthetically, the Usumbura (Bujumbura) post was a stepping-stone to the governor's palace in Kinshasa for three of the four post-war Belgian Congo governors-general. By 1 9 4 0 , the field administration of the colonial state had achieved a thorough hegemony o v e r the subject population, although in some areas, such as K i v u , Ruanda-Urundi, parts o f Kasai and K w a n g o , colonial occupation was not complete until the 1 9 2 0 s . The reform of indigenous jurisdictions in 1 9 3 3 com­ pleted the task o f reorganising customary structures, and incor­ porating them as auxiliaries of the colonial order. Despite a proclaimed adherence to the doctrine of indirect rule, the territorial administration was peremptory and interventionist on the ground. Its capacity to sustain complete dominance was limited at some times by shortages of personnel and resources, especially during the peak Depression years and the Second W o r l d W a r , and at some places by the vitality and skill of some important chiefs, such as the nyimi of the K u b a or the bami of the Shi. The priority accorded to obligatory cultivation, begun in 1 9 1 7 and generalised in the 1 9 3 0 s , and to public w o r k s , taxation, and labour supply for mine and plantation, was incompatible with real autonomy for customary leadership. The infrastructure of colonial p o w e r was by no means limited to the administration; the missions and corporations were crucial elements in the imperial order. By 1 9 3 0 there were as many Catholic missionaries as colonial functionaries. The impact of the church came through its control o f the educational system; its critical though indefinable role as an agency for the transmission of an alternative value system; its related gate-keeping function 700

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in the allocation of opportunities for social mobility for the young, and the political weight of the more articulate and aggressive spokesmen in the senior hierarchy. The basic framework of the capitalist sector was solidly implanted by 1 9 4 0 . Union Minière du Haut Katanga ( U M H K ) had achieved its pre-eminent role in the national economy. Although the heavy paternalism of the mining companies was most pronounced in Katanga, labour-intensive exploitation of diamonds in Kasai, tin in K i v u , and gold in the north-east cast a long shadow over the surrounding countryside. Agricultural capitalism was also powerful in its impact, whether organised primarily in plantation form with large labour demands in the case of palm-oil, or with the corporate power exercised through processing and marketing monopolies, whose supplies were assured through forced peasant cultivation, as in the case of cotton. A wage-labour force, exceptionally large in comparison with those of other African colonies at the time, had been generated by these developments ; and the number of wage-earners had increased from 125 1 2 0 in 1 9 2 0 to 5 3 6 0 5 5 in 1 9 4 0 . The commanding heights of the evangelistic and capitalist sectors were resolutely Belgian. Although, in the religious sphere, Protestant missionary activity was tolerated, its non-Belgian character denied it access to subsidy (until 1 9 4 6 ) , state support, and political influence. The capitalist sector included Unilever, active in palm-oil, and Tanganyika Concessions which was the largest single share-holder in U M H K ; basic control of the latter, however, remained in Belgian hands, and the economy was, fundamentally, a national enterprise. In Ruanda-Urundi, the relative weakness of the administrative sector was matched by the virtual absence of a corporate domain. A few small mines existed, tin ore being the most important, but their importance was minuscule. The population was far too great to permit a plantation economy to emerge. Only the mission infrastructure was comparable; the White Fathers, in particular, had by 1 9 4 0 already created a remarkably thorough evangelistic structure with farreaching social influence. The scope for African initiative or mobility within the congealing structures of the colonial system was very limited. The adult African was a functional unit, as suggested by the customary census designation ' H A V * - homme adulte valide - to be harnessed 701

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to export-crop cultivation, or conscripted for mine or plantation service. Internal movement required administrative authorisation. Except for Catholic seminaries, full secondary education was non-existent, though some post-primary vocational institutes had appeared. Despite these handicaps, however, a new élite was just beginning to be visible, especially in the clerical ranks of the public and private bureaucracies. Each element of the colonial power structure was confident of its capacity to direct the creation of a new society: Christian in its values, industrial in its rhythms and disciplines, Belgian in its orientation and loyalty. Achievement of these goals was very far in the future, and no one doubted the immensity of the task. A t the same time, it served as full justification for the coercive weight of the colonial system. The presumed paternal benevolence of these ultimate ends was doubted by few of those w h o manned the hierarchies of state, church, or corporation, however heated might be the debate o v e r particular pathways. T o ruler and subject, the colonial apparatus was too powerful to imagine that it could be dismantled. The German Blitzkrieg swept over Belgium in t w o weeks in May 1 9 4 0 , creating a moment of disarray in the colony. The government of Belgium fled to exile in Britain, and by autumn 1 9 4 0 was operating from London. However, King L e o p o l d III remained behind, and the civil service department heads continued to operate their ministries in Brussels. Confusion persisted for several months as to the status of the colony: residual focus of Belgian sovereignty; dependency of the exile government in London tied to a British alliance; or autonomous and neutral? By late 1 9 4 0 , the partisans of the London exile government had emerged victorious. Leadership in the colony was assured by the most vigorous and brilliant of Belgium's proconsuls, Pierre Ryckmans, a liberal Catholic. The London government, however, was in no position to assert strong authority over Kinshasa; the colonial administration became, for the first time, largely autonomous. The effort de guerre imposed severe sacrifices, which bore most heavily upon the African population. The Allies at first asked for increased production of tin and gold, with cobalt, tungsten, uranium and rubber subsequently added to the list. The

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number of required days of corvée labour on roads, public works, and forced cultivation was raised from 60 to 1 2 0 , a figure in reality often exceeded. Coerced collection of wild rubber, abandoned since the 'red rubber' scandals of the Congo Free State, was resumed, raising rubber exports from 1 1 4 2 tons in 1 9 3 9 to 11 337 in 1 9 4 4 . Units of the Force Publique, funded by the colonial budget, were made available to Allied forces in the Abyssinian campaign, in West Africa, the Middle East, and even Burma. While the territorial service redoubled its pressure on the subject population, it was stripped of its cadres. In the words of a liberal jurist, the field administration 'was the great sacrifice of the w a r : decimated in its cadres, prostituted in its mission'. The war effort had serious consequences for the security of the colonial order, and engendered the most far-reaching disturbances since the early days of Léopoldian rule. Ironically, the first symptom appeared in the form of a revolutionary but racist white syndicalism on the Copperbelt as European employees revolted against the iron discipline of U M H K . In December 1941 a strike broke out among African U M H K workers at Lubumbashi, the first overt urban social protest movement. The immediate griev­ ance was the blockage of wages in the face of a sharp increase in living costs resulting from war shortages. More general discontents had begun to be articulated in small discussion groups of African elites; these ideas formed a diffuse backdrop to this watershed event. Troops opened fire on demonstrators. The official death toll was 60, with most popular versions reporting a vastly greater number. Nor were ominous symptoms of a growing threat to colonial security limited to the Copperbelt. The Kananga (Luluabourg) garrison mutinied in February 1 9 4 4 , and several months were required before the last mutineers were rounded up. A major rural uprising occurred in the Masisi region of K i v u in 1 9 4 4 , expressed through the metaphor of religious protest. In November 1 9 4 5 , demonstrations by dock workers in the port city of Matadi produced an official toll of seven dead and 19 wounded when troops again fired on protestors. In its organisation and participation, the Matadi protest appeared to show signs of nascent working-class consciousness. A more generalised indicator of the social costs of the war effort lay in 1

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the first appearance of rural exodus. By the end of the war, Belgian officials and missionaries began to note a marked reduction in the numbers of adult male cultivators in many areas. Ruanda-Urundi lay on the margins of the w a r effort, and escaped most of its rigours. There was no wild rubber, n o r large mines, to devour its manpower. The major preoccupation was the precarious balance between land and population. Mandate authorities were first sensitised to the dangers when a famine in 1928—9 claimed an estimated 300000 lives, o r 1 0 per cent of the population. Poor rains in a number of areas brought renewed disaster in 1 9 4 3 - 4 , with again an estimated 300000 dead o r uprooted. In his last annual address as governor-general, Ryckmans de­ clared firmly that 'the days of colonialism are o v e r ' . The future he foresaw had little in common with that which nationalist voices were coming to demand, but it was not a simple restoration of the pre-war system either. The time was at hand to engineer the first controlled participation of the African populace in local political organs. The awakening aspirations of the mass for a more satisfying existence were to find their fulfilment in a redoubled programme of economic development, joined to a panoply of social welfare measures. For the élite, a satisfying status within the colonial hierarchy was to be defined. In the post-war era, a delicate balance had to be maintained between the devolution of political responsibilities and the spread of mass education. A fundamental premise was that, in some way which only the unfolding future would define, a Belgian framework would remain. W h e n Ryckmans delivered his Vers Vavenir valedictory speech, most regarded it as a progressive statement. In Belgian circles, nearly all could agree that the priority for economic and social development was appropriate. Vast energies were deployed in preparing ten-year plans for colonial development, published in 1 9 5 0 - 1 . Further, the prolonged boom in the commodity markets from 1 9 4 6 till 1 9 5 7 meant that the colonial budget itself was generating ample revenues to support swift expansion of the educational system, health facilities, housing, water supplies, and similar social services. The proposition that a satisfying niche in

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colonial society had to be made available to the growing évolué class also commanded fairly general assent. Racial discrimination pervaded colonial life and legislation ; responsible colonial officials were persuaded that these should be removed, at least for the élite, although many in the swiftly growing European population were not prepared to eliminate racism from their daily behaviour. But fulfilment of the Belgian Eurafrican dream depended, at some distant point, on the fidelity of the colonised. During the early post-war years, when full initiative and control remained in the hands of the coloniser, several miscal­ culations hampered the application of the Ryckmans vision. The policy wheels turned exceedingly slowly, and reforms spent years on the drawing board. Until the late 1 9 5 0 s , the final product was the result of compromises between colonial interest groups; African views played almost no part in shaping the laboriously drafted decrees, which were for the most part overtaken by events almost before they appeared. In the case of Ruanda-Urundi, the growing United Nations pressure for political reform imposed unanticipated constraints. Finally, and most important, n o one anticipated the speed at which political mobilisation would occur once it gained full momentum in the Belgian Congo and RuandaUrundi in 1 9 5 9 . The failure of post-war reform in the political sphere in the Belgian Congo is epitomised in the fate of the t w o most prominent measures, the 1 9 5 2 immatriculation decree, and the 1 9 5 7 Statut des Villes. Immatriculation was intended as a solution to the problem of the status of the élite : the central postulate was that, as a number of Congolese intellectuals argued at that time, évolués represented a special social class, for w h o m a particular legal status had to be defined. A commission was established in 1 9 4 8 to develop legislative proposals. In the interim, a 'Carte de Mérite Civique' was created to offer special recognition to Africans deemed meritorious. The commission's initial proposals in 1 9 4 9 were relatively generous to the élite. Passionate opposition from some colonial milieux, however, was sufficient to emasculate the eventual decree which emerged in 1 9 5 2 , which offered a few 1

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S e e t h e first p u b l i s h e d é l i t e m a n i f e s t o , i s s u e d i n 1944, d e m a n d i n g e x e m p t i o n f r o m measures * w h i c h might be appropriate for the ignorant o r b a c k w a r d mass \ reprinted i n R u b b e n s , Dettes de guerre, 128-9.

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Congolese ' immatriculated status, but linked it to very few concrete advantages. In the event, only 1 5 5 7 Cartes de Mérite Civique and 2 1 7 immatriculation cards were issued. Political participation was to be prudently introduced from the ground up. Congolese would begin to share responsibility at the higher levels of government only after a careful apprenticeship at the base. In pursuance of this principle, a commission was established in 1948 with a mandate to prepare a reform of municipal institutions, providing for some form of popular involvement. This legislation took no less than nine years in preparation, again encountering long delays while colonial interest groups sought guarantees for the rights of European residents. When the law was finally adopted in March 1 9 5 7 it did make provision for 'consultations' which, in effect, were based on an adult male suffrage, but assured Europeans de facto parity in representation and maintained firm administrative tutelage. Although elections were organised in seven of the largest cities in 1 9 5 7 and 1 9 5 8 , they were totally overshadowed by the January 1 9 5 9 Kinshasa riots, and the sudden acceleration of events that ensued. Post-war reform in Ruanda-Urundi followed a somewhat different path, reflecting the impact of United Nations Trusteeship. Belgium had been strongly opposed to the expansion of inter­ national jurisdiction over the former mandated territories which the United Nations Charter provided, in particular the specific obligation to promote self-government. The first Visiting Mission dispatched by the Trusteeship Council in 1 9 4 8 , while quite laudatory on the vigour with which economic and social welfare were promoted by the administration, expressed dismay at the absence of provision for political advance. After renewed criti­ cisms on the political front by the 1 9 5 1 Visiting Mission, a decree was issued on 1 4 July 1 9 5 2 proposing a complex hierarchy of councils providing for limited African participation. The con­ sultations were so indirect, and so filtered through the Tutsi chiefly hierarchy, that their impact was minimal. The 1 9 5 4 Visiting Mission delivered a harsh verdict on the timidity of political advance. It was suggested that 20 to 25 years 1

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R u a n d a - U r u n d i h a d a n e t h n i c a l l y stratified s o c i e t y , w i t h t h e c o m m a n d p o s i t i o n s o c c u p i e d p r i m a r i l y b y t h e T u t s i , p a s t o r a l i s t s w h o c o n s t i t u t e d a b o u t 15 p e r c e n t o f t h e population. E x c e p t for an inconsequential n u m b e r o f T w a ( P y g m i e s ) , the remainder were Hutu. Tutsi h e g e m o n y had been entrenched and systematised by 'indirect rule'.

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would be sufficient time to complete the Trust mission. Stung to the quick, Belgium indignantly rejected the Visiting Mission's recommendations, with Ryckmans himself now mounting the counterattack. Nonetheless, in 19 5 6 Vice-Governor-General JeanPaul Harroy, in a move considered audacious at the time, reinterpreted the 1 9 5 2 decree to provide for universal male suffrage for the sub-chiefdom councils. This did substantially increase the fraction of Hutu representation at the lowest level. However, the indirect election mechanism for the higher-level councils, allied to the ex officio representation of predominantly Tutsi chiefs at each level, meant that Hutu were progressively screened out in such a way as to leave, at the kingdom level, exclusively Tutsi membership in Ruanda, and only 3 Hutu members out of 31 in Urundi.

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If the title of nationalist is to be given to any movement of protest against alien rule and oppression, then origins of nationalism may be traced back to the early days of colonial rule: the great mutinies of 1895 and 1 8 9 7 ; movements of religious dissent such as the Kimbanguist church; and regional uprisings such as the Pende revolt of 1 9 3 1 . If, however, nationalism must be restricted to a definition based upon the explicit demand for African political rights and self-determination, then Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi stand out for the tardiness of the nationalist challenge. The first public claim for independence appeared in Zaire only in 1 9 5 6 ; in all three countries, large-scale politicisation of the population dates from 1 9 5 9 . In all three instances, mass mobilisation became intertwined with the crystallisation of ethnic self-awareness, which had a pronounced impact on the definition of political party alignments. A simple but fundamental starting point for understanding the belated appearance of African political movements, in comparison with countries to the north and east, is that the coloniser was not disposed to tolerate them. It was only in 1 9 5 8 that the administration began to accept the formation of African parties, and not till 1 9 5 9 did politicians have full scope for legal organisation. The policy of rigorously isolating Belgian Africa from external influences was quite effective. Only a handful of Africans was able to travel abroad till the middle 1 9 5 0 s ; in 1 9 5 8 there were still fewer than one hundred university students from 707 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi in Belgium. Nationalist literature was not allowed to enter the Belgian colonies, and the transistor revolution had not yet made radios widely available. The only African organ of opinion, La Voix du Congolais, was edited under the close supervision of the colonial authorities. There were, however, harbingers of change. The future Presi­ dent, Joseph Kasavubu, in 1 9 4 6 had spoken of the 'right of the first-occupant ', a phrase referring to land issues in his native BasCongo, but carrying broader implications. By the middle 1 9 5 0 s , the aggressive tone of some statements from the Alliance des Bakongo ( A B A K O ) in Léopoldville w o n it increasing respect, not only in K o n g o milieux; Kasavubu became its president in 1 9 5 4 . In Elisabethville, political effervescence was growing, especially in Kasaian intellectual circles. The fateful word 'independence' was first given public African expression in 1 9 5 6 . The debate was launched by a young Belgian professor, of liberal Catholic connexion, A. A. J . Van Bilsen, w h o published a 30-year plan for the independence of Belgian Africa. While the UN Visiting Mission's proposals for decolonisation within 2 0 - 2 5 years did not evoke immediate response from Ruanda-Urundi Africans, the Van Bilsen plan attracted close attention among Léopoldville intellectuals. A group of young Catholics in Léopoldville, with tacit encouragement from some sympathetic mission and univer­ sity circles, published in m i d - 1 9 5 6 the Manifeste de Conscience Africaine, putting forward a programme rather similar to the Van Bilsen scheme. The Conscience Africaine group was primarily composed of persons w h o had arrived in Léopoldville from up-river, loosely known in the local ethnic lexicon as 'Bangala'. A B A K O leaders, social rivals, riposted a few weeks later with a far more radical document, launching the lapidary but immensely powerful slogan of'immediate independence'. The debate on the future was now joined. The Catholic Church took a measured step away from its traditional role of moral buttress for colonial authority by announcing its support for an ill-defined emancipation. The 1 9 5 7 Visitation of Ruanda-Urundi by the Trusteeship Council sparked off t w o major manifestos, which began to define more clearly the contours of decolonisation politics in the Trust Territory. A group of Ruanda Hutu intellectuals, led by future President Grégoire Kayibanda, issued a 'Bahutu Manifesto'. This warned that the Hutu, whom 'the 708

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departure of the Europeans might plunge into worse slavery than before', would at least have 'the right to refuse to co-operate in the efforts to attain independence' until the mechanisms of Tutsi domination were dismantled. The exclusively Tutsi High Council of Ruanda responded indirectly with a 'statement of views', which made no mention of the Tutsi—Hutu polarity, but urged the rapid training of an élite to w h o m p o w e r could be swiftly devolved. In contemporary social perceptions, this meant the transfer of power to the Tutsi. The urban elections of December 1 9 5 7 in Leopold ville, Elisa­ beth ville and Jadotville (Likasi) reflected the growing African politicisation. The Léopoldville results, in particular, were a psychological shock. The Belgian administration sought to or­ ganise these elections without political parties; in the capital, candidates associated with the A B A K O w o n 133 of 1 7 0 seats in the African communes, which appeared to be a spectacular triumph for the partisans of'immediate independence'. 1

The catalytic event which totally transformed terminal colonial politics occurred in Léopoldville on 4 January 1 9 5 9 . The admini­ stration sought to disperse a crowd gathered for an A B A K O political meeting, a move which escalated into a vast conflagration, spontaneous in its dynamics, massive in its participation. F o r three tense days mobs assaulted symbolic artifacts o f the colonial system : social centres, administrative buildings, Catholic missions and Portuguese stores. Nationalism in the Congo developed as a complex dialectic between the stunned and increasingly demoralised Belgian ad­ ministration, an élite which swiftly raised its demands, and a mass which now began to play a major role. By m i d - 1 9 5 9 , the administration had simply lost its grip on the critical area between Léopoldville and the sea; by the end of the year, comparable politicisation of the rural mass had occurred in K w i l u and Maniema districts, and was present in germ in many other areas. Political leaders were taken by surprise at the scope of rural radicalism; rather than instigating it, the party organisers tried desperately to restrain it, harness it to their political goals, and avoid being swept away by i t . 2

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T h e s e t w o d o c u m e n t s are r e p r o d u c e d in U n i t e d N a t i o n s V i s i t i n g M i s s i o n t o T r u s t T e r r i t o r i e s in E a s t A f r i c a , 1957, Report on Ruanda-Urttndi, 6 D e c e m b e r 1957, T / 1 3 4 6 . T h e ' r u r a l r a d i c a l i s m ' t h e s i s is e x p o u n d e d i n H e r b e r t W e i s s , Political protest in the Congo ( P r i n c e t o n , 1967). 2

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In R u a n d a - U r u n d i , the d e v e l o p m e n t o f nationalism w a s p r o ­ f o u n d l y affected b y t h e e t h n i c s t r a t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e t w o k i n g d o m s , and the interaction o f e v e n t s in e a c h o f t h e m , despite their separate identities. T h e absence o f a major capitalist sector and the m e d i a t i o n o f c o l o n i a l p o l i c y , t h r o u g h t h e t r a d i t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s as a d a p t e d b y t h e i r u s e as i n s t r u m e n t s o f i n d i r e c t r u l e , m e a n t t h a t t h e d i s l o c a t i n g i m p a c t o f c o l o n i a l i s m w a s m u c h m o r e diffuse. R u r a l r a d i c a l i s m d i d a p p e a r i n R w a n d a in 1 9 5 9 , b u t w a s f o c u s s e d o n T u t s i h e g e m o n y rather than o n the colonial system. T h e classic language o f anti-colonial nationalism w a s primarily articulated by T u t s i leaders, h e a v i l y p r e d o m i n a n t in the ranks o f the e d u c a t e d é l i t e in b o t h c o u n t r i e s . T h e spread o f political consciousness w a s accompanied b y a parallel process o f ethnic mobilisation. T h e cultural categories w h i c h s e r v e d as f o c i f o r t h i s n e w l y p o l i t i c i s e d s e l f - a w a r e n e s s w e r e b y n o means simple projections o f the past; in m a n y o f the m o s t v i s i b l e c a s e s , s u c h as L u l u a , M o n g o , o r N g a l a in t h e C o n g o , t h e y w e r e u n i t s o f i d e n t i t y w h i c h o r i g i n a t e d in t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d . I n o t h e r i n s t a n c e s , s u c h as t h e H u t u c a t e g o r y in R w a n d a a n d B u r u n d i , c o l l e c t i v e solidarity e x t e n d e d in a quite n o v e l w a y t o a culturally related but historically fragmented g r o u p i n g . In the C o n g o , t h e p o l i t i c i s a t i o n o f e t h n i c i t y in t h e e r a o f n a t i o n a l i s t politics w a s s t r o n g l y m a r k e d b y the particular c o n t o u r s o f social c o m p e t i t i o n i n t h e p r i n c i p a l c i t i e s : K o n g o v e r s u s N g a l a in L e o p o l d v i l l e ; M o n g o v e r s u s N g o m b e in C o q u i l h a t v i l l e ( M b a n d a k a ) ; S h i v e r s u s K u s u in B u k a v u ; L u l u a v e r s u s L u b a / K a s a i in L u l u a b o u r g ( K a n a n g a ) ; K a s a i a n v e r s u s ' a u t h e n t i c ' K a t a n g a n in E l i s a b e t h v i l l e . P a r t i c u l a r a s p e c t s o f t h e s t r a t e g i e s o f d e c o l o n ­ isation c o n t r i b u t e d their part. In the C o n g o ethnic associations w e r e tolerated, t h o u g h political parties remained banned until 1 9 5 9 . T h e first c o m p e t i t i v e e l e c t i o n s w e r e l o c a t e d in t h e u r b a n cockpit o f ethnic social competition. T h e early post-war reforms assumed that political e v o l u t i o n w o u l d b e s l o w , t h a t it w o u l d r e m a i n u n d e r t h e full c o n t r o l o f t h e B e l g i a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , p r o v i d e l o n g a p p r e n t i c e s h i p at l o c a l e c h e l o n s o f g o v e r n a n c e , offer full p a r t n e r s h i p a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n to the E u r o p e a n residents in A f r i c a , a n d w o u l d lead e v e n t u a l l y t o a p e r m a n e n t l i n k a g e w i t h B e l g i u m . It w a s h o p e d t h a t s o m e f o r m o f b o n d w o u l d tie R u a n d a - U r u n d i t o t h e rest o f B e l g i a n 710

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Africa. In the event, none of these assumptions materialised. The 1958 elections in Belgium resulted in an unusual Christian Democrat-Liberal coalition, anxious to make a new departure in colonial policy. Governor-General Pétillon was brought to Brussels as a technocrat minister of colonies. He at once named a working group broadly representative of Belgian groups, but containing no Congolese members, to prepare a blueprint for political reform. The W o r k i n g G r o u p Report was published on 13 January 1 9 5 9 , nine days after it had been made quite irrelevant by the Léopoldville riots. A ponderous and complex plan was put forward, with directly elected councils only at the local level. These would then serve as electoral colleges for higher echelons, but with a dosage of nominated members. There was, to Congolese eyes, a discon­ certing vagueness as to the attributes of these councils. There was no provision for a responsible executive, nor any mention of independence. Indeed, the wind was totally removed from the sails of the W o r k i n g G r o u p Report by the surprise broadcast of the same day by King Baudouin, the contents of which were known in advance only to the prime minister and colonial minister. The broadcast contained the specific pledge to lead the Belgian Congo to independence ' without undue precipitation or interminable delay'. During the course of 1 9 5 9 , confronted with the tumultuous mobilisation of broad sectors of the colonial populace, Belgium became increasingly aware of the weakness of its position. The Algerian war provided a frightening illustration of the cost of prolonged colonial conflict. Belgium was too small to withstand the foreseeable international pressures that would build up if sustained violence developed. Somehow the confidence of the Congolese nationalist leadership, itself fragmented, had to be won. By the end of 1 9 5 9 , Belgium had decided that immediate political independence offered the best chance of retaining some influence in the Congo. It was possible to believe that the territorial administration and the chiefs it had installed could influence the outcome of elections in enough areas to assure a solid bloc o f moderate' deputies. Further, the European administration remained intact, and security would depend upon the Europeanofficered Force Publique. A l l of this underlay what became known as le parti congolais\ placing an improvised, flimsy superstructure 711

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of elected legislative organs and councils of ministers to rest lightly atop the bedrock of the colonial state. On 25 January i 9 6 0 , agreement was reached in Belgium at a Round Table Conference on independence for 30 June i 9 6 0 with national and provincial elections scheduled for May i 9 6 0 . The twin processes of rural mobilisation and politicisation of ethnicity were given renewed impetus by the tumultuous electoral campaign. Power was to be defined by numbers, and aspirant politicians threw into the battle whatever resources they could discover: millennial promises, appeals to ethnic solidarity and fears, anti-colonial fervour, visions of national unity, and funds and advice from remarkably diverse sources. T w o broad lines of cleavage, superimposed on many more regional ones, emerged : moderate versus radical, and federalist versus unitarian. The first involved, at one extreme, an indulgent attitude towards, and close association with, the colonial administration and, at the other, an aggressively anti-colonial stance. The other line of division separated those strongly committed to a centralised, unitary structure for the new state, from those w h o advocated provincial autonomy. The elections yielded a psychological victory for the more radical nationalist parties. The initial hope of the administration, the Parti National du Progrès, w o n only 15 seats in the lower house. The major victor in most eyes was the Mouvement National Congolais—Lumumba ( M N C / L ) which made a major effort to offer its programme of radical, unitarian nationalism on a national scale. In the event it w o n 33 of the 1 3 7 seats, while a further eight were w o n by allied parties. The more dynamic regional parties, such as Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA) and A B A K O , swept their home areas but had only a limited bloc of parliamentary seats. The formation of a government out of this fractured parliament was a tortuous process, rendered even more difficult by the realisation that the numerous party groups were by no means disciplined, cohesive blocs. In extremis, a precarious formula was found, which seemed to offer a glimmer of hope: the t w o most prestigious leaders, Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Kasavubu, became prime minister and president respectively. The dangers of independence were reflected in the vote of confirmation on the Lumumba cabinet: though the parties represented in the Lumumba ministry represented 1 2 0 of the 1 3 7

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seats, the government received only 7 4 votes, o r five more than the bare minimum. In Ruanda-Urundi, a working group similar to that for the Congo was sent out in the spring of 1 9 5 9 . Its report emerged in November 1 9 5 9 , and proposed a formula rather similar to that which had failed to take root in the Congo. The electoral principle, already introduced in 1 9 5 6 , was again to operate at the local council level, with elected burgomasters to replace appointed chiefs. The councillors would serve as electors for kingdom councils, with each mwami (king) becoming a constitutional figurehead, outside politics and parties. Political evolution was to proceed at the level o f the t w o kingdoms. There was virtually no support in Rwanda o r Burundi for maintenance o f a common framework. In Rwanda, the series o f events which led to the establishment in January 1 9 6 1 o f the Hutu Republic began with the sudden and unexpected death of Mwami Rudahigwa Mutara III on 25 July 1 9 5 9 . The traditional royal council, the biru, convinced that foul play had been involved in the mwamfs death, convened at once without the knowledge o f Belgian officials, and announced Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa as Mwami Kigeri V . This audacious coup was meekly accepted by the Belgians, thus apparently suggesting that real power n o w lay with the Tutsi monarchists. Sharpened apprehensions in Hutu circles at this development created a propitious climate for a jacquerie in November 1 9 5 9 : a week o f rural violence, beginning with widespread burnings of Tutsi dwellings by Hutu peasant bands, followed by Tutsi assassination of a number o f Hutu leaders. Although the death toll was not large (officially 13 Tutsi, 37 Hutu), the political impact was enormous. In the aftermath of the jacquerie, some 2 2 0 0 0 , mainly Tutsi, fled into hastily created refugee camps in Burundi, Zaire, Uganda and Tanzania. In the following weeks, no fewer than 21 Tutsi chiefs and 332 sub-chiefs were killed, arrested, o r forced out o f office, o v e r half of these in the north. Hutu chiefs were appointed to fill these posts, often in disorderly conditions. Although the Belgian administration by no means controlled the direction of events, there is persuasive evidence that it had decided 1

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R e n é L e m a r c h a n d , Rwanda and Burundi ( L o n d o n , 1 9 7 0 ) , 1 7 2 - 3 .

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to react to them by throwing its weight on the side of the Hutu, now organised in the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation Hutu ( P A R M E H U T U ) . Tutsi interests were articulated by the Union Nationale Rwandaise (UNAR), radically anti-colonial in its lexicon, royalist and chauvinistic at its core. Communal elec­ tions were held in mid-1960s. W i t h U N A R generally boycotting the elections, the result was an overwhelming triumph for P A R M E H U T U , which captured 2390 of the 3 1 2 5 local council seats. The structure of local power was radically altered by the installation of Hutu burgomasters in 2 1 0 of the 2 2 9 communes which replaced the sub-chieftaincies. Legislative elections for a National Assembly were announced for January 1 9 6 1 . A t the United Nations, where Belgian credibility was at low ebb and U N A R effectively portrayed itself as an anti-colonial movement, the General Assembly in December i 9 6 0 sought to head off an immediate P A R M E H U T U monopoly of power by urging a Round Table Conference among the parties and the postponement of the elections. The conference was held in Ostend in early January 1 9 6 1 and resulted in a predictable impasse. A t this juncture, P A R M E H U T U and the Belgian administration in Rwanda were anxious to go forward with the balloting, to pave the way for a swift transfer of p o w e r to P A R M E H U T U . Brussels, however, while indignant o v e r what appeared a systematic misunderstanding of Belgian motives, bowed to international pressures and postponed the elections. On 28 January 1 9 6 1 , trucks arrived in the small, central Rwandan t o w n of Gitarama, bearing the 3 1 2 6 communal councillors and burgomasters, furtively summoned by the P A R M E H U T U lead­ ership, certainly acting with the consent of the local Belgian administration, and possibly with the tacit approval of Brussels. By acclamation, this assemblage, acting as impromptu constituent assembly, declared the birth of the 'democratic and sovereign Republic of Rwanda', with Grégoire Kayibanda as prime min­ ister, and Dominique Mbonyumutwa as president. The monarchy and all its symbols were declared abolished. The Belgian administration, although it termed the coup illegal, accepted its results, claiming with some justice that it lacked the power to do otherwise. The Gitarama coup fixed the structure of power for post-colonial Rwanda; the 1 7 months which remained before independence on 1 July 1 9 6 2 were devoted to formal 714

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legitimation of the new regime, both internally and at the United Nations. A t UN insistence, a referendum was held on the issue of the abolition of the monarchy, and internationally supervised legislative elections took place in September 1 9 6 1 . The P A R M E H U T U , however, was already in p o w e r ; the referendum yielded an 80 per cent vote in favour of the Republic, and assured the ruling party of 35 of the 4 4 seats. In a final compromise with the UN on 28 February 1 9 6 2 , t w o ministerial posts and some local administrative nominations were given to UNAR. The building of an independent state in Burundi from 1 9 5 9 - 6 2 set off very different lines of conflict between dynastic clan and generation. The monarchy, rather than being swept away, was momentarily reinforced as a reassuring symbol of unity. Historically, kings of Burundi took up in turn one of four dynastic names, Ntare, Mwezi, Mutaga, and Mwambutsa. The descendants of a king, or ganwa (princes of the blood), formed a clan carrying the dynastic name of the progenitor. Though intrigue within a royal clan was certainly possible, the existence of the structurally competing royal clans provided a relative continuity to factional struggle absent in Rwanda ; to this must be added the much less centralised power of the mwamhhxç in Burundi until Belgian indirect rule enlarged its effective scope. During the twentieth century, dynastic rivalry had hinged around the Bezi and Batare clans, a competition intensified by the particular character of German intervention in Burundi politics in the early years. Throughout the Belgian period, Bangiricenge ruled under the dynastic name of Mwambutsa. He was enthroned in 1 9 1 5 , at the age of t w o , and died in European exile in 1 9 7 7 . The stakes of rivalry during the colonial period were primarily chieftaincy posts and seats on the kingdom council. W i t h independence coming on the horizon from 195 7 , it was evident that the resources and power at issue would be greatly enlarged. In the 1 9 5 0 s , the Belgian administration came to be identified with the Batare faction ; thus, when nationalist vocabulary began to graft itself upon the Bezi-Batare rivalry, history cast the Bezi as radical anti-colonials (associated with the Parti de l'Union et le Progrès N a t i o n a l / U P R O N A ) and Batare (linked to the Parti Démocratique Chrétien/PDC) as moderate collaborators with the administration. The new ideological costumes were brought into 7M

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sharper focus by the dynamic role of Prince Louis Rwagasore, w h o became, in effect, the primary spokesman of U P R O N A upon his return in 1 9 5 8 from university studies in Belgium. U P R O N A had been founded by a leading Bezi figure, Leopold Biha (his full name was Bihumugani); the PDC was launched by Pierre Baranyanka, great grandson of Mwami Ntare. Rwagasore stood somewhat outside the Bezi-Batare conflict as a real national figure. He was not the heir to the throne;- as son of Mwambutsa, he belonged to the Bambutsa clan, and not the Bezi. His national appeal was also enhanced by his marriage to a Hutu woman, and by a charismatic political style, as well as by his tie to the palace. Belgian officials began to refer privately to the U P R O N A leadership as crypto-Communist, and unmistakably sided with the PDC In March i 9 6 0 communal elections were announced for Nov­ ember of that year. Meanwhile, an interim council was named by the administration which was weighted toward Batare interests. Shortly after, Rwagasore was placed under house arrest in Bururi, in the south; other leading U P R O N A figures were also hit by restrictive measures. The PDC, in alliance with several smaller parties, appeared to win a sweeping mandate, taking 2004 of the 2873 communal seats, compared with only 545 for U P R O N A . Striking while the iron was hot, the administration at once announced that elections would be held for a legislature which would elaborate the central political institutions of an independent Burundi. The UN protested strongly, and the Belgians backefd down on the question of legislative elections; however, a pro­ visional council was created, with the new communal councils acting as an electoral college. A PDC-dominated interim central government was established, at once recognised by Belgium. However, under heavy UN pressure, Belgium partially retreated on 25 June 1 9 6 1 , reshuffling the interim government to confer t w o important ministries on U P R O N A . Legislative elections were to be held in September, and Rwagasore was released. U P R O N A succeeded in identifying itself as the party of both nationalism and the monarchy, and captured 58 of the 6 4 seats and 80 per cent of the vote. This verdict led to the investiture of Rwagasore as prime minister. The euphoria of this triumph was short-lived. On 13 October 1 9 6 1 , a hired Greek assassin shot Rwagasore. The real conspirators were Batare leaders, in particular the PDC leader Baranyanka's 716 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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sons, Jean Ntitendereza and Joseph Biroli, both of w h o m were convicted before independence, and hanged after. They apparently mistakenly believed they had the support of the Belgian Resident in this disastrous assassination, a conviction probably derived from contacts with some Belgian functionaries. A s Lemarchand notes, 'Only if one remembers the historical dimensions of the [Bezi-Batare] conflict can one understand the feelings of rage of the Batare in the face of a situation which denied them once and for all the opportunity to make good their traditional claims to power'. The demise of Rwagasore threw Burundi politics into disarray. Only the charisma of Rwagasore provided U P R O N A with a unifying force; once this was removed, intra-party strife began to take on ominous new dimensions as for the first time Hutu-Tutsi conflict appeared. A n d r e Muhirwa, the only significant Batare figure in the U P R O N A leadership ranks, succeeded Rwagasore as prime minister, perhaps somewhat blunting the intensity of the Bezi-Batare confrontation following the Batare role in the murder. Muhirwa, however, had social views tinged with Tutsi chauvinism, and soon became feared and hated by Hutu leaders. In January 1 9 6 2 , the first murders of Hutu intellectuals occurred in Bujumbura, carried out by the U P R O N A youth, the Jeunesse Nationaliste Rwagasore (JNR), foreshadowing the deadly perils which lay ahead. 1

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W h a t burst upon the world as the 'Congo crisis' in i 9 6 0 may be conveniently examined from four perspectives: the overlapping breakdowns of army; the administration; the problem of national unity; and the constitutional framework. The first flash-point was the army, riddled as it was with discontent when independence came. The political leaders had unwisely accepted a plan for Africanisation of the officer corps which kept this cadre exclusively European at the moment of independence, required a decade before much impact would be made, and above all excluded the current generation of other ranks from the prospect of swift promotion that was being enjoyed by the politicians. The first overt act of indiscipline occurred in Kinshasa on 4 July. Troops 1

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W a r r e n W e i n s t e i n , Historical dictionary of Burundi ( M e t u c h e n , N J , 1976), 223-4. L e m a r c h a n d , Rwanda and Burundi, 341.

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in the nearest garrison at Mbanza-Ngungu (Thysville), ordered to Kinshasa as reinforcements to cope with possible trouble in the capital garrison, rose instead against their European officers. Lumumba tried desperately to halt the mutiny, first by sacking the Belgian commander, and promoting all troops one rank, then, three days later, by announcing the total Africanisation of the officer corps, with acceptable Belgians remaining only as couns­ ellors. This was to no avail: the mutual fears and suspicions between Europeans and Africans generated by the abrupt arrival of independence were too pervasive. The African mutineers were in mortal fear that the European officers would try to disarm them and exact lethal vengeance, while the European community in and out of the military camps was swept by lurid reports of rape and violence perpetrated by the troops, some of which were true. New officers were named, in some cases by election, in others by succession of the senior NCOs, in still others under the influence of the newly installed Zairean Commander-in-Chief, V . Lundula, or his Chief of Staff, Mobutu. However, weeks were to pass before anyone even loosely controlled very many troops. A s it faced a crisis of survival, the new government was deprived of effective control over its instrument of security. The backbone of the colonial state was its bureaucratic structure. Like the army, the administration carried its wholly European flavour into independence. Not until 1 9 5 9 was there legal pro­ vision for the incorporation of Zaireans into the approximately 1 0 0 0 0 executive-level posts in the bureaucracy. In i 9 6 0 , the 4645 slots in the first three ranks still contained only three Zaireans. Furthermore, only the new generation of university graduates (the first Lovanium graduating class was 1 9 5 9 ) was to have access to these. Those senior clerks w h o had not metamorphosed into politicians were as bitter as the old NCOs. Independence, it seemed, was only for politicians. This malaise served as backdrop for the July panic. Amongst European functionaries, tales spread of ' black lists' of persons destined for sacking at the first opportunity after independence. Total panic gripped the European community in the wake of the mutiny, and by mid-July most Belgian functionaries save those in Katanga had fled. Of necessity, yesterday's clerks became today's director-generals. Many had long administrative experi718

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enee and abilities far beyond those required for the posts in which they had been blocked by the discriminatory structure of the colonial service. Nonetheless, they were called upon to assume their new responsibilities in conditions of unprecedented disarray. For the moment, the administration was no more able than the army to fulfil its former mission of central control. In Katanga the European community had long considered the province a distinctive entity, resenting centralised control from Kinshasa and Brussels and the siphoning of Katangan resources to finance development in the less-endowed regions. (In i 9 6 0 , 45 per cent of state revenues, and over 50 per cent of the foreign exchange came from the Copperbelt, figures that have sharply increased since independence.) This essentially European par­ ticularism, in the final colonial days, spread to a segment of the African leadership through the prism of an intensifying social competition between immigrants from Kasai, especially Luba, w h o tended to predominate at the élite end of the African spectrum, and groups from the southern part of Katanga, w h o came to describe themselves as 'authentic Katangans', and organised politically behind the Confederation des Associations Tribales du Katanga ( C O N A K A T ) . A s independence approached, the large Belgian firms, especially U M H K , increasingly discon­ certed by the radical rhetoric of the more aggressive nationalist parties, found C O N A K A T leader Tshombe's affirmations of close collaboration with Europeans reassuring. Lumumba viewed Tshombe and C O N A K A T with great suspicion, both for their visible connexions with U M H K , and for their hints that secession was being seriously contemplated. C O N A K A T received only t w o minor posts in the elephantine Lumumba government, while Tshombe became provincial president. On 11 July, profiting from the disruption in Kinshasa, Tshombe proclaimed Katanga's independence. Belgian troops disarmed the mutinous army gar­ risons in Katanga; Belgian functionaries were ordered to remain at their posts, in contrast to the flight elsewhere. A Katanga gendarmerie - a unit destined to serve many flags and causes - was recruited at top speed, with the help of Belgian officers. Although the African dimensions to the secession should not be overlooked, it could never have been undertaken without large-scale public and private Belgian support. On one crucial and ultimately fatal 719

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front, however, Belgian aid was refused: the new state of Katanga was not accorded official recognition by Belgium, nor by any other country. On 8 August, Katanga was followed out of the national door by the Luba-Kasai region of South Kasai, in a more ambiguous and short-lived secession. The Luba provided the stereotypical success story in exploiting new opportunities for social advance presented by the colonial system. Luba had migrated in large numbers to focal points of modern activity: the Copperbelt, the Bas-Congo-Katanga (BCK) rail line, the Kasai provincial capital of Kananga, even to Kinshasa. Their apparent success made them objects of hostility - and by October 1959 of violent assault — in many places, particularly other areas of Kasai, and the Copperbelt. The final blow came in their virtual exclusion from both the national and provincial governments in June. Thus rejected on all sides, the Luba cradleland of South Kasai briefly claimed independence. A s the site of most of the industrial diamond production, its loss in August i960 deepened the crisis faced by the Lumumba government. The final act in the drama of breakdown came with the split of the central government into two centres, each claiming to be sole repository of legality. The bifurcated executive established by the provisional constitution, with both President Kasavubu and Prime Minister Lumumba having important powers, was bound to lead to trouble. The t w o leaders could not have been more different, and the crisis laid bare certain flaws in both. Kasavubu had shown great courage at certain junctures in his political career; his 1946 speech on the 'right of the first occupant'; the 1956 A B A K O stance for 'immediate independence'; and a forthright political statement on the occasion of his inauguration as communal burgomaster in 1958. These had created a myth which proved larger than the man. Secretive, withdrawn, aloof, lacking in organisational talents, Kasavubu counted on events and other forces to work on his behalf. But Lumumba was a master organiser. In Kisangani (Stanleyville), where he first became visible, he had achieved leadership of virtually every organisation in sight by 1956. Of inexhaustible energy, charismatic style, immense charm, his political personality was almost irresistible in the final months of colonial rule. Yet joined to these talents 720

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were some fatal flaws: he suffered from an inability to collaborate with others on an equal political plane; he was distrustful; a mercurial, passionate and impatient man, he was prone to hasty judgement and susceptible to sycophants. By August i960, he had become surrounded by an inpenetrable entourage of cosmopolitan ideological adventurers, whose ill-judged portrayals of political reality contributed to his growing isolation. Though Kasavubu and Lumumba remained quite close in the first phases of the crisis, by August a profound chasm of distrust separated them. Indeed, after mid-July they almost never met. Kasavubu, on the basis of an ambiguous provision in the constitution, announced over the radio on 5 September that he was dismissing the prime minister, and proposing Ileo SongoAmba (Joseph) in his place. He then retired to the presidential palace to await the further developments that many forces, external and internal, were by then anxious to help organise. Lumumba went into furious counterattack, announcing that he was removing Kasavubu. Parliament, hastily convened, annulled both sackings. On 14 September Colonel Mobutu intervened, announcing the establishment of his o w n College of Commis­ sioners, composed of university students. The thread of constitu­ tionality had been lost. Lumumba's residence was surrounded by UN troops as a measure of protection; the gesture was also, in effect, confinement. Kasavubu had some decisive advantages. Mobutu continued to recognise his role as president, as did the UN. For a crucial few days, the UN froze the situation by closing the airport and radio station; Kasavubu's supporters benefited from continued access to Brazzaville radio. The western, especially American and Belgian, support for Mobutu and Kasavubu was far more effective than anything the Soviet Union was in a position to do for Lumumba. By November i960, the Lumumbist forces had concluded that it was not possible to recoup the situation from Kinshasa. They regrouped at Kisangani, gaining control of the provincial admin­ istration and army detachments. On 27 November Lumumba escaped from UN protection in Kinshasa and tried to join his backers in Kisangani. He was captured en route by the Kinshasa authorities, w h o transferred him to Katanga, where he was at once murdered. In the meantime, Lumumba's Vice-Premier, Antoine 721

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Gizenga, had announced that Kisangani was the seat of the legal government. The nadir had been reached; torn into four frag­ ments, with its administration paralysed, and the army, in the words of UN Special Representative R. Dayal, a' disorderly rabble ', prey to diverse external rivalries, the prospects for Zaire were dim.

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The internationalisation of Zairean politics is the last immediate consequence of the crisis which requires consideration. This began with the intervention of Belgian troops on 10 July, with the ostensible mission of protecting the European population. On 11 July, Kasavubu and Lumumba were on the verge of agreeing to their presence, provided their mission was restricted to its announced purpose. However, that day was marked by the senseless Belgian bombardment of Matadi, and Belgian military support for the Katanga secession. Within three days, the Zaire government had appealed for American troops, UN forces, and a 'close watch' on the situation by the Soviet Union. With remarkable speed, the United Nations put together an international force, which from then till 1964 was the most important coercive instrument in the country. The UN force, however, was responsible to the international body and not, as Lumumba apparently initially believed, to the Zaire government. Theoretically, it was intended to keep the peace without inter­ vening in internal affairs, an impossible assignment in the con­ ditions obtaining in i960. Thus the complex patterns of interna­ tional organisation politics - balances of power between the governing organs of Security Council and General Assembly, conflicts and rivalries between officers in the UN Secretariat and field command in Zaire - had considerable impact on political evolution in the country. The fatal dialectic of the Cold W a r set in very quickly. By August, the United States had concluded that Lumumba and his allies were dangerously susceptible to Soviet solicitations, and committed the considerable resources of its hyperactive intelligence agency to support political factions seeking his o v e r t h r o w ; then during the autumn months it dabbled in abortive assassination schemes. The Soviet Union, sensing an unanticipated opportunity to strike a serious blow to imperialist bastions in Central Africa, began delivering equipment and 722

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advisers to the Lumumba forces in late August. President Nkrumah of Ghana, in possession of a secret commitment from Lumumba to join the stillborn Ghana-Guinea-Mali union, mus­ tered all the diplomatic resources at his command to keep him in power. In so unstructured and weakened a polity as the Zaire of the 'Congo crisis' epoch, the impact of such forces was considerable. The first half of 1 9 6 1 witnessed slow movement toward a formula of reconciliation, which might make possible a reunification of the fragments, and the formation of a compromise national govern­ ment. The Lumumbist group at Kisangani wanted to preserve the essentials of the late prime minister's vision: a unitary state, weighted toward the radical i 9 6 0 parties. Katanga intimated willingness to re-enter the national community, provided that it were reconceived in a confederal image, permitting the runaway province to retain through internal autonomy what it was unable to gain as a result of absence of international recognition. Kinshasa wavered between the two, reflecting the changing international climate. With the UN as mediator, a new start was made in July 1 9 6 1 by reconvening parliament; all but the C O N A K A T deputies were in attendance. The assembly was almost evenly divided between Kisangani and Kinshasa blocs; however, former trade-union leader Cyrille Adoula was accepted by both as a compromise candidate. Many Lumumbists felt they had been out-manoeuvred; Mobutu remained commander of the now reunified army, while the security police were run by Nendaka Bika (Victor), both key figures in the ' Binza group', an informal clique of Kinshasa leaders enjoying strong western (especially American) backing. Restoration of constitutional government eased the burden on the UN in dealing with de facto authorities without intervening in internal affairs. In New Y o r k , however, pressure was mounting on the UN Secretariat for some decisive action against the Katanga secession. On 28 August 1 9 6 1 , a first gesture of force was made in a smoothly executed operation aimed at 443 European officers and irregulars serving with the Katanga gend­ armerie. Some 1 0 5 , however, eluded the UN net, and others soon reappeared. The UN field representatives, without the knowledge of Dag Hammarskjold, the Secretary-General in New Y o r k , 723

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devised a more far-reaching coup for 13 September, aimed at ending the secession. This plan, however, fizzled out, and UN forces found themselves engaged in an urban gunfight with the inevitable casualties and damage. The epitaph to this disaster was the tragic death of Hammarskjold himself, when his plane crashed outside Ndola, Zambia, en route to a rendezvous with Tshombe to negotiate a cease-fire. In December 1 9 6 1 , renewed fighting broke out between UN forces and the Katanga gendarmes. This time, the UN was able both to justify its action on grounds of self-defence, and also to thrash the Katangans. Tshombe had to seek a cease-fire, with an agreement that appeared to commit Katanga to end the secession. Tshombe's skill in dilatory manoeuvre was by no means exhausted, however, and much of 1 9 6 2 was spent in sporadic and fruitless negotiations on the execution of the agreement. Finally, renewed conflicts in Lubumbashi between UN forces and Katanga gend­ armes developed at the end of 1 9 6 2 . This time the UN command seized the occasion to pursue the military action to a full conclusion, by occupying all the major towns of South Katanga and putting the Katanga gendarmes to flight. Though local commanders exceeded New Y o r k instructions, the campaign was swift and decisive; on 1 4 January 1 9 6 3 , Tshombe declared the end of the secession. The confusion which beset the central institutions in September i 9 6 0 had soon spread to the provinces. By 1 9 6 2 , the K o n g o , Luba-Kasai, and North Katanga areas were de facto separate provinces. A s provincial conflict escalated elsewhere, usually around regional cleavages, other candidates for separate provincial status appeared daily. J u s t possibly, many believed, a provincial structure based on smaller units, somewhat more homogeneous and created through the play of ethnic self-determination, could offer a more viable structure. Out of this came the fragmentation of the six old provinces into 21 during 1 9 6 2 and 1 9 6 3 . Although ethnic affinity was accepted as a criterion, in fact the new units tended to follow the lines of the former districts, the colonial administrative echelon lying below the province. The hopes of greater cohesion o f the new units were soon disappointed. The issue of the regional distribution of p o w e r was pivotal in the prolonged efforts to draft a permanent constitution to replace the

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provisional document hastily concocted on the eve of independ­ ence. When by 1963 parliament had reached an impasse in its constitutional labours, a special constituent assembly, composed of party, regional and interest-group representatives, was con­ vened in Kananga in January 1 9 6 4 , to consider a draft prepared with UN assistance. The w o r d ' federal was carefully expunged, but the document contained many federal features. Beyond constitutional formality, a large degree of informal fédéralisation had occurred through the inability of the central government effectively to exercise powers in its domain. By early 1 9 6 4 , troubles mounted for the Adoula regime. Tshombe, now in comfortable exile in Madrid, began to weave a coalition of the discontented. The Katanga days had left ample resources in his hands, plus friends w h o would provide more. Radicals wercpromised national unity, disavowal of the Lumumba murder, and an anti-American posture. Moderates were reassured by the actual performance of Tshombe in office in Katanga. European interests were told that he remained a friend of the west, and a defender of private enterprise in Africa. A s the conviction grew in many quarters that the Adoula regime was no longer able to cope, the Tshombe alternative began to appear as a serious possibility, not least to President Kasavubu. On 6 July 1 9 6 4 , Kasavubu named Tshombe as formateur of a provisional govern­ ment, while awaiting the organisation of elections for a new parliament and a permanent government as prescribed by the Kananga constitution which had just come into effect. In contrast to the industrious but colourless Adoula, w h o rarely made public appearances, Tshombe was gregarious and exuberant. The new prime minister enjoyed, for a time, astonishing popularity with the Kinshasa crowds. Tshombe did include one Lumumbist figure (André Lubaya) in his cabinet; otherwise it contained a full slate of persons w h o had never before held central ministerial office. But Lumumbist critics pointed to the continued control of the security apparatus by Mobutu and Nendaka, a former lieutenant of Lumumba from eastern Zaire, w h o had become a bitter enemy. By the end of the month, various Europeans once associated with the Katanga regime began to reappear in advisory roles. In its style of operation, the Tshombe regime soon took on the attributes of the old Katanga state. 9

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Within t w o weeks of the installation of the Tshombe government, a wave of rebellion which had broken out in several parts of the country in early 1 9 6 4 suddenly began to coalesce and extend rapidly. Six weeks later, a revolutionary government was pro­ claimed in Kisangani, about one-third of the national territory had been lost to the central government, and the Kinshasa regime seemed on the brink of collapse. However, the rebellions quickly began to give way before mercenary-led spearheads of the national army, and by the end of the year had broken into fragments, the rebel leadership in flight and all hopes of success vanished. The striking receptivity of the revolutionary appeal must be understood in the context of the hardships brought to many by the circumstances of independence. A few privileged categories — politicians, functionaries, officers - had enjoyed a spectacular social ascent; but most people suffered a sharp drop in well-being. The recollection, especially for the young, of the campaign promises, of the hopes that independence had awakened compared very unfavourably with the bitter reality. For older persons, there was a curious nostalgia for colonialism: not, of course, the vexations of European oppression, but for the order and predictability of life, for the reliability of services which accompanied the last years of le temps des Beiges. While these factors may suggest a generalised predisposition to insurrection, rebels did not find a ready audience everywhere. The reaction of a particular local community to a call to insurrection would depend upon its evaluation of the symbolic associations of those making the appeal. W h o were the insurrectionaries ? Brother, friend or foe? To this calculus was added a prudential estimate of risks and advantages. W h o would w i n ? Dare we oppose an approaching rebel band? W h a t risks of vengeance from the national army would arise if we welcomed the rebels? Individuals, factions, communities, regions derived varying responses from these calculations. The first embryo of rebellion appeared in October 1 9 6 3 , when a number of Lumumbist politicians crossed the Congo River and established a Conseil National de Liberation (CNL) at Brazzaville, where a government prepared to provide sanctuary and facilitate revolutionary organisation by the Lumumbist opposition came to power in August 1 9 6 3 . A few months before, a relatively 726

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little-known former Minister of Education from the i960 Lu­ mumba government, Pierre Mulele, had furtively returned to Zaire after three years in Egypt, China, and Eastern Europe. Quite independent of the CNL, he began to organise partisan bands in the valley forests of his native K w i l u district. More than in any of the other rebel groups there was a strong ideological content to the political and military instruction Mulele and his lieutenants provided, drawn primarily from Chinese theories of peasant revolution. The Mulele movement achieved remarkable success, for a time, in harnessing rural discontent in his o w n ethnic Mbundu zone, and among the neighbouring Pende. He had much more difficulty in penetrating other groups, and some saw themselves actively threatened by the Mulelists. Mulelist bands passed to the attack at the beginning of 1964, but by May the movement had become regionally encapsulated, and began to be torn by internal tensions. Mulelism became a political myth of formidable proportions, and it was many months before the last of the bands left the forest. In February 1964 the CNL established a new office in Burundi, where the fluid political conjuncture had also become favourable. In the Ruzizi plain, bordering Burundi, factional dispute among the Fulero offered an initial base for rebel organisation, which soon exposed the weakness of the national army. On 15 May the frontier town of Uvira was taken by insurgents, opening the Burundi border. Rebels gained another foothold, when Kalemie (Albertville), capital of North Katanga, was captured on 19 June by youthful insurgents from the north. A scene to be re-enacted many times in the following weeks ensued; the national army simply evaporated, and small, lightly armed youth bands pushed south and east without encountering significant opposition. The situation in Kalemie itself soon became anarchic, and Gaston Soumialot, principal organiser of the eastern branch of the CNL, turned his own attention to regions north and east. By mid-July, youth bands in Maniema were structured in more conventional form as an Armee Populaire de Liberation (APL) under Nicolas Olenga. The A P L snowballed as it moved toward Kisangani through zones of Lumumbist strength. In each town, new recruits were enrolled, commercial and state vehicles seized, bank and store vaults emptied, and sizeable stocks of equipment and ammunition captured from the fleeing national army. From 7*7

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quite modest beginnings, the A P L when it reached Kisangani on 4 August had become a force which began to match the national army in numbers, vehicles, and small arms. In August, A P L columns advanced in all directions: eastward from K i n d u into Sankuru, north and west from Kisangani to Isiro (Paulis) and Bunia, east to Lisala and Boende, all of which were in insurgent hands by the end of August. Only one serious setback occurred; a column of 6000 men led by Olenga was driven back at Bukavu in mid-August by a national army garrison effectively led by Colonel (Leonard) Mulamba Nyunyi, with some American and Belgian advisers, and with the decisive support of Mwami Kabare, w h o at the last moment committed his Shi followers against the rebels. Rebellion was at flood tide when CNL leader Christophe Gbenye proclaimed a revolutionary national government at the Lumumbist capital of Kisangani on 5 September. The decom­ position of the People's Republic followed very swiftly after its establishment. The constitution of mercenary units and the incorporation of former Katanga gendarme units provided new resources for the national army; Belgian and American logistical support was increased. Relations between Gbenye, Soumialot and Olenga were always uneasy, and hierarchical control intermittent at best. The Kisangani regime found itself responsible for ad­ ministering vast expanses of territory, with neither structure nor resources to respond to their needs. The expansion of rebel territory was accompanied by the application of revolutionary * justice' to those associated with the central government, resulting in the massacre of thousands of persons. By October, the national army coUnter-offensive began in earnest. The revolutionary government interned approximately 1800 Europeans w h o had remained in rebel-held areas and sought to use them as a bargaining counter, both as a shield against air raids, and to negotiate a halt of the advance on Kisangani. This led to the controversial American—Belgian parachute operation at Kisangani and Isiro on 24—26 November with American planes transporting Belgian troops. A b o u t 100 Europeans and many Africans were killed in connexion with this undertaking. Most African opinion was deeply offended by the racial arrogance implicit in the operation, which rested on the unstated assumption that European lives were more important than African ones. 728

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Although the Tshombe government had not invited this inter­ vention, it had accepted it, so reinforcing its political isolation in Africa. By the end of 1 9 6 4 , as a collective threat to the central government the rebellions had failed. Leadership, never united, fell apart after the loss of Kisangani. However, many substantial pockets of rebellion remained, and many months passed before central authority was restored in a number of these. In some instances, their persistence was abetted by the belated arrival of external supplies: Soviet equipment, transferred by Algeria via the Sudan, and Chinese weapons across Tanzania into the Lake Tanganyika zone. Also, during 1965 the largest pocket of rebels, in the Fizi-Baraka zone on the Tanzania border, benefited from the assistance of the tireless revolutionary, Ernesto' C h e ' Guevara, and a few dozen Cuban colleagues. They eventually became disillusioned, but the Fizi pocket became a zone of institutionalised dissidence from that time forward, and was never brought under central control. Elsewhere, the process of restoring the authority of Kinshasa was often accompanied by massacres comparable in scale to the assassinations by the rebels. With the nightmare of rebellion largely over, political attention turned in 1965 to the contest for power under the Kananga constitution. National elections were scheduled for March. The evident challenge was to produce some sort of regrouping out of the rich florescence of parties which then claimed to exist; no less than 223 parties entered the 1965 campaign. It was, by now, exceedingly difficult to organise politically outside the structure and the resources of the state and this gave a decisive advantage to the incumbents. In February 1 9 6 5 Tshombe launched a national political movement intended to underpin his bid for continued power, the Convention Nationale Congolaise (CONACO), containing 4 9 constituent parties. The Lumumbist bloc, which still functioned with some cohesion in the 1 9 6 3 parliament, had fallen victim to multiple splits, and had lost a number of its leaders in the rebellions. Thus C O N A C O was the apparent victor in the parliamentary elections, taking 1 2 2 of the 1 6 7 seats. Parliament did not meet till September, by which time the fragility of C O N A C O had become apparent. A n opposition bloc 729

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of deputies, the Front Démocratique Congolais (FDC), emerged, led by security chief Nendaka and former Léopoldville provincial president Kamitatu Massamba (Cléophas). When parliament met, the first test votes showed the Tshombe and anti-Tshombe groups almost evenly divided. The crucial p o w e r contest was for the office of president, to be elected by parliament and the provincial assemblies. Kasavubu desired re-election, but Tshombe had decided to challenge him. A s the evenness of the division became clear, tensions began to build. On 13 October, Kasavubu dismissed Tshombe as prime minister, and named Evariste Kimba as interim premier. On 1 4 November, the Kimba government failed to obtain a vote of confidence, by a vote of 121 to 1 3 4 (counting both houses). Kasavubu at once asked Kimba to make a second attempt at forming a government, but at this juncture there simply seemed no majority available for either side. Zaire appeared once again to be in a cul-de-sac. These were the circumstances in which the military high command decided to install General Mobutu as president on 25 November 1 9 6 5 . That same day, a suddenly chastened and united parliament convened, and approved the coup d'état by acclamation. In a major address to the United Nations General Assembly on 4 October 1 9 7 3 , President Mobutu pronounced a harsh verdict on the First Republic:

The situation which we have experienced from i960 to 1965 was cruel for our people. And we must recognize that anarchy, chaos, disorder, negligence, and incompetence were master in Zaire. Some of you look in the dictionary perhaps to understand the definition of the word 'anarchy', while in Zaire we have experienced it so thoroughly that many thought the word 'anarchy' was a Zairean invention. 1

In fact, words such as * chaos * and ' anarchy ' really go too far to convey the reality of the period. Most of the time, in most places, the routines of life went forward. Many major economic enterprises continued to operate. U M H K , for example, hardly ever missed a day's work. Schools continued to function, indeed rapidly expanded, although an academic year was lost in many areas affected by the rebellions. Y e t disorder was fatally lodged in the arteries of the system. Most Zaireans experienced in their personal lives some of its repercussions : the loss of a friend or relative ; a brutal encounter with an ill-disciplined army patrol o r 1

Études Zaïroises, S e p t e m b e r - O c t o b e r 1973, a, 79-102.

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rampaging gang of youths; the depressing awareness that one's ethnicity defined the quarters of town it was safe to enter. This is why, in its unanimous acclamation of the New Regime, parliament was faithfully representing its constituents. The First Republic passed into history as a distasteful period which many people a decade later still did not wish even to discuss. It is this rejection of the legacy of the First Republic which serves as a point of departure for an understanding of the New Regime fashioned by President Mobutu.

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Mobutu at once made his intentions clear by asking for five years in which to rebuild the country. The complete blueprint was not at hand; indeed, the coup had not been planned far in advance of execution. From the outset, however, certain themes were clear: depoliticisation, to cleanse the country of the political divisions of the First Republic; centralisation; creation of new political institutions; personal rule, with the presidency as the supreme institution. Mobutu intended to serve as a political leader, not as military caretaker; from the outset, few military personnel were called upon to serve in either political or ad­ ministrative roles. Political parties were dissolved; parliament was retained, and met occasionally for ritual approval of the budget for the remainder of its prescribed five-year term. Perhaps its major function was to serve as a well-remunerated sinecure for an important cross-section of politicians whose discontent would have been irritating, if not dangerous. A t the end of 1 9 6 6 provinces were reduced in number to eight plus a capital district of Kinshasa, and transformed into purely administrative organs. The perils of opposition were quickly demonstrated. On 30 May 1 9 6 6 , four leading figures of the First Republic (including ex-Prime Minister Kimba) were accused of conspiracy, tried in a five-minute court martial the following day, and hanged at once in a public square in Kinshasa. The benefits of collaboration, on the other hand, were seductive, as the president quickly developed exquisite skills in patrimonial distribution of benefices. The mercenary elements and Katanga gendarmerie units were a serious menace, as Tshombe soon resumed plotting from Spanish exile. Mobutu could not at first afford the risk of expelling 73i Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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the former and disbanding the latter, until his hold on p o w e r was secure and the campaigns against the remaining pockets of rebels completed. The nature of the menace was made clear when 2000 Katanga gendarmes backed by a number of mercenaries mutinied at Kisangani in July 1 9 6 6 . A more serious mutiny occurred in July 1 9 6 7 , led by Colonel Jean Schramme, a former Belgian settler connected with the Tshombe faction. The conspiracy was partly aborted when Tshombe was kidnapped on the eve of the planned uprising, and imprisoned in Algiers, where he died t w o years later, officially of a heart attack. However, nearly 100 mercenaries and several hundred Katangans did seize control of Kisangani, then retreated to Bukavu, which they held until November. x

By 9 6 7 , Mobutu was ready to give institutional form to his new regime. A t the centre, effective p o w e r was concentrated in the office of the president. A single national party, the Mouvement Populaire de la Revolution (MPR), was created in May 1 9 6 7 . Generously endowed with government funds and vehicles, the party extended its structure throughout the country in the months that followed. There quickly appeared jurisdictional conflicts between the administrative and party representatives at different echelons of government, leading to a decision in October 1 9 6 7 to fuse at each level the party and administrative responsibilities. The MPR role was extended to all organisational sectors: unions, youth and student organisations were converted into party organs, and cells were established in Catholic seminaries and army units. The apotheosis came in the 1 9 7 4 revised constitution, which declared the MPR to be * the nation politically organised', a n d ' the sole institution' of Zaire. The state itself, according to this constitutional theory, was simply a dependent emanation of the party. States, however, especially those cut from the cloth of the bureaucratic-authoritarian colonial tradition, do not wither away so easily. The more pervasive the party domain became, the more indistinguishable it became from the state. Beyond the extraordinary definition of the party role, the 1 9 7 4 constitution stands out for the breathtaking scope it gave to the power of the president. The leader of the party automatically became president of the Republic. He presided over all organs of the nation: the Political Bureau of the party (which determined broad policy goals and principles), the Council of Ministers (charged with the execution of Political Bureau decisions), the 73*

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National Legislative Council (which gave its views on budget and details of policy decisions, but could not challenge their essence), and the Supreme Court. Further, in effect the president named all the members of these various organs. The style of political rule under the Mobutu regime can be usefully described as 'patrimonial'. Although initially he included in top posts many of the leading luminaries of the First Republic, they were progressively isolated from their sources of autonomous power and eventually thrust aside in favour of a new political generation which had hitherto played more secondary roles, o r which had emerged after 196 5, primarily from the growing ranks of university graduates. Few were permitted to keep a particular post very long, and there was constant rotation in the ruling organs. The increasingly personalist style of the regime was evident also in the evolution of its official ideology. The first MPR platform, the Nsele Manifesto, issued on 20 May 1 9 6 7 , had as its central theme 'authentic Zairean nationalism'. National dignity, non-alignment, an assertion of indigenous values in the place of imported doctrines, such as scientific socialism o r capitalism, were its themes. In 1 9 7 1 , Mobutu unveiled the doctrine of'authenticity'; Zairean nationalism had to reject the alienating overlay of imposed western values to fulfil itself through the Zairean cultural heritage. In the 1 9 7 4 constitution, ideological evolution proceeded a further step by the establishment o f ' Mobutuism' as the national doctrine. The content of this political thought was to be discovered in the writings, the speeches, and the actions of Mobutu. 1

The Mobutu regime in its first decade had undeniable accom­ plishments in the political realm. The vast country had been effectively reunited, and most disorder ended. When Mobutu sought a new mandate as unopposed presidential candidate in the 1 9 7 0 elections, the regime and its leader had an undeniable elan. By the end of its first decade, the negative side of the personalist style of rule became more evident; with state resources as a vast patrimonial domain to be apportioned among the political elite, inequality and corruption spread throughout the body politic. By 1 9 7 5 , a deepening social malaise was again evident, compounded by a profound economic crisis beginning in 1 9 7 4 . 1

T h i s c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n is a d v a n c e d b y J e a n - C l a u d e W i l l i a m e , Patrimonialism

political change in the Congo ( S t a n f o r d . 1972).

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In comparison with its t w o neighbouring states of former Belgian Africa, the post-independence history of Rwanda was singularly uncomplicated, if not uneventful. The essential contours of the post-independence distribution of p o w e r were defined by the Rwanda revolution of 19 5 9 - 6 1 . These patterns worked themselves out more fully after 1 9 6 2 ; in 1 9 7 3 , the legitimacy of the firstgeneration independence regime had eroded, and a reshuffling of actors though not of basic political structure occurred through the vehicle of a military coup. In the aftermath of the revolution, a large-scale flight of Tutsi to neighbouring countries occurred; by 1 9 6 3 , an estimated 1 3 0 0 0 0 , or nearly one third of the Tutsi population, were refugees in Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Zaire. A large part of the factionalised U N A R élite and the exiled mwami had not aband­ oned hope of reversing the revolutionary outcome. Perhaps 2000 Tutsi irregulars {ingenti) were assembled in the neighbouring states to mount a seven-pronged assault on the Kayibanda regime in December 1 9 6 3 . Only one of the columns, 200 strong, advanced very far, reaching a point 1 2 miles from the capital of Kigali before they were destroyed by the Belgian-officered Garde Nationale Rwandaise. Savage vengeance was exacted on the Tutsi in Rwanda, with at least 1 0 0 0 0 massacred by local Hutu bands. This disastrous invasion was the final postscript to the revolution. Outside the country the U N A R fell apart in the succeeding months, and internally it was removed from the posts negotiated for it by the UN in 1 9 6 2 . The Rwanda revolution was total and irreversible. In the years that followed, the Kayibanda regime gradually lost its momentum. Regional tensions within the new Hutu political élite emerged; Hutu from the north, whose culture and history were quite distinctive, began to murmur that affairs were domi­ nated by a clique from central Rwanda and that the Kayibanda regime permitted too high a fraction of Tutsi students in the university and secondary schools. President Kayibanda, whose withdrawn life earned him the nickname of ' hermit of Gitarama offered no resistance to the military coup organised by army commander Juvenal Habyarimana in July 1 9 7 3 . Although the regional balance of Hutu domination was altered, with northerners 734

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now predominant, the fundamental character of the Rwanda revolution was maintained.

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Burundi politics in the first four years of independence are an extraordinary tangle, involving overlapping conflicts between ganwa clans, the monarchy and its opponents, ganwa and antiroyalist Tutsi, regional Tutsi and Hima groupings, and an emergent politicisation of the polarity between Tutsi and Hutu. By 1 9 7 5 , fundamental transformations in political sociology had occurred. The monarchy had disappeared; the ganwa as a hegem­ onic elite had lost their role. A fundamentally unstable ethnocracy had emerged, but was yet to meet the need for a durable social formula compatible with the diffusion of egalitarian values and broadened self-awareness which inevitably accompany modernisation. On the eve of independence, a fissure opened in the dominant U P R O N A between what were, essentially, Tutsi and Hutu factions. Though Hutu mobilisation was limited at that point to Bujumbura and the Lake Tanganyika shoreline, this was the first time that the latent ethnic polarity became openly reflected in political structures. The Tutsi faction was led by Prime Minister Muhirwa, while the Hutu wing was headed by Paul Mirerekano, a Hutu merchant and mystic, w h o had once been an enthusiastic backer of Rwagasore, and remained a champion of Hutu rights. These factions became known as 'Casablanca' and ' M o n r o v i a ' respectively, after the radical and moderate groups of African states of the day. The horrifying example of Rwanda, not to mention Zaire, clearly exhibited the dangers contained in rami­ fying ethnic hostilities spilling o v e r from the party into the administration. Mwami Mwambutsa, still a powerfully integrative symbol, tried to defuse the tensions by his increasing personal intervention in politics. In June 1 9 6 3 , Muhirwa resigned in disgust over the mwami's intervention; Pierre Ngendandumwe, 1

1

S o m e o f t h e p a s t o r a l i s t s i n s o u t h e r n B u r u n d i w e r e k n o w n as H i m a . A l t h o u g h t h e y b e l o n g t o the same original g r o u p s as the T u t s i , in B u r u n d i they w e r e b e l i e v e d t o h a v e m i g r a t e d f r o m a different d i r e c t i o n , a n d t o b e o f lesser status than the T u t s i . T h e y d i d n o t participate in the structures o f T u t s i h e g e m o n y o v e r the H u t u .

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a Hutu associated with the ' M o n r o v i a ' faction of U P R O N A , was named as prime minister. From this point forward, however, successive governments were responsible to the court, and not to parliament. Executive functions were at best shared with an expanding palace entourage, largely composed of Bezi ganwa figures. In singularly Byzantine fashion, Tutsi extremists were able to bring about the o v e r t h r o w of the Ngendandumwe government by manoeuvring this ' M o n r o v i a ' regime into recognising the People's Republic of China, contrary to the preferences of the mwami, not to mention the Belgian and American embassies. In April 1964, Ngendandumwe was replaced by Albin Nyamoya, a Tutsi of noble (but not ganwa) lineage, linked to the 'Casablanca' group of U P R O N A . The Nyamoya ministry coincided with the peak of the Zaire rebellions, and Bujumbura became a major focus of international intrigue. For some months Burundi politics were dominated by the 'Chinese factor', and tracts appeared warning of 'Communist penetration' of Burundi. In January 1965, the mwami again intervened to sack Nyamoya, alleging 'numerous errors and serious misjudgement... in foreign affairs as well as problems related to national progress'. Ngendandumwe was reinstalled as prime minister, only to be murdered three days later by Rwanda Tutsi extremists. The mwami n o w turned to Joseph Bamina, a university-trained Hutu from a high-status lineage, and married to a Tutsi. Bamina had momentarily served as compromise U P R O N A president in late 1962, acceptable at that point to both Tutsi and Hutu. A t the mwami* s behest, relations with China were severed, and a paradoxical effort, endorsed by palace and ganwa, was made to drain by democracy the poisonous tensions which political instability had secreted. Elections were organised in May 1965, apparently without full calculation as to their implications. They were remarkably free and untrammelled, and resulted in a clear triumph for Hutu candidates. This was not at once apparent in the party labels; the pro-Hutu Parti du Peuple w o n 10 of 33 seats, while U P R O N A w o n 21. But U P R O N A was by n o w a shambles, with as many as five different U P R O N A lists being presented in some constituencies. The crucial factor was that 23 of 33 winners were Hutu. Pending the naming of a new government, the mwami designated his private secretary and 1

1

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Historical dictionary, 227.

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leading Bezi courtier, Biha, as interim prime minister in July. On 13 September 1965 the mwami confirmed his appointment, driving the Hutu parliamentarians to the conclusion that Mwambutsa intended to deny them the fruits of their electoral victory. On 18 October 1 9 6 5 , a group of Hutu officers and men attempted a coup. This quickly failed in Bujumbura, but in the countryside Hutu bands attacked a number of rural Tutsi homes, killing and burning, especially in central Muramvya province. Vengeance was swift. Some 34 military participants in the coup were executed, and 86 Hutu political leaders were sentenced to death on charges of complicity. In the countryside, Tutsi bands with army support went on the rampage, slaughtering several thousand Hutu peasants. Until that point, all governments had contained relatively equal numbers of Hutu and Tutsi. Henceforth, although token Hutu representation continued, Tutsi hegemony was clearly affirmed. Biha, wounded in the attempted coup, no longer really functioned as prime minister. The mwami, w h o had withdrawn to the friendlier mountains of Switzerland, could not manage conflict by remote control. Radical Tutsi led a campaign against the Biha regime, which they labelled a Bezi clique. In March 1 9 6 6 , the mwami designated his 19-year-old son and heir apparent, Charles Ndizeye, to exercise his powers on the spot, but these were now rapidly ebbing. In July 1 9 6 6 , Prince Charles announced his imminent succession to the throne; in September, he was crowned as Ntare V . Although 1 0 0 0 0 0 attended his coronation, the new mwami was too young to have mastered the arts of political intrigue and manoeuvre. Y e t his effort to do so rapidly brought him into fatal conflict with the Tutsi politicians. In November 1 9 6 6 , while he was on a state visit to Kinshasa, the monarchy was abolished. Captain Michel Micombero, w h o had led the counterattack against the Hutu coup participants in October 1 9 6 5 , had been named prime minister in July 1 9 6 6 ; his cabinet, like the abolition of the monarchy, represented a major turning point in Burundi's history. A new generation came to power, partly recruited from the army officer corps. Factional conflict continued to supply the inner dynamic of Burundi politics in the post-monarchy years, but now revolved around new foci. Micombero himself was representative of the new generation; of mixed Tutsi-Hima origins, and a family which did not rank highly in traditional 737

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prestige, he was far removed from the Bezi-Batare groupings of old. Regional affiliations, however, did play a growing role; Micombero and a number of his closest collaborators came from the Bururi district in southern Burundi. Tensions rose to the surface in 1 9 6 9 , when a number of Hutu intellectuals were killed, and again in 1 9 7 1 , when a number of officers from central Burundi were tried for plotting. The next great watershed in Burundi politics was the holocaust of 1 9 7 2 , which took the lives of roughly 5 per cent of the population. On April 1 9 7 2 , Hutu attacks occurred simultaneously in three places - in Bujumbura, on the eastern border, and on the southern lakeshore, where really serious assaults occurred, with perhaps 2000 Tutsi murdered. The reaction was not long in coming, with the army coordinating the carnage carried out by armed Tutsi gangs of Rwagasore Revolutionary Youth. Educated Hutu were a particular target, as the architects of this slaughter were clearly determined to exclude forever a re-enactment of the Rwanda revolution. In such circumstances, the size of the death toll becomes a grisly secret of history; serious estimates run as high as 200000. Another victim was the deposed mwami, w h o returned from exile in March 1 9 7 2 ; he was murdered by a radical Tutsi politician when the Hutu attack began. When the weeks of terror had run their course, Micombero installed Nyamoya again as prime minister, in an effort to at least restore harmony among Tutsi factions. In 1 9 7 4 , Micombero dismissed Nyamoya, and the Bururi group returned to power. In November 1 9 7 6 , the Micombero era came to an end, with a military coup led by Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, a Tutsi related to the ousted president. The lines of ethnic hegemony had hardened in Burundi, and it was difficult to see how the system could transcend the inherent limitations of a legitimacy limited to 15 per cent of the population. The ruling class was now caught in a gigantic trap. Many of its elite were deeply imbued with egalitarian, even revolutionary political values, and strongly rejected the older pattern of ganwa domination and court intrigue. Y e t the threat of the servile insurrection, with the essentially contemporary idea of martyred Hutuhood, loomed as an omnipresent menace. A t the moment of crisis, as in 1 9 7 2 , the fears and emotions tied to communal survival overcame rational thought and humane conviction, leaving the 738

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path clear for the most ruthless guardians of the ethnocratic order to pursue their macabre tasks.

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The period 1 9 4 5 - 5 7 was one of extremely rapid economic growth in the Congo, whose major exports enjoyed buoyant markets. The most important single commodity was copper, accounting for from 50 to 60 per cent of the total value of minerals. Wartime production was about 1 5 0 0 0 0 tons; this rose slowly to 2 5 0 0 0 0 tons by the end of the colonial period. Of roughly equivalent importance, with exports during the 1950s w o r t h $ 5 0 - ^ 6 0 million, were cobalt, diamonds, and tin, with gold and manganese not far behind. The Congo has been the world's largest producer of cobalt and industrial diamonds. Agricultural output also surged; in the best years in the 1 9 5 0 s , its total value came close to that of the mineral sector. The most important crops were cotton, palm-oil and coffee. Cotton, which peaked at 65 300 tons in 1 9 5 9 , was grown, not wholly willingly, by peasant cultivators. Palm-oil was both produced on plantations and collected by peasant outgrowers, the latter system being particularly prevalent in Bandundu (Kwilu). Coffee became a major crop only after the Second W o r l d W a r , developing extremely rapidly during the price boom of the 1 9 5 0 s to reach 5 6 5 4 1 tons in 1 9 5 9 . The speed and turmoil of independence in the Congo had farreaching economic consequences. Investment had ceased by 1 9 5 8 , to be replaced by a net capital outflow of $46 million in 1 9 5 9 . The capitalist sector endeavoured, as a holding operation, to maintain the use of existing installations, but not to expand until about 1 9 6 7 . Its expatriate staff, unlike those of the state, generally remained at their posts, so there was much less dislocation than in the public sector. Peasant agriculture was particularly hard hit, as the marketing infrastructure eroded, prices were unfavourable, and the coercive state apparatus which had been the major factor in cotton production could no longer enforce its cultivation; agriculture fell from 40 to 25 per cent of total G N P from 195 8 - 6 6 . State finances were badly disrupted; indeed, in 1 9 6 1 the government functioned without any budget at all. Smuggling and tax evasion deprived the state of much of its revenue; however, the bureaucratic establishment was expanded, and its remuneration 739

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increased. The scale o f inflationary pressure is measured by an increase in money supply from an index o f 100 in i 9 6 0 to 35 5 at the end o f 1 9 6 4 , as compared with a decline in the volume o f total production from 100 to 7 6 . The Congo franc had declined to one tenth o f its i 9 6 0 value at the time of the major currency reform of 1 9 6 7 . The budgetary deficit reached 30 billion Congo francs in 1 9 6 5 ( $ 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 at the official rate). The New Regime o f President Mobutu removed the obstacle of insecurity by 1 9 6 7 , which permitted renewed operation o f extant installations and plantations throughout the country. The 1 9 6 7 devaluation gave a five-year respite from inflation, and a period of favourable export prices plus a recovery of production to pre-independence levels produced buoyant exchange holdings; by 1 9 7 0 Zaire was able to boast that it was one o f the rare Third W o r l d countries whose currency was solid enough to be used in International Monetary Fund lending. State revenues surged from a l o w o f $ 1 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 in 1 9 6 2 to $ 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 in 1 9 6 8 , as public finances were brought for a time under relative control. However, Mobutu's patrimonial politics came to require large outlays through a poorly controlled presidential account. By 1 9 7 4 , $ 1 0 0 million o f just o v e r $1 billion o f government expenditures went officially through the presidency, and the real amount was in fact significantly higher. Linked to the large-scale distribution of public funds to reward fidelity was the institutionalisation o f corruption; by one estimate, some 6 0 per cent o f the 1 9 7 1 state revenue was diverted to purposes other than those officially stated. A period o f record copper prices from 1 9 7 2 till April 1 9 7 4 produced a short-lived bonanza in public revenues, which in turn triggered a surge of expenditures; public outlays rose from $548.3 million in 1 9 7 2 to $ 1 1 8 3 . 8 million in 1 9 7 4 . Heavy external borrowing occurred in the early 1 9 7 0 s to finance an ambitious programme o f development, and led to an external debt o f more than $2 billion by 1 9 7 5 , placing the country on the brink o f international bankruptcy. Economic nationalism was a recurrent theme under the New Regime, beginning in 1 9 6 6 with a decisive confrontation with the most powerful enterprise o f the country, U M H K . Zaire insisted that U M H K be reconstituted as a Zairean corporation, rather than 1

1

Jean-Philippe P c c m a n s , ' T h e social a n d e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t o f Zaire since i n d e p e n d e n c e : a n h i s t o r i c a l o u t l i n e ' , African Affairs, A p r i l 1975, 7 4 , n o . 295, 162.

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continuing as a Brussels-domiciled enterprise. W i t h negotiations at an impasse, Mobutu suddenly published an ordinance on i January 1 9 6 7 nationalising the Zairean-based installations of the company. Although rumours circulated for a time that Mobutu intended to bring in Japanese or French interests to manage the nationalised copper installations, a compromise very favourable to the former owners was soon arrived at. A n o t h e r subsidiary of the Société Genérale (the parent company of U M H K ) , the Société Genérale des Minerais, was assigned management rights o v e r the Zairean enterprise, which eventually was named the Genérale des Carriéres et des Mines ( G E C A M I N E S ) ; by way of compensation, for 15 years it was to receive 6 per cent of gross sales, estimated to yield between $ 1 8 0 million and $ 3 6 0 million, depending on the prices. The net U M H K investment of external capital had been $200 million, nearly all of which had been completed by the 1 9 2 0 s . From 1 9 5 0 - 6 6 , U M H K profits totalled nearly $1 billion, o f which roughly $320 million had been reinvested. 1

The zenith of economic nationalism was the 1973—5 period. On 30 November 1 9 7 3 , the president announced a sweeping set of measures, prescribing the Zaireanisation of commerce, plan­ tations, and many small and medium enterprises. The more attractive concerns wound up reserved to the top echelon of politicians and army officers, often acting through wives or relatives. Vast disruption o f the commercial sector followed, as the Zairean acquéreurs generally lacked commercial experience, access to credit, and contacts with suppliers. Many were content to strip the assets of their businesses. The 30 November measures soon became intensely unpopular, and acquéreur a social epithet, the new owners being blamed for shortages and price rises. A t the end of 1 9 7 4 , Mobutu tried to defuse the rising resentment by a 'radicalisation of the revolution*. Party officials were told to abandon their businesses, and to repatriate their foreign bank accounts. The larger Zaireanised enterprises were placed under state control, along with a second w a v e of businesses that had not been covered by the measures of 30 November 1 9 7 3 . Radicalisation failed in its turn; the draconian measures were very unevenly applied and the state-directed reorganisation of large Zaireanised enterprises could not halt the economic haemorrhage. In March 1 9 7 6 , Zaireanisation was, for the moment, abandoned, 1

Unite ( B r u s s e l s ) , F e b r u a r y - M a r c h 1970.

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and former owners promised the 'retrocession' of their businesses. Another major determinant of economic policy, joined to economic nationalism, was Mobutu's expansive vision of Zaire's manifest destiny : a mission of leadership in Africa, an example of what a new African state could achieve in spectacular development. Realisation of these ambitions necessitated a rapid increase in government resources. In the short run, this could only be accomplished by accelerating the exploitation of Zaire's treasure trove of minerals. A generous investment code was promulgated in 1 9 6 9 . The major lure was the huge deposits of copper and allied metals in Shaba, previously held in reserve by U M H K . After vigorous competition among assorted international interests, the largest copper deposit was leased to a predominantly Anglo-American consortium, the Société Minière de Tenke Fungurumé (SMTF), headed by A M O C O Mines and Charter Consolidated (28 per cent each). A smaller copper concession was granted to a Japanese consortium, S O D I M I Z A . Other new investments included a Goodyear tyre factory and General Motors assembly plant in Kinshasa, a Continental Grain flour-mill in Matadi, and G u l f Oil development of offshore oil deposits, which began production in 1975. A tremendous energy and transportation infrastructure was required to underpin these developments. Old Belgian plans to tap the enormous hydroelectric potential of the lower Zaire River, dating from 1 9 1 0 , were finally put into operation; Inga, phase I, was begun in 1 9 6 6 , and completed in 1 9 6 8 . By 1 9 7 2 , w o r k had begun on Inga II, which would raise capacity to 1.3 million kilowatt hours (about half the capacity of Cabora Bassa) ; ultimate potential was 30 million kilowatt hours. By 1 9 7 3 , w o r k had begun on the gigantic direct transmission line from Inga to Shaba, whose costs would exceed $ 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 , with plans to complete the rail links from the copper mines to the sea. By the early 1 9 7 0 s , the full implications of this strategy were becoming manifest. Dependency on copper was overwhelming; G E C A M I N E S alone contributed 50 per cent of the state revenue, and two-thirds of the foreign exchange. Sharply deteriorating terms of trade for peasant producers demoralised the villages. Cotton output dropped from 6 3 0 0 0 tons in 1 9 5 9 to an average 742

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of about 20000 tons in the early 1 9 7 0 s . By 1 9 7 6 , palm-oil exports were less than one quarter the pre-independence figure. By 1 9 7 5 , imports of the three major cereals, maize, rice and wheat, rose from 4 7 0 0 0 tons in 1 9 5 9 to an estimated 3 2 5 0 0 0 tons by 1 9 7 5 . For Rwanda and Burundi, the narrow limits set by geographic isolation from markets, high population densities, slight apparent mineral endowments, absence of industry, and shortage of land, ruled out the spectacular ambitions of Zaire. But with nothing but the rural sector to nurture, both accorded agriculture a higher priority, and avoided the pattern of rural deterioration which characterised Zaire. Coffee, seriously promoted since the Second W o r l d W a r , averaged an annual production of about 1 0 0 0 0 tons in both Rwanda and Burundi by the late 1 9 5 0 s . After a brief drop in production immediately after independence, output grew to an average annual level of 2 0 0 0 0 tons each in the early 1 9 7 0 s . In 1 9 7 5 , this represented 90 per cent of Burundi's exports, compared to 72 per cent for Rwanda; the difference lay in the 2000 tons of tin which Rwanda exported yearly. The Malthusian equation was an ominous preoccupation for both countries. Lethal famines in 1928 and 1943 demonstrated the precariousness of the equilibrium between man and the land. In Rwanda, by 1 9 6 8 it was estimated that only 30 per cent of the cultivable land was fallow, with population projections suggesting that none would remain by 1 9 8 0 . The land shortage placed absolute limits on acreage which could be devoted to export crops; further pressure was exerted by the one million cattle in the t w o countries. No source of non-agricultural employment was in prospect for more than a fraction of the peasants. In the face of these austere circumstances, the post-independence economic performance of both countries was surprisingly good.

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The period under review brought momentous transformations in the structure of society, and important ones in the cultural domain. W e are doubtless too close to these changes to appreciate their full significance, particularly in the cultural domain. One important aspect of change, the crystallisation of new and enlarged patterns of ethnic self-awareness, has been considered in 743

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previous sections. W e will focus here particularly upon urbanis­ ation, inequality, and culture. In Zaire, the institutionalisation of a large urban sector stands out as a central contemporary trend. In 1 9 4 0 Leopoldville, the largest city in Belgian Africa, had only 4 6 8 8 4 inhabitants; by 1 9 7 5 , there were an estimated t w o million. Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi, Bukavu and Mbandaka, with the 1 9 7 0 census listed as having 4 2 9 0 0 0 , 2 5 6 0 0 0 , 1 3 5 0 0 0 , and 1 0 8 0 0 0 inhabitants respectively, were in 1 9 4 0 , tiny towns of 1 0 0 0 0 or less. The urban explosion began with the Second W o r l d W a r , and then slowly gathered force in the post-war years. Independence brought years of extraordinary growth, triggered by the end of controls on settlement, the rapid extension of the educational system from the 1 9 5 0 s , and the sharp decline in rural well-being after i 9 6 0 . The 1 9 7 0 census showed 15 per cent of the population living in 1 1 cities with populations of over 1 0 0 0 0 0 . Although urbanisation is of slight impact in Rwanda and Burundi, even here the capital cities swiftly grew: Kigali from 5000 in 1 9 6 2 to approximately 6 0 0 0 0 by 1 9 7 5 , and Bujumbura from 8000 in 1 9 4 0 to about 1 3 0 0 0 0 in 1 9 7 5 . The character of urban life had altered as a function of this growth. In 1 9 4 0 , the central parts of the towns were exclusively European, with African townships of modest dimensions on the periphery; where, as in the Copperbelt, large employers predomi­ nated, company compounds for w o r k e r families, with their ordered paternalism, were common. By 1 9 7 5 , vast squatter communities girdled all the large towns. The former European quarter now also housed the top ranks of the public service, leading political figures and some successful African traders, as well as expatriates. Until 1 9 5 7 , unemployment was a marginal phenomenon in towns; those without jobs were simply returned to their home communities, and only a very small fraction were urban born. A modest recession in the western economies in 1 9 5 7 brought retrenchment to the colony, including significant unemployment, which thereafter became a central feature of urban life. W i t h it developed a vast and poorly measured sector of what became known as 'informal employment': hawking, providing small services, o r performing domestic duties at the home of a somewhat more prosperous relative. There were also rapidly changing patterns of stratification. In Zaire, before i 9 6 0 stratification had been above all racial. There 744

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was an absolute ceiling for Africans in the public service, and a de facto one in private bureaucracies. Restrictions on property ownership, access to credit, and entry to more profitable lines of sale made African success in commerce almost impossible. Social divisions among Africans were above all marked by prestige, as suggested by the very term évolué, which came into currency by 1940 to denote an educated African performing a white-collar function. A s the w o r d évolué suggests, social status was measured by European standards. A n African w o r t h y of esteem had to demonstrate his proximity to the domain of 'civilisation'. Edu­ cation in the mission schools was certainly an indispensable prerequisite; however, more subtle criteria than the mere number of years in school were involved. 'Civilisation', operationally defined, meant European culture, values and behavioural mores. The status of évolué was conferred, in intangible ways, by the judgement of an informal jury of missionaries, administrators and other notables. With independence, the top social category, the European population, fell sharply from its peak of 110000 in 1959, then stabilised at between 30000 and 40000. A highly remunerated group (except for the missionaries), their life style was influential in establishing the level of aspiration and expectation for the new African political-administrative class which, for the first time, commanded an income which made possible the attainment of these dreams. In the years after independence swift rise within the ranks of the élite depended on access to the main avenues of social mobility. Politics, the principal though newest avenue, drew its recruits mainly from the 25 to 35 age-group, and mainly from those employed in the bureaucracy of both the public and private sectors. This group had varying levels of secondary education (university graduates were not yet present in force). The point of entry was electoral office, or clientage ties with one w h o had achieved political success. The great year of recruitment was i 9 6 0 ; thereafter, access was more difficult, and criteria changed. Additional new opportunities opened under the New Regime, both through the apparatus of the party and technocracy. The 10000 vacancies created at the top of the administration by the i960 flight of Belgian functionaries provided a massive once and for all promotion opportunity for those poised just below. On the whole, the beneficiaries came from the category 745

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of relatively senior clerks w h o could lay plausible claim to these offices. Continued expansion of the administration made absorp­ tion of the university graduates on attractive conditions easily assured until the early 1 9 7 0 s . Private bureaucracies were much slower to open their managerial posts to Africans : G E C A M I N E S , which continued to operate like a private firm after its ostensible nationalisation in 1 9 6 7 , in 1 9 7 4 still had 1 3 6 2 expatriates (con­ centrated in the technical domain), and 1 1 3 5 Africans (holding the administrative posts). For many, administrative and political income provided the starting capital which could be enlarged by extramural commercial activity, often managed by a member of the family. Especially profitable were urban undertakings which did not require full-time management: rental property, taxis, trucking, beverage sales. In the early 1960s, the imposition of import controls made the traffic in import licences extremely profitable, and brought about the emergence of a number of prosperous, politically connected, national import-export firms. The 1 9 7 3 Zaireanisation edict had a powerful impact in enlarging the mercantile underpinnings of the politico-administrative class. It should be noted that very few of the new African businessmen emerged from the truncated, impoverished, largely illiterate p r e - 1 9 6 0 Zairean trading community. Beginning in 1 9 4 0 , the size of the urban labour force expanded quickly then stabilised. The number of wage-earners rose from 5 3 6 0 0 0 in 1 9 4 0 to 9 6 2 0 0 0 in 1 9 5 0 ; in 1 9 7 2 , the figure had fallen slightly to 905 000. The colonial administration sought social peace after the Second W o r l d W a r through rising real wages, which tripled during the 1 9 5 0 - 8 period. This in turn induced the large employers to mechanise their operations; G E C A M I N E S in 1975 produced 4 5 0 0 0 0 tons of copper with the same labour force which had turned out less than 1 8 0 0 0 0 in 1 9 5 0 . Independence produced a short-lived further surge in real wages, which peaked in 1 9 6 1 for those holding permanent wage employment. Inflation then swiftly eroded and nullified these gains; by 1 9 6 5 , real wages were back to the 1 9 5 8 level. A n effective price-stabilisation programme in 1 9 6 7 aimed at both the external rates of exchange and internal price-levels. This and the introduction of a new currency permitted a halt to inflation and a brief recovery of wage levels. However, by 1 9 7 2 , deterioration had set in once again. The 746

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International Labour Organisation reported that between 1964 and 1975 the real minimum wage (the effective remuneration level for the majority of workers) fell by 5 3 per cent. The rural sector experienced a comparable cycle. After the harsh phase of the effort de guerre, the 1950s saw a real improvement in rural well-being. Coercion, long the pillar of the colonial agricultural policy, slackened, and prices paid to producers rose. Schools, dispensaries, and clean water began to become available in the villages. The misfortunes after i960 were particularly detrimental to the rural sector; by 1975, real prices paid to farmers for major crops such as cotton, coffee and palm fruits ranged from a quarter to a third of the i960 level. Thus a profound social malaise gripped the country. Though contained within the authoritarian structures of the state, periodic outbursts, such as the 1964-5 rebellions, or the wave of wildcat strikes in 1976, were symptomatic of the discontents generated by the contrast between the visible wealth of the administrativepolitical élite and the expatriate community, and the deteriorating situation of the mass of the populace. A t the same time, a large element of fluidity remained in the emergent social stratification. The expanding educational system sustained the hope of mobility for those at the bottom, while those at the top enjoyed the momentary use of wealth rather than secure entrenchment as a propertied class. The issues of stratification and inequality were differently posed in Rwanda and Burundi, and pivoted largely around the relationships between the two ethnic communities, Tutsi and Hutu. The impact of the first decades of colonial rule, German and Belgian, had been to generalise and entrench Tutsi socio­ political hegemony. Early access to education had been largely restricted to Tutsi. The premise of inequality became administra­ tive ideology through a doctrine of the natural superiority of the Tutsi ruling élite which was shared by the colonial administration and Tutsi leaders. A crucial institution of Tutsi domination, at the socio-economic level, was the widespread device of cattle clientage. A patron, generally Tutsi, would provide one or more cows to a client, normally a Hutu, in return for social and economic services. Historically, the cattle contract had developed 1

1

S u s u m u W a t a n a b e , * M i n i m u m w a g e s in d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s : m y t h a n d r e a l i t y ' ,

International Labour Review, M a y - J u n e 1976, 1 1 3 , n o . 3, 353.

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in several different forms. In central Rwanda, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it had become generalised in a form {ubuhake) which entailed a caste-like relationship. In Burundi, the most widespread form of clientage, ubugabtre, provided a wider range of social choice for the client. In the post-war years, it became an article of faith that abolition of cattle clientage was an absolute prerequisite of social change and political development. In 1 9 5 4 - 5 , the almost exclusively Tutsi kingdom councils in Rwanda and Burundi, with some prodding by the colonial administration, legally abolished cattle clientage. It later proved that this reform, which had appeared so critical in the 1 9 5 0 s , was simply overtaken by events. The issue of Tutsi-Hutu relation­ ships, as independence approached, was translated to the political realm. The major avenue of social mobility after 1 9 6 2 was the limited armature of the state itself - its administration, educational system and army. But this was too narrow a base to support a system of stratification comparable to that of Zaire. The sphere of cultural change is the most difficult realm of all to understand. The mechanisms of transmission of western material culture are massive, yet the emergent cultural synthesis did not amount to ' acculturation \ or the replacement of the historical cultural heritage by traits and values of western derivation. The school system, despite efforts to reform it, remained to a large degree western in form and content. The urban social environment provided a very different setting from the rural community within which the indigenous cultural heritage was formed. The transistor radio, which became available in the 1 9 6 0 s , brought a large sector of both urban and rural society within the reach of a world-wide communications system. O f particular importance was the role of the Christian Church. In all three countries, the Catholic Church in particular had been strongly implanted. Zaire already had 500 African priests by i 9 6 0 , and by 1975 there were t w o dozen Zairean bishops, and one Cardinal. In 1 9 6 8 , the Catholic Church claimed the membership of 7 1 per cent of the Burundi population, and 5 5 per cent in Rwanda. A measure of the social influence of the church lay in its periodic political conflicts with the secular authorities in Zaire, beginning in 1 9 7 1 . The church, at that juncture, was the major social institution which lay outside the orbit of the state; the assaults upon it appear to have merely 748

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strengthened its attraction as an alternative to the existing socio-political order. Protestant churches were less potent, but claimed significant followings. After i 9 6 0 , their number was increased by official recognition of African separatist churches, especially the Kimbanguists, rigorously suppressed by the colonial authorities as a political threat. Following independence, in Zaire the Kimbanguist church spread far beyond its initial K o n g o cultural zone, especially in Kasai. In 1 9 6 8 it was admitted to membership of the W o r l d Council of Churches. Language was a particularly important arena and sensitive indicator of cultural change. In Zaire, the salient trend was towards the crystallisation of a multilingual society. The major regional languages, particularly Lingala and Swahili, spread rapidly during our period. Although no precise figures are available, it is safe to assert that, by the end of it, only the most isolated social categories of Zairean society (the elderly, rural women, young children) were not at least bilingual. In Rwanda and Burundi, the existence of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi as universally known indigenous languages made less necessary the diffusion of Swahili as the vehicular language, although the latter played an important role in Bujumbura. W e may thus see symbolically enacted on the linguistic battlefield the drama of cultural change. The diffusion of regional languages represented the emergence of new forms of cultural synthesis, often urbancentred. These were also manifested in such domains as music and dance which formed an important part of urban leisure activities, or the syncretic forms of urban popular art. A t the same time, the impact o f western culture continued in the linguistic as well as other domains through the continuing spread of French. J

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A central plank in the platform of post-war colonial reform was the serious commitment, for the first time, to a broad-based educational system. The educational pyramid was, h o w e v e r , to be constructed gradually, floor by floor. Accordingly, a vast primary network was established in the 1 9 5 0 s , which by the year before Zairean independence enrolled 7 0 per cent of the 6 to 1 1 age cohort. No less than 6 4 per cent were in the first t w o grades, and less than 3 per cent in the sixth grade. Secondary and higher 749

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education was much slower to develop. In 1959, only 29000 pupils (less than 1000 girls) were in Zairean secondary institutions, with a mere 136 in the final-year graduating class. The foundation of the first universities was the occasion for bitter struggle within the inner walls of the colonial structure. The Catholic Church forced the issue in the early 1950s, and the administration re­ luctantly authorised the establishment of Lovanium University in Leopoldville in 1954. Anti-clerical forces had to be satisfied with the establishment of a second, state, university in Elisabethville in 1956. The pace of educational advance in Ruanda-Urundi was partly influenced by pressure from the United Nations. The first UN Visiting Mission in 1948, noting 'the concept of slowness which is one of [the] dominant characteristics of education in the territory', was critical of the absence not only of any access to university training, but even of secondary schools. Though secondary schools were opened in the 1950s, it was only in 1963 (Rwanda) and 1964 (Burundi) that universities were founded, in both cases with the collaboration of the Catholic Church. In the post-war years, strong pressure from the rapidly growing Belgian community forced the colonial administration to establish a state network of secular secondary schools, initially reserved for European children. The spillover of the guerre scolaire in Belgium (1954—8) led to the substantial expansion of a state network, now open to some Africans. Popular pressures for greater opportun­ ities, as well as ideological conviction, led successive postindependence regimes to accord top priority to the expansion of education. Expenditures rose rapidly in this field, reaching 30 per cent of the Zaire national budget by 1969. In i960, only 136 children completed their secondary schooling; in 1975 20000 did so. That same year, a university which had awarded only 14 diplomas to Zaireans in i960, awarded nearly 2000 degrees. T o the t w o original campuses were added a Protestant university in Kisangani in 1963, and an array of specialised post-secondary institutes, sponsored by various international agencies. A growing sense, in Zaire, that the state had inadequate control over its higher educational system led to a sudden and dramatic university reform in 1 9 7 1 , by which all units were merged into a single national university. The reform was accompanied by the 1

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U n i t e d N a t i o n s T r u s t e e s h i p C o u n c i l , F o u r t h S e s s i o n , s u p p l e m e n t n o . 2. U n i t e d

N a t i o n s V i s i t i n g M i s s i o n t o E a s t A f r i c a , Report on Ruanda-Urundi and related documents, S e p t e m b e r 1950, 12.

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nomination of Zairean university administrators to occupy the command positions on all the campuses; rationalisation and economy were to be achieved by regrouping each specialisation on a single campus. Though the goal of national direction and control was largely achieved, the haste and improvisation of the implementation brought serious dislocations. In December 1 9 7 4 , Mobutu announced that the state would take o v e r the Catholic and Protestant secondary and primary systems as well; though by this time the religious networks enrolled fewer students than the state schools, they were, on the whole, better staffed, directed and funded. Particularly at the secondary level, the Catholic schools were far superior to those of the state, as measured by the much greater percentage of graduates w h o passed the national state examination. This reform, at least in the short run, exceeded the capacities of the state to apply, and the Catholic and Protestant Churches were invited to resume operation of their networks in 1 9 7 7 .

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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The scale and resources of Zaire necessarily predestined it for a major role on the African stage and in world politics. Just as certainly the tiny size and poverty of Rwanda and Burundi limited their roles to virtual invisibility. Once independence became a familiar fact, Belgium became by far the most important diplomatic partner for both Rwanda and Burundi, and the source of most of their technical assistance, while the United States purchased most of their coffee. Periodic overtures came from France to incorporate them within the world of francophonie. Moments of sharp ethnic tension in either state almost necessarily translated into difficult relations with the other, as in 1963 or 1 9 7 2 . After 1 9 6 6 , both had close relations with Zaire, except for a period of rupture with Rwanda in 1 9 6 8 - 9 created by Rwandan refusal to extradite mercenary mutineers from Zaire w h o took refuge in the country. With the New Regime, Zaire moved to assert itself as actor in, rather than as mere object of, international politics. Other African leaders, exhausted and embarrassed by the endless convolutions of the 'Congo crisis', were prepared to accept Mobutu, despite reservations held by some deriving from his intimate American 75i

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associations, and his suspected involvement in the decisions which sealed Lumumba's fate. Full entry of Zaire into the African family was symbolised by the holding in Kinshasa of the 1 9 6 7 Organisation of African Unity summit conference. From this point forward, Mobutu had sufficiently consolidated his domestic position to move from the modest goal of full acceptance to a restless quest for African leadership. In 1 9 7 0 , he paid state visits to ten African states, and in 1 9 7 2 attracted eight African heads of state to his party conference. 1 9 7 3 was the high water mark; Mobutu spent no less than 1 5 0 days outside Zaire, including visits to 1 4 African states (and 1 2 others). In January 1 9 7 3 he paid a spectacular state visit to China, returning with a pledge of $ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 as aid for rural development. On 4 October 1 9 7 3 , he made a major address at the United Nations, highlighted by a surprise announcement of a rupture with Israel t w o days before the Y o m K i p p u r war. Thereafter, some major reverses deflated the aspirations to African leadership of the New Regime. The rapid economic deterioration which became evident in 1 9 7 4 made reconciliation with western creditor powers imperative. The civil war in Angola was disastrous for Zaire, which was deeply committed to the defeat of the M P L A . In September 1 9 7 5 , several Zairean battalions were operating inside Angola jointly with the F N L A , which was long dependent on Zairean support. The unforeseen entry of Cuban army units into the fighting in November quickly led to disaster for the Zairean and F N L A units. The simultaneous South African intervention in southern Angola placed Zaire in an impossibly exposed role, humiliated by defeat, and disgraced in Africa by complicity with apartheid and imperialism. Although the struggle against the M P L A was officially abandoned in February 1 9 7 6 , distrust between Angola and Zaire remained profound. The t w o most important extra-African partners of Zaire between i 9 6 0 and 1 9 7 5 were Belgium and the United States. Relations with Belgium followed a widely oscillating curve, with moments o f fervent cordiality alternating with periods of bitter recriminations and even rupture. A Treaty of Friendship con­ cluded just prior to independence was denounced t w o weeks later by a Zairean government outraged by the unsolicited intervention of Belgian troops, and the military and technical assistance rendered by Belgium to the secessionist state of Katanga. The 75*

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removal of the Lumumba government on 5 September i960 led to resumption of active ties between Kinshasa and Brussels, and by 1963 to very close relationships. Belgian military aid was critical in repulsing the 1964-5 rebellions. However, the U M H K nationalisation controversy of 1966-7 brought a new cycle of crisis. By 1970, restored intimacy was symbolised by a spectacular royal visit by K i n g Baudouin. The 'radicalisation' period o f 1973-5 brought renewed crisis; by 1975 financial disaster made warmer relations with Belgium again indispensable. Although links with the United States were less dense and multiplex than those with Belgium, America served as inter­ national patron throughout most of the 1960-75 period, usually acting in concert with Belgium. Zairean independence coincided with a peak in global interventionism and Cold W a r preoccupation in United States foreign policy. Exaggerated fears of a ' S o v i e t take-over' drew the US deeply into Zairean politics in i960, both directly in covert and diplomatic support for the removal o f Lumumba, and indirectly through its substantial (though not determinant) influence in the United Nations operation in Zaire. Successive Zairean governments had intimate political ties with the United States. However, as President Mobutu became more self-confident, susceptibility to direct American influence dimin­ ished, giving way to a frigid period in 1974—5, culminating in allegations of American complicity in a confused conspiracy to eliminate Mobutu in June 1975. Common opposition to the M P L A in Angola and the exigencies of the economic crisis restored close relations. Relations with the Soviet Union were predominantly hostile. The USSR made a short-lived bid at major military support to the Lumumba regime in late August i960, but at that time - in contrast to the Angolan situation in 1975 - the U S S R lacked the logistical capability to intervene swiftly and effectively. W i t h the overthrow of Lumumba, Soviet diplomats were expelled. The USSR viewed Zaire as an American client state; Zaire accused the Soviet Union of meddling on successive occasions (1964 rebellions, 1971 student crisis at Lovanium University, S o v i e t Cuban backing of M P L A in 1975, the Katanga gendarme invasions of 1977 and 1978). China, although viewed as a dangerous source of subversion in the early 1960s, became a warm friend a decade later with major state visits to Peking by Mobutu in January 1973 753

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and December 1 9 7 4 . In early 1 9 7 5 , China was in many respects Zaire's closest ally, a remarkable episode (even if short-lived) which takes us conveniently back to our starting point: the unbelievable transformation of Central Africa in 3 5 short years. In 1 9 4 0 , Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi were so firmly embedded in the colonial domain that not even the most visionary prophet could have imagined what lay beyond.

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CHAPTER

15

PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING

AFRICA

With an appendix on Equatorial Guinea Although modelled with local variations on the ideas and struc­ tures of Italian Fascism, and later stiffened by an admiration for German National-Socialism, Portugal's Estado N o v o was constrained to neutrality during the Second W o r l d W a r . G e o ­ graphical realities allowed no decisive preference for the Axis powers before the great turning points of 1 9 4 2 : unlike Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal sent no troops to aid the Germans on its eastern front. After those turning points the merest common sense ensured that Portugal's neutrality should be such as to p r o v e acceptable to the western allies. Portugal's colonies remained intact, but the overall influence of the W o r l d W a r , though less of a nexus of change than it proved elsewhere in colonial Africa, can now be measured as one of various and in some ways profound effect. On the side of the colonised, this influence constituted a formative prelude to the beginning of anti-colonial protest in modern forms; on that of the colonisers, it spurred the system to greater and more insistent exploitation of natural resources and African labour. Generally, the colonial governors anticipated hard times from interruptions to maritime transport. Arguing the economic dangers that lay ahead, the Governor-General of Angola, for example, told his council during its session of 9 - 1 4 September 1 9 3 9 that 'he wished to see the installation of a war economy'. In fact, so far as most exports were concerned, the hard years were 1 9 4 1 - 2 , after which there came a recovery and expansion. Sisal exports from Angola fell by half between 1 9 4 0 and 1 9 4 1 , barely improved in 1 9 4 2 , but more than doubled in 1 9 4 3 and rose again in 1 9 4 4 . Though statistics were to remain gravely deficient in this sector as in others, it seems clear that these colonised peoples had to provide a productive ' war effort' by way of additional forced labour and other coercions, such as was imposed elsewhere, and especially in the Belgian Congo and French West Africa. 755

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Steady expansion of the colonial economy began after 1 9 4 5 . This quickened through the 1 9 5 0 s and again later; but the future of Portuguese control was beginning by the early 1960s to be challenged by movements of African nationalism. So that although colonial economic expansion makes after 1945 a continuity except in Guiñé and the islands, the whole period of 30 years can best be understood by dividing it into t w o phases, respectively from 1945 to i 9 6 0 , and onwards from 1 9 6 1 : before and after, that is, the rise of effective movements of African contestation. The origins of these movements belong to the 1 9 5 0 s , even to the late 1 9 4 0 s ; their action on the ground, and the great dramas to which it led, belong to the second phase. The human arena o f these events can be outlined by reference to the decennial census o f 1 9 5 0 . Its findings were really little more than rough estimates, except in the counting of whites and assimilated non-whites, but show at least the broad composition of the peoples w h o were soon to become involved in long and large upheavals. Returns for Angola gave 4 0 3 6 6 8 7 Africans (with a slight excess of females), 7 8 8 2 6 'non-natives' (equivalent to whites), and 3 0 0 8 9 assimilados (or non-whites admitted to the status of 'civilised persons'). Those for Mozambique showed 5 7 3 2 3 1 7 Africans (again with a small excess of females), 9 1 9 5 4 'non-natives' (as well as 1 6 1 3 listed as ' y e l l o w ' and 1 2 6 3 0 as 'Indians'), and 4 3 4 9 assimilados. Guiñé was thought to h a v e some 5 0 3 9 7 0 Africans, together with 2263 whites, 6 0 6 4 assimilados (of w h o m 4 5 6 8 were listed as mestiços, and no doubt included a proportion of persons o f Cape Verdean origin), and 1 1 'Indians'. The Cape Verde archipelago had at least 1 5 0 0 0 0 people, all of w h o m were formally outside the categories of the indigenato, although, for most of them, this was a narrow privilege within the system: there were also some 4000 whites. Sâo Tomé and 1

1

In a survey of 1977 devoted to the history of Cape Verdean emigration, and containing much otherwise unanalysed statistical material, Antonio Car re i ra finds that the term 'forced emigration' should be applied to the 73056 Cape Verdeans listed in official records as having gone to work in Sâo Tomé, Principe, Angola and Mozambique in the period 1941-70. He points out that these emigrants were, in practice, subjected to administrative coercions little different from the contract-labour system of the indigenato, whether in regard to wage-payment or other conditions of life and work. He doubts if the labour reforms of 1962, notably those of the Código de Trabalho Rural of 27 April of that year, could in any case be applied, in practice, by officials long accustomed to the 'deleterious and vitiated' systems that the Code was supposed to displace. A. Carreira, Migraçoes nas I I has de Cabo Verde (Lisbon, 1977), 216, 224, 235, *39-

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Principe seem to have had about 6 0 0 0 0 people, again including a few thousand whites; most of these were on Sao Tome, much the larger island of the pair, while some 2 3 0 0 0 were migrant 'contract w o r k e r s ' from Angola, Mozambique and the Cape Verdes. Portugal also possessed a couple of hectares at W h y d a h in Dahomey (now Benin), the site of an old trading fort with a commandant and assistant, until shortly after the independence of that country in i 9 6 0 . The total number of Africans was thus of the order of ten and a half millions. This was probably an underestimate, but in any case the i 9 6 0 census was to show only a small increase on these numbers, a point that may of course be explained either by a merely arithmetical adjustment o f ' traditional' census findings o r by a very slow rate of natural increase. The 1 9 7 0 census figures are of small value, given that large areas of all these mainland territories were debarred by this time to Portuguese enquiry, while very large numbers of rural people had fled into peripheral countries. Enumeration in the Cape Verde archipelago in 1 9 7 0 could be less approximate since no fighting was in progress there, and gave a total population of 2 7 2 0 0 0 o r about 1 0 0 0 0 0 more than in 1 9 5 0 . It may be noted in this context that whereas the Cape Verdean population appears to have suffered grievously in num­ bers from drought-induced famine during 1942—3 and 1947—9 — as with much else in Cape Verdean history, the facts remain to be established - no such famine struck again on any serious scale until 1 9 6 9 . Other useful points emerge from the census return. Surprisingly, in view of later settlement policies, there were more whites in Mozambique than in A n g o l a ; this situation w o u l d be rapidly reversed after 1 9 5 0 , and by 1 9 7 5 the number of whites in Angola (counting only civilians) would be at least a third more than the number in Mozambique. Altogether, in the three mainland colonies where the status of indigena was applied to all not accepted as Portuguese, there were about 4 0 0 0 0 assimilados, or considerably less than one half of one per cent of the indigenous population. O f this tiny percentage, a large proportion was mestizo (of mixed parentage originating from white male alliances with non-white females); and one may safely conclude that the number of assimilated Africans o f ' u n m i x e d ' origin was a good deal less than one quarter of one per cent. Though statistics are lacking, this probably rose towards one per cent in Angola and Mozam757

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bique by about 1 9 6 5 , while an unknown but still small number of indigenas were by this time living as assimilados without being registered as such. Generally, these proportions portray the factual realities of Portuguese assimilation, and help to explain the continuing shallowness of Portuguese cultural impact even after administrative occupation was made complete in the 1 9 3 0 s .

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A N D E X P A N S I O N ,

1945-60

In evaluating the record on the Portuguese side a large allowance has to be made for the propaganda of the Estado N o v o , reflecting as this did the deep provincial isolation within which the regime had formed and contained its spokesmen. A s late as 1 9 6 7 , when all three mainland territories were engulfed in widespread warfare, and the proportion of assimilated Africans was certainly no larger than one per cent, it would remain possible for Salazar's Foreign Minister, Franco Nogueira, to claim that Portugal ' a l o n e ' had ' practised the principle of multi-racialism, which all n o w consider the most perfect and daring expression of human brotherhood and sociological progress', so that ' o u r African provinces are more developed, more progressive in every respect, than any recently independent territory in Africa south of the Sahara, without exception'. Less unrealistic views were aired at home; and these confirmed the essential continuity of Portuguese colonial policy from the time of Norton de Matos's second governorship of Angola ( 1 9 2 1 - 4 ) through the purely military dictatorship of the late 1920s and the practice of the Estado N o v o after 1 9 3 2 . The essence of this continuity was well defined by Marcello Caetano, Salazar's eventual successor, when a professor o f the University of Lisbon. During a series of lectures early in the 1 9 5 0 s , Caetano explained that 1

the blacks of Africa are to be governed and organised by Europeans, but are indispensable as the latters' auxiliaries... The Africans are themselves incapable of developing the territories they have lived in for millennia: they have made no useful inventions, discovered no profitable technology, conquered nothing that counts in the evolution of humanity, nothing in thefieldsof culture and technology to be compared with the achievements of Europeans or even of 1

F . N o g u e i r a , The Third World ( L o n d o n , 1967), 1 5 4 - 5 .

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Asiatics. The blacks of Africa are thus to be treated as productive elements organised or to be organised in an economy directed by whites... 1

T o which J . M. da Silva Cunha, for long the regime's prominent specialist on colonial affairs, could add with a characteristic self-assurance that 'the principles are good, and experience is not lacking. While mistakes have to be corrected, Portugal must continue to serve as the master and exemplar for those peoples w h o are the educators of other peoples.' Set against this background of an intense and often passionate attachment to economic and cultural discrimination against Africans, even if sometimes mitigated in sexual relationships between white males and non-white females, the task of 1945 was seen as being to extend the policies of the 1 9 3 0 s . M o r e effectively than before, if possible more 'rationally', the maximum amount of labour was to be extracted from the largest feasible number of blacks at the lowest possible cost, whether directly in white-owned plantations and other enterprises, o r indirectly in the provision of low-cost food produced by the rural African economy for the benefit of populations enclosed within the colonial economy proper. A t the same time there was to be further centralisation of all effective controls in a reaffirmation of the Estado Novo's rejection of previous tendencies towards giving some measure of territorial autonomy to oversea whites. 2

T o these ends, one may recall, the Estado N o v o had taken o v e r and modified the constitutional instruments of the p r e - 1 9 2 6 parliamentary regime. That regime's regulations, providing for the coercion of labour on the principle that blacks were not considered to be working unless for wages - that is, for whites were confirmed in toto. A t the same time a Colonial A c t of 1 9 3 0 , an 'imperial organic charter' of 1 9 3 3 , and some other regulations had reinforced Lisbon's control of the whole imperial system. In practice these modifications, during the 1 9 3 0 s , appear to have had far less effect upon the scene of action than the increasingly authoritarian attitudes of oversea governors and generals. Writing in 1 9 3 8 , Hailey could note that their intended results were 'not yet in full operation', and ' much indeed appears to have been left 1

2

M . C a e t a n o , Os nativos na economia africana ( C o i m b r a , 1954), 16, a u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n . J. M . d a S i l v a C u n h a , O sistemaportugues depolitico indigena ( C o i m b r a , 1953), 236—8,

author's translation.

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for determination by rules o f practice'. W i t h an interval for the wartime years, these 'rules of practice' gradually knit together, after 1 9 4 5 , into the strait jacket which Salazar, concerned always to promote the identity of Portugal within a context of its medieval history, insistently envisaged. They were also assisted by other regulations, notably those of 1 9 5 4 which further crys­ tallised the differences in status between indigena and assimilado. The system accordingly did not develop, much less change; but it grew in size and coercive power. No democratic politics being permitted to any community, one sees this g r o w t h in the economic and administrative fields. Many more men (with an unknown but probably not small number of women) were brought within a system of exploitation ' organised in an economy directed by whites'. This was achieved by an extension of labour recruitment on one hand, and of the obligatory cultivation of export crops on the other. Thriving on both, the colonial economy went steadily ahead after 1 9 5 0 : for example, Angolan coffee production rose from 3 8 3 8 0 tons in 1 9 5 1 to 1 6 8 0 0 0 in 1 9 6 1 . The enlargement o f obligatory cultivation of export crops was almost certainly very great in all three mainland territories. A n independent observer in Mozambique during 1 9 5 8 found that 'the actual number of men, women and children w h o are being forced to plant cotton (on acreage taken out of food production) probably exceeds one million. In 1 9 5 6 , the 5 1 9 0 0 0 sellers received an average of $ 1 1 . 1 7 per person as their family's reward for an entire year's w o r k . ' Comparable conditions existed in central and western areas of Angola, as also to a small extent in the groundnut zones of Guine, and were to form a major factor in fuelling African discontent. 2

Forced labour formed another. Masked as 'contract labour', this appears to have become ever more prevalent. Designed initially by Norton de Matos during his first governorship of Angola ( 1 9 1 2 - 1 5 ) as an improvement on surviving practices of domestic s l a v e r y , contract labour had to be supplied by all fit adult males (but excluding assimtlados) w h o could not otherwise show that they were 'employed', which meant working for a wage, during six months of the year. Reliable figures are again 3

1

2

3

2 l 6

L o r d H a i l c y , An African survey, 2nd e d . ( L o n d o n , 1945)» M . H a r r i s , Portugal*s African 'wards' ( N e w Y o r k , 1958), J I . S e e N . d e M a t o s , A Provincia de Angola ( P o r t o , 1926), 15-16, 126-7.

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lacking, but something o f the prevalence o f this system can be seen from the official returns o f the Department o f Native Affairs in Luanda, examined in 1 9 5 4 by another independent observer. These showed, for all Angola, a total of about 3 7 9 0 0 0 contradados (those w h o m Norton's much earlier regulations had designated as servi(ais) compared with about 400 000 voluntarios (those working for wages outside the 'contractual' system). For the plantation economy, at that time, the Department o f Native Affairs worked to a rough ratio of 3 3 contradados for each hundred hectares. By the middle 1 9 5 0 s , in short, perhaps a quarter o f all adult males in rural Angola were enclosed directly within the colonial economy under conditions o f more o r less coercion. It was evident, moreover, that regulations forbidding recruitment for private employers were a dead letter. A n inspector-general o f colonies, reporting in 1 9 4 7 , thought that the worst aspect o f the labour position lay 1

in the attitude of the State to the recruitment of labour for private employers. Here the position is worse in Angola than in Mozambique: because in Angola, openly and deliberately, the State acts as recruiting and distributing agent for labour on behalf of settlers who, as though it were natural, write to the Department of Native Affairs for 'a supply of workers'. This word 'supply* [fornecer] is used indifferently of goods or of men... In some ways the situation is worse than simple slavery. Under slavery, after all, the Native is bought as an animal; his owner prefers him to remain asfitas a horse or an ox. Yet here the Native is not bought: he is hired from the State, although he is called a free man. And his employer cares little if he sickens or dies, once he is working, because when he sickens or dies his employer will simply ask for another. 2

A continuity of policy was marked in the cultural field as well. Following a Concordat of 1 9 4 0 , a missionary statute o f 1 9 4 1 completed an earlier trend towards entrusting all education o f Africans to Catholic missions (save for a small number o f British Baptist and American o r Canadian Methodist missions, these 1

F i g u r e s supplied t o t h e author, in mid-1954, b y t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f N a t i v e Affairs, Luanda. F o r a precise colonial restatement o f the continuing policy o n African labour,

see Re latorio do Gov.-Geral de Mozambique: Gen. Jose Tristao de Bettencourt ( c o v e r i n g p e r i o d 20 M a r c h 1940 t o 31 D e c e m b e r 1941), ( A g e n c i a G e r a l d a s C o l o n i a s , L i s b o n , 194 5), 7 7 - 8 5. T h i s severely frank report w a s m a d e b y H e n r i q u e G a l v a o , then inspector-general o f c o l o n i e s . K e p t s e c r e t , it w a s a f t e r w a r d s p r i n t e d b y t h e c l a n d e s t i n e o p p o s i t i o n . T h e p a s s a g e i n q u e s t i o n is f r o m t h e a u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n i n B. D a v i d s o n , The African awakening ( L o n d o n , 1955), 205. G a l v á o s u b s e q u e n t l y p u b l i s h e d t h e r e p o r t i n f u l l , i n a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t a n d m o r e a b r a s i v e t r a n s l a t i o n , i n H . G a l v a o , Santa Maria: my crusade for Portugal, tr. W . L o n g f e l l o w ( L o n d o n , 1961), 53. 2

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being tolerated because powerful governments could defend them). The education provided was of a merely primitive nature, being limited to a little literacy and the catechism, although white and assimilado children could have access to a few secondary schools run by the state. Y e t even if the Portuguese cultural approach could have found a place for mass literacy - and as late as 1 9 5 8 , according to an estimate of UNESCO's, illiteracy in Portugal itself was still as high as 4 4 per cent - the economic system posed no educational requirement. So the 1 9 5 0 statistical review offers no surprise in showing that illiteracy for all sectors of the population stood at 9 6 . 9 7 per cent in Angola, at 9 7 . 8 6 per cent in Mozambique, and at 98.95 per cent in Guiñé, while even that of the Cape Verdean population, ostensibly all o f ' civilised * status, stood at 7 8 . 5 0 per cent. Educational facilities for the * civilised' minority were better, but still at a low level. Even in 195 5 - 6 , with an Angolan white population totalling some 1 1 0 0 0 0 (not counting perhaps 3 5 000 assimilados), only 3 7 2 9 students were registered in 'academic' education and 2 1 6 4 in 'technical' education. A s late as 1 9 5 8 , only one Mozambican African had acquired a university degree. 1

However archaic the system, Salazar and those w h o followed him were determined to preserve it, seeing their empire not only as a vital means of assuring a favourable balance of payments for Portugal itself, but also, in their ideology of Lusitanian grandeur, as being crucial to Portugal's standing and importance in the world. On their view of the matter, any concession to liberalising reform must lead irrevocably to Portugal's gradual displacement by rival imperialist powers, and most probably by the controlling influence o f the United States. A well-known declaration of Salazar's, perfectly representative of many others made about the colonies, may suffice to encapsulate an intransigence that was based on fear of Portugal's imperial weakness. ' W e will not sell, we will not cede, w e will not surrender, w e will not s h a r e . . . the smallest item of our sovereignty', he declared at a time when stronger colonial powers had begun to withdraw their political controls.' Even if our constitution would allow this, which it does not, our national conscience must refuse i t . ' 2

1

M . A . Samuels and N . A . Bailey,

'Education,

health, and social welfare',

in

D . M . A b s h i r e a n d M . A . S a m u e l s ( e d s . ) , Portuguese Africa, a handbook ( L o n d o n , 1969), 187. 2

Q u o t e d b y N . d e V a s c o n c e l o s , Nao!

( L i s b o n , 1961), p r e f a c e . A u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n .

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Such was to remain the official philosophy to the end; but it acquired new life in the 1950s. Hoping for admission to the United Nations, the regime took measures to forestall outside enquiry into the conditions of the colonies. A constitutional change of 1951 declared that the colonies were henceforth to have the formal status of oversea provinces of the mother-country. Duly admitted to the United Nations in 1 9 5 5 , the regime denied having any obligation under Article 73 of the UN Charter, which concerns non-self-governing territories, since its oversea provinces were as much a part of Portugal, constitutionally, as the A l g a r v e or Lisbon itself. This at least prevented any on-the-spot investigation by agencies of the UN, as well as releasing Lisbon from the need to make reports. Generally, by i 9 6 0 , the system had reached a point where its promoters could well believe, no matter what might be argued by sceptics, that they had reached an equilibrium capable of further economic enlargement, but calling for no structural change. Towards all but a minute fraction of the non-white population, this future might offer some eventual alleviation of 'native' status, but could allow for no development into a different system. There was quite a bit of internal criticism, notably from such men as Augusto Casimiro w h o had served as a provincial governor in Angola, but it made no difference. No scandals arising from coercion, and there were many of them, seem ever to have disturbed the certitudes of Salazar and his principal aides. No development of any oversea variants, much less of any non-Portuguese alternatives, could be allowed. What Albert Perbal told the Reale Accademia d'ltalia in 1 9 4 0 , speaking to the theme of 'Comment former les Africains à la Civilisation?*, must hold unalterably firm. Perbal quoted as exemplary a statement by an inspector-general of education in French West Africa: * Evidemment, dans ce domaine, je crois que nous sommes amenés à dire qu'il ne peut s'agir que d'une culture purement française, et je crois que l'idéal serait de faire des lycées qui soient le plus français possible.' The difference, of course, was that the Portugal of Salazar wished or was able to form very few lycées of any kind at all. Complacency marched hand-in-hand with repressive severity, and saw no reason save European and American jealousy or 1

1

A . P e r b a l , ' C o m m e n t f o r m e r l e s A f r i c a i n s à la c i v i l i s a t i o n ? ' , Rea/e

d'ltalia,

R o m e , 1940.

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subversion to doubt that the march could indefinitely continue. Thus Salazar in 1 9 5 7 :

We believe that there are decadent or - if you prefer - backward races whom we feel we have a duty to lead to civilisation: a task of educating human beings that must be tackled in a humane way. That we do feel and act like this is shown by the fact that there is no network of hatred and subversive organisations [in our territories] whose aim is to reject and displace the sovereignty of Portugal... 1

Lesser men d o w n the ranks hastened to echo the same assurance. Even in i 9 6 0 no concession to liberalising reform was on the programme, nor was any envisaged except as a betrayal of the Lusitanian mission. Y e t by i 9 6 0 the ground was already shaking beneath their feet. The future was to be different from any that they had imagined.

T H E

RISE

O F

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The last embers of an armed resistance by * traditional' societies had flared and died by the early 1 9 3 0 s . Administrative control was at last complete, relatively strong in central and southern Mozambique and in central and western Angola, weak elsewhere and yet adequate to the government of sparse and scattered populations. Old hostilities to colonial rule might remain vivid in men's minds. New movements o f rejection, messianic o r ancestral or a mixture of the t w o , might whisper their message in the silence of the bush. But any further attempt to challenge the regime, head-on, seemed futile. A t the present stage of research it is hard to be sure about this; but such is one's firm impression for the whole of the 1 9 4 0 s and the early years of the 1950s. A n y form o f ' p r o t e s t nationalism' was similarly long in taking shape among the literate few o f the assimilados in the towns. A l w a y s divided by a cultural gulf from the preto bofal, the savage black' of the bush, their spokesmen since the 1880s had raged against the policies of Lisbon or at least against the representatives of Lisbon; but Norton de Matos and other governors of the early 1920s had stamped hard on these spokesmen and the Estado N o v o had finally shut their mouths. For the literate few, however, the c

1

I n a b r o a d c a s t s p e e c h o f i N o v . 1957, q u o t e d h e r e f r o m E . d e S o u s a F e r r e i r a ,

Portuguese colonialism in Africa: the end of an era ( P a r i s , U N E S C O , 1974), 113.

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Second W o r l d War and its democratic victories were to contribute to a progress in their understanding o f the colonial situation that made itself felt soon after the war. It may be doubtful h o w far such declarations as the Atlantic Charter, so influential among literate Africans elsewhere, were heard in these colonial towns o f Portuguese Africa. But the downfall of Mussolini and Hitler, Salazar's o w n 'masters and exemplars', could not be concealed. The very patent lessons o f that downfall penetrated even the Estado Novo's 'walls of silence'. The will to protest gradually revived. In doing so, its thinking also changed. The earliest clear manifestation o f a new concern with protest was Mensagem, a cultural journal launched by a small group o f assimilados of Luanda under the leadership o f a 20-year-old poet, Viriato da Cruz. Appearing in 1948 - only t w o issues were ever permitted - Mensagem carried a masthead slogan whose meaning was to echo down the years, Vamos Descobrir Angola. In the circumstances this was equivalent to a political programme in itself, for its well-understood implication urged that literate Angolans must cease to be assimilated Portuguese and must find their way across the gulf which divided them from the preto bofal, now to be seen n o longer as an object o f contempt or charity but as the independent citizen of tomorrow. However elusively expressed in a poetry o f 'going to the people', this was the assertion o f a potential nationalism. ' W h a t we wanted to r e v i v e ' , da Cruz recalled afterwards, ' was the fighting spirit of the African writers o f the end o f the nineteenth century, but with quite other methods. O u r movement attacked the overblown respect given to the cultural values o f the W e s t . . .[and] urged young people to "rediscover" Angola in every respect, and by an organised and collective e f f o r t . . . ' Although by often hidden channels, much would flow horn Mensagem. 1

2

3

A t about the same time another handful o f assimilados o r their Cape Verdean equivalents reached the same position while uni­ versity students in Portugal, and strove to achieve 'a sharp aware1

A d e s c r i p t i o n o f A . C a b r a l ' s i n h i s f o r e w o r d t o B. D a v i d s o n . The liberation of Guini ( L o n d o n , 1969), 9. 2

A n interesting a n d v e h e m e n t g r o u p , including such forceful figures as José d e F o n t e s Pereira. S e e D . L . W h e e l e r , ' " A n g o l a is w h o s e h o u s e ? " : early stirrings o f

A n g o l a n n a t i o n a l i s m a n d p r o t e s t , 1822-1910', African Historical Studies, 1969, 2 , n o . i , 1 ; a n d M . d e A n d r a d e ( e d . ) , La Poesie africaine d* expressionportugaise ( P a r i s , 1969). 3

A n d r a d e , La Poesie africaine,

12. A u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n .

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ness of the need to react against the Lusitanian idea of the black man, and to sketch out the route to a national affirmation'. From their debates, too, much would flow. They secured permission to form a centre of African studies in Lisbon, took up the study of African languages while discussing h o w best they might ' r e Africanise' themselves, and were able to publish a little of the * poetry of rediscovery' now beginning to be written by themselves and their companions in all the Portuguese-speaking African territories. A m o n g these students, certainly to be regarded as conscious nationalists by 1 9 5 0 , were three w h o would make history: Amflcar Cabral, w h o was to found the nationalist movement of Guine and Cape Verde, as well as being an active participant in founding that of A n g o l a ; Agostinho Neto, w h o was to become the leading figure in Angolan nationalism; and Mario de Andrade, another Angolan w h o was to be the first among them all to reach a wide international audience in these difficult early years. Others joined them or followed much the same route: the Mozambicans Marcelino dos Santos and Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (the latter, exceptionally, by way of an American university and a job at the UN), the Angolan Deolinda de Almeida (again, exceptionally, by way of colleges in the U S A and Brazil) and, in the years that followed, many more. 1

Their political problem was twofold. How should they find their way back to African roots? Having done that, h o w could they then build broad movements aiming at independence? They were to solve both these bitterly difficult problems, though not easily; but it may bear emphasising here that one of their greatest assets, aside from clarity of mind and courage, would repeatedly be found to lie in what seemed their greatest obstacle. This was the complete and unrelenting denial by the regime of any demands for constitutional or administrative reform. Had the regime showed any real flexibility they would have had to meet their problems by accepting concessions; and the outcome in these Portuguese territories could then have followed the same grad­ ualist road as in those of Britain and France. Denied this flexibility, they were obliged to think in terms of a radical alternative to the Portuguese system. What this alternative might really be, worked itself clear only in the action upon which they embarked. But this unquestionable need for an alternative remained, as it began, the essential basis of their thought and practice. 1

Andrade, La

Poem afrtcatne,

introduction.

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A t that time the only Portuguese at all ready to consider an independent future for the colonies were members of the clan­ destine Communist Party of Portugal. Contacts with them were possible, whether in Lisbon or in colonial capitals, though also dangerous; and it was through these contacts, by such evidence as we n o w possess, that the early nationalists found their way to Marxist forms of analysis. These in turn reinforced the argument that any worthwhile alternative to the Portuguese system would have to become a non-capitalist and eventually socialist alternative. Meanwhile they wrestled with immediate difficulties. The position of the Portuguese Communist Party was analogous with that of the French, except for having to operate in a total clandestinity. It was the only party in the country that was pledged to end the colonial system, and so was often influential among African students in Portugal; but it tended to see itself as the directing force to that end. In the wake of the Second W o r l d W a r , accordingly, some attempt was made to form branch parties in the African colonies. None ever appeared, save very briefly in Angola around 1 9 5 4 - 5 , for this was the period in which radical Africans in the colonies were beginning to form nationalist organisations of their own. They thought that the Portuguese Communists should support these organisations rather than working in a separate organisation whose head and centre lay in Portugal. It appears that the issue was resolved at a secret congress of the Communist Party of Portugal in 1 9 5 7 . The handful of Africans w h o were present argued that the proposed slogan of 'Fight against Fascism' was meaningless in the colonies, at least for non-whites, and that any success would have to follow a programme aimed at decolonisation. It further appears that this was accepted. The Portuguese Communists agreed to desist from trying to promote Communist branch-parties, and to support the nascent movements of nationalism. In so far as these movements were influenced by Marxism, from the start they would have to come to terms with the realities of Africa. 1

By 1 9 5 7 these movements had already begun to take shape, tentatively, among small groups working their way out of ' cultural associations' and other permitted ' clubs' o r ' gatherings' towards a direct challenge to colonial authority. Some were ephemeral and quickly suppressed. But a few, operating on the 1

Private c o m m u n i c a t i o n , A f r i c a n source. A s w a s o b v i o u s , then a n d later, m u c h remained o b s c u r e a b o u t these early debates and initiatives.

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principle that any effective movement would have to emerge from a broad union of all possible adherents, and led by those w h o belonged to the radical mainstream deriving from the late 1 9 4 0 s , managed t o hold their clandestine ground in face o f a n o w alerted colonial police. Earliest among them was the Partido Africano de Independencia da Guine e Cabo V e r d e ( P A I G C ) formed in Bissau during September 1 9 5 6 by Cabral and five others on a 'minimal p r o g r a m m e ' o f national independence for Guine and the histori­ cally and culturally related Cape Verdes. Next came the M o v i mento Popular de Libertayao de Angola ( M P L A ) formed in Luanda in December 1 9 5 6 . Nothing quite parallel happened in Mozambique, where the first avowedly nationalist 'parties' took shape among exiles in Rhodesia and Tanganyika during i 9 6 0 . But in the middle of 1 9 6 2 three of these small groups came together in Dar es Salaam as the Frente de Libertayao de Mozambique (FRELIMO) with Mondlane as president. Although formed out­ side Mozambique the component parts of F R E L I M O , at this stage very much a coalition rather than a union of groups, already had active contacts in northern Mozambique among the Makonde people, and in most of the principal t o w n s ; and they were able, through these, to recruit volunteers and spread their message. Insignificant in numbers, these little movements barely yet deserved the name. 'Nationalists without nations', as Cabral would afterwards say o f them, they were obliged to substitute themselves for a public opinion which had yet to crystallise in their favour. The founding manifesto of the M P L A might well call for 'a revolutionary struggle' which would triumph through 'the building of a united front o f all Angola's anti-imperialist forces, taking n o account of colour, social situation, religious belief, o r individual preference': the w o r k o f building, as they well knew, had still t o be begun. 1

Trying to get on with that, the militants of these early years threw themselves into the perilous labour of forming clandestine groups, distributing illegal pamphlets, and recruiting supporters w h o were ready to become participants. Perhaps peaceful forms of agitation might yet shift Lisbon? There were those w h o still hoped so, being duly encouraged by the independence o f Ghana 1

Q u o t e d i n M . d e A n d r a d e a n d M . O l l i v i e r , La Guerre en Angola: itude socio-iconomique ( P a r i s , 1971), 69-70.

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in 1 9 5 7 and o f (French) Guinea in 1 9 5 8 , as well as by other signs of change outside the Portuguese territories. But they soon had reason to lose this hope, while others among them were already sure that insurrection, however problematical, could be the only way ahead. Most o f those then active in the Luanda leadership were to die in prison o r in combat before recording any memoirs, while other evidence for this brief interlude o f peaceful agitation remains scanty except in the case o f Guine. Writing a few years later, a group of Angolans then in Algiers recalled that * pamphlet activity increased considerably in 1 9 5 8 . Everywhere, but particularly in Luanda, there was talk of armed revolution. Leaflets appeared that appealed for armed struggle for the liberation o f Angola. They denounced colonialism, called on the masses to revolt. Besides this, legal o r illegal anti-colonial struggle was more intense than ever in journals, existing organisations, football clubs, etc.' That this information, recorded in 1 9 6 5 , was substantially accurate is confirmed by Portuguese reactions. Special sections of the political police (PIDE: Policia Internacional de Defesa d o Estado) had been installed in the oversea territories as early as 1 9 5 4 . A n d in April 1 9 5 9 the Governor-General o f Angola welcomed the arrival of air-force units and some paratroops with a warning that: ' W e are living in the time o f the leaflet... The leaflet has appeared in A n g o l a . . . ' A little later that year the clash was already in the open, first in Guine and then rapidly elsewhere. 1

2

3

Police repression put the match to the fuel in all three mainland territories. In August 1 9 5 9 a strike o f dockers in Bissau, organised by the clandestine P A I G C , was shot back to w o r k with at least fifty dead and many wounded. In J u n e i 9 6 0 a large gathering o f peasants w h o assembled at Mueda, in the northern district of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, so as to present complaints and claims to the local governor, was fired into by police and army units with 1

C e n t r o d e E s t u d o s A n g o l a n o s ( e d . ) , Histdria de Angola ( A l g i e r s , 1965), 153. N o n e o f t h e s e leaflets s e e m s t o h a v e s u r v i v e d . O t h e r m a t e r i a l s c l a n d e s t i n e l y c i r c u l a t e d included foreign criticisms o f the Portuguese colonial system, as, for instance, t r a n s l a t i o n s o f p a r t s o f m y r e p o r t a g e o f 1955, The African awakening ( L o n d o n , 1955) ( i n f o r m a t i o n o f 1970 f r o m t h e l a t e A n t o n i o d e M e l o , w h o w a s i n L u a n d a a t t h e t i m e ) . 2

M i n i s t e r i o d o U l t r a m a r , Cinco anos: 2 Agosto de 19 jo ay Julho de 19JJ ( L i s b o n , 1956),

107, 165. Q u o t e d i n B. D a v i d s o n , ' T h e t i m e o f t h e l e a f l e t ' , New Statesman, 1959. 3

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the loss of several hundred killed. In the same month of i 9 6 0 a demonstration in Angola in support of the nationalist leader, Agostinho Neto, arrested a few days earlier, was likewise assaulted by armed police and army, again with many killed. These shootings buried any lingering hope of progress by peaceful means. In a later summary of the position as it now appeared, the Mozambican leader Mondlane was undoubtedly speaking for his companions in M P L A and P A I G C :

Two conclusions were obvious. First, Portugal would not admit the principle of self-determination and independence, or allow for any extension of democracy under her own rule... Secondly, moderate political action such as strikes, demonstrations and petitions, would result only in the destruction of those who took part in them. We were therefore left with these alternatives: to continue indefinitely living under a repressive imperial rule, or tofinda means of using force against Portugal which would be effective enough to hurt Portugal without resulting in our own ruin... 2

Meeting secretly in Bissau a few .weeks after the mass killing of August 1 9 5 9 , Cabral and his fellow leaders of the P A I G C had already drawn the same conclusion, and fixed their policy as struggle against the colonial system 'by all possible means, including w a r ' . They then moved their base to Conakry, capital of the neighbouring Republic of Guinea, and set about their preparations. They were ready to launch their war in January 1 9 6 3 . The leaders of F R E L I M O followed suit in September 1 9 6 4 . But the blaze of African counter-violence to the violence of the system came earlier in Angola, and had much that was spontaneous. In January 1 9 6 1 an Angolan called Antonio Mariano, epony­ mous leader of a dissident Christian sect known as 'Maria', 'embarked on a campaign against European authority and the whole system of enforced cotton growing', burning seed, dis­ carding tools, barricading roads, killing livestock, and chasing away such Europeans as they met while marching to the chant of hymns. Enough troops were on hand to deal with this 3

1

E v i d e n c e o f A l b e r t o - J o a q u i m C h i p a n d e , r e c o r d e d b y m e i n J u n e 1968 a n d r e p r o d u c e d b y E . M o n d l a n e , The struggle for Mozambique ( L o n d o n , 1969), 117—8. C h i p a n d e w a s p r e s e n t at t h e o c c a s i o n , a n d p u t t h e n u m b e r o f k i l l e d at ' a b o u t 6 0 0 \ 2

3

M o n d l a n e , The struggle for Mozambique; 125. J. M a r c u m , The Angolan revolution, I: The anatomy of an explosion

(1y;0-1962)

( C a m b r i d g e , M a s s . , 1969), 125, d r a w i n g o n U P A ( A n g o l a n ) a n d P r o t e s t a n t m i s s i o n a r y sources.

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33 Angola: the risings of 1961. outburst, but on 4 February the Portuguese found themselves faced with another of a different order. A t a time when most of the recognised M P L A leaders in Luanda were in prison with the certainty of long sentences or worse, others under M P L A inspiration led an attack to free them. This failed, but signalled both the onset of a wild repression by settlers, police and army, and the origins of the great revolt that was to end with success in 1 9 7 5 . While indiscriminate killing of Africans continued for weeks in and around Luanda, a third rising of 1 9 6 1 , this time in March, at first swept all before it. Moved partly by hatred of labour coercion and partly by the leaders of a movement called Uniao das Populajoes de Angola (UPA), based in Leopoldville (Kin­ shasa) in the now independent Congo (Zaire), large numbers of contradados and others seized control of wide areas of Uige and Cuanza Norte, killing a large but unknown number of European 771

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settlers, perhaps 200 in all, and driving out such police and army posts as were then in the vicinity. Only in the following October were army reinforcements able to recover the bulk of this territory, but by then it was becoming apparent that they were dealing with a movement very different in its nature from the MPLA. Originating in a lineage dispute within the K o n g o people (divided between northern Angola and western Zaire, but with its traditional centres in Angola), the U P A had appeared as U P N A (Uniao das P o p u l a t e s do Norte de Angola) in 1 9 5 7 . Initially, it brought together a number of kingmakers w h o supported a Protestant nominee to t h e ' throne' of the ancient K o n g o kingship in opposition to those w h o supported a Catholic nominee selected and eventually enthroned by the Portuguese. From that it rapidly moved to a demand for the renewed independence of the K o n g o kingdom, and then in 1 9 5 9 , as U P A , extended its claim to speak for an Angolan nationalism. But the U P A never escaped from its K o n g o separatism, and soon, under the leadership of Holden Roberto, became increasingly an instrument of its immediate foreign backer, General (afterwards President) Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. It would thus remain throughout the liberation w a r a distraction, and often a destructive one, to the Pan-Angolan nationalist effort of the M P L A . 2

D E V E L O P M E N T S

IN

C O L O N I A L

P O L I C Y ,

1961-75

The evidence of a peculiarly savage Portuguese reaction to these risings of early 1 9 6 1 brought Angola to a close international attention for the first time since the cocoa-slavery campaign of the early years of the century. This evidence was detailed and appalling, whether from newspaper correspondents, Protestant missionaries, or other non-Portuguese sources. In mid-June the British Baptist Missionary Society thought that a total of 20000 Africans killed might be a cautious estimate; and subsequent enquiry has done nothing to reduce it. Huge numbers meanwhile fled o v e r the northern frontier; their total by 3 October, according 1

E s t i m a t e o f t h e D i a m o n d C o . o f A n g o l a ( D i a m a n g ) i n its a n n u a l r e p o r t o f 30 J u n e 1961; a n d s e e C . P a r s o n s , ' T h e m a k i n g s o f a r e v o l t ' , i n Angola: a symposium ( L o n d o n , 1962), 67. 2

S e e M a r c u m , The Angolan revolution; B . D a v i d s o n , In the eye of the storm: Angola*s

people ( L o n d o n , 1972); a n d b i b l i o g r a p h i e s i n b o t h b o o k s .

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to the International Red Cross, was about 141000, the beginnings of a flood that would later mount towards 400000. In London, faced with this catastrophe, a Conservative government defended its amicable attitude to the Estado N o v o but deplored the intransigence o f Lisbon's policy. T o this and other foreign criticism o r comment, a badly shaken Portuguese government eventually responded with a number o f constitutional reforms, but without shifting its essential position. The first of these reforms, announced on 28 August 1961, repealed the Native Code o f 1954 (an extension o f earlier codes of the same nature), and formally abolished the distinction between indigena and assimtlado, granting all inhabitants, in prin­ ciple, the same civic status. In practice, however, this brought little change in the condition o f African 'fit adult males', w h o remained legally subject to many labour obligations. Other decrees of the same period sought to promote white settlement and improve rural administration. Later measures o f 27 April 1962 went a little further, though again chiefly on paper, by abolishing the ' moral obligation' on Africans to w o r k for wages and, with this, the legal basis o f the contractual system. If unfolded within a programme o f liberalisation some ten years earlier, this reform could have made a considerable difference; as it was, it came much too late to be able to achieve any useful purpose. 1

Another ten years of African armed resistance induced in 1971-2 a further set of constitutional reforms, though once again designed primarily to reassure Portugal's n o w impatient allies that genuine changes of structure were to be attempted. Chief among these was a promise that the oversea provinces might accede in the course of time to the status o f autonomous units, though with Lisbon retaining all effective control o v e r finance and administration. A t the same time some effort was made to widen the Estado Novo's extremely narrow franchise to include a number o f black voters and representatives in provincial legislatures. But once again the tardy will to reform was overwhelmed by events, and in any case remained at best a feeble and uncertain one. Various post-war pressures led to more realistic efforts to moder­ nise the antiquated structures o f the colonial economy: the rising world demand for coffee, cotton, and mineral ores; the steady 1

E . g . Hansard, 15 J u n e 1961, c o l s . 712 ft*.

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attrition of the wars set going by the nationalist movements ; the growing interest of major foreign companies in the resources of Angola and Mozambique; and Lisbon's continuing drive to enlarge white settlement. Under this heading, there is little to be said about Guiñé, where the nationalists had secured control over about half the country's productive area by 1 9 6 8 and the colonial economy was nearing bankruptcy; o r about the Cape Verdes, where a long cyclical drought set in with disastrous results during the second half of the 1960s, and where, in any case, funds for development were completely lacking ; or about Sâo Tomé, where a serious disturbance of 1 9 5 3 , motivated chiefly by fear of an extension of the contractual system to non-indígenas', was followed by a stiffened military control. The people of Mozambique continued, as before 1 9 4 0 , to experience the relative stagnation of concession companies, together with a considerable extension of obligatory cultivation; generally, the Mozambican colonial economy grew much more slowly than that of Angola. 1

W e have seen that Angolan output within the colonial economy, extended to the indigenous economy in terms of the obligatory production o f export crops, picked up steadily after 1 9 5 0 . By a decade later it was rising at a much faster rate: through most o f the 1 9 6 0 s , industrial output of all commodities and enterprises was said to have expanded at an average annual rate of about 1 7 per cent. Mineral extraction accounted for much of this: between 1965 and 1 9 7 0 , for example, the volume o f mineral exports was reported to have doubled to a total o f about £ 1 7 0 million. A t the same time, the composition o f investment changed. After 1 9 6 4 , n o w with the financial pressures of the colonial wars as a major factor, the Estado Novo's practical monopoly o f all investment (save for a few exceptions, such as the British-owned Benguela Railway and the De Beers subsidiary, Diamang) had to be brought to an end. Most enterprises were n o w permitted to operate without a majority holding of Portuguese capital, while mining activity could be entirely foreign-owned and financed. 2

3

1

F o r an a c c o u n t from the nationalist side, w h i c h p u t the n u m b e r o f Africans killed b y t r o o p s u n d e r t h e o r d e r s o f G o v e r n o r C a r l o s G o r g u l h o a t 1052 p e r s o n s : C O N C P , Ulle de Sâo Tomé ( A l g i e r s , 1968), 65. A P r o t e s t a n t m i s s i o n a r y a c c o u n t a t t h e t i m e p u t t h e n u m b e r o f A f r i c a n s k i l l e d a t a b o u t 200 : q u o t e d i n D a v i d s o n , The African awakening, 229-30. N o official r e p o r t , s o far as is k n o w n , w a s e v e r p u b l i s h e d . 2

Financial Times, 19 J u l y 1971. 3 D a v i d s o n , In the eye of the storm, 300.

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Gulf Oil began drilling offshore from Cabinda in July 1 9 6 6 , and struck useful deposits. A n international consortium under the coordinating hand of K r u p p of Essen, with finance from Federal German, Danish, Austrian and US banks, agreed in June 1965 to produce $ US 100 million to mine iron ore at Cassinga, and went quickly into operation. Other large corporations, including the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, secured prospecting concessions. Most of these activities, confined to the centre and seaboard, were able to proceed with little or no interference from the nationalists w h o , for reasons both geographical and political, were limited to the east and n o r t h . By 1 9 7 4 , Angola had become a major interest for many investing countries. The same trend was perceptible in Mozambique, though it was still at an earlier stage. There the symbol of the Estado Novo's lost monopoly was a major hydroelectric scheme at the Cabora Bassa gorge on the middle Zambezi. Built by international capital under South African organisation, Cabora Bassa was to provide power for the South African grid after its (post-war) completion in 1 9 7 8 . White settlement continued to increase in Angola and Mozambique, though not in Guiñé, under strong government pressure within Portugal itself, where legal emigration was n o w restricted largely to these African territories. Costly and ambitious plans were made for rural colonatos (immigrant settler zones), but these came to little, no matter how much money was spent on them, because of a persistent unwillingness of immigrants to live outside the towns. This particular effort was largest in Angola, as was also its failure. A detailed study based on official figures showed in 1 9 7 5 that the Junta Provincial de Povoamento de A n g o l a , created in 1 9 6 2 , was able to attract a total of only 1 8 2 4 1

2

3

1

Chiefly b y reason o f the c o n t i n u i n g hostility to the A n g o l a n national m o v e m e n t o f t h e Z a i r e g o v e r n m e n t a n d G e n e r a l ( i n 1965, P r e s i d e n t ) M o b u t u S e s e S e k o . S e e a l s o p a g e 793. 2

But very large numbers o f Portuguese w o r k e r s emigrated to France and other C o m m o n M a r k e t countries, often b y s m u g g l i n g themselves o v e r the Portuguese f r o n t i e r (o salto). F o r a n o v e r a l l h i s t o r i c a l a n d s o c i o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s , s e e E . d e S o u s a Ferreira, ' U r s a c h e n u n d F o r m e n d e r A u s w a n d e r u n g u n d ihre B e d e u t u n g für die E n t w i c k l u n g P o r t u g a l s ' (doctoral dissertation, R u p r e c h t - K a r l University o f Heidelberg, 1974). A l s o u s e f u l i n t h i s c o n t e x t , H u s e y i n C e l i k ( e d . ) , Les Travailleurs immigrés parlent ( P a r i s , 1970). 3

P r o v i n c i a l C o m m i t t e e for S e t t l e m e n t in A n g o l a : m e a n i n g , a b o v e all, ' w h i t e settlement from P o r t u g a l ' . F o r a detailed analysis o f the aims and w o r k o f the junta,

see G . J. B e n d e r , Angola under the Portuguese: the myth and the reality ( L o n d o n , 1978), at m a n y points. A l s o , for the impact o f settlement and other policies o n the relatively d e n s e l y p o p u l a t e d a r e a s o f t h e H i g h P l a t e a u ( n o t a b l y H u a m b o ) : J. V . d a S i l v a a n d

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European settlers to colonatos, and that fewer than half of these remained in them at the end of 1 9 6 8 . The high point of white settlement in Portugal's African territories was reached in 1 9 7 3 with an approximate total of 5 5 0 0 0 0 . More serious in its impact on African life, especially in Angola but also in Mozambique, was the continuing expropriation of African land in favour of European farms and plantations. In Angola, for example, the same careful study found t h a t ' between the years 1 9 6 8 - 7 0 the amount of land held by Europeans in Huambo district', relatively very fertile, 'more than doubled (from 2 4 9 0 3 9 ha to 5 2 6 2 7 0 ha) while the area cultivated by Africans was reduced by more than a third (36.5 per cent)', with gross income per African farm declining from $98.00 in 1 9 6 4 - 5 to less than $35.00 in 1 9 7 0 . This decline d r o v e large numbers of farmers into a wage employment which effectively cancelled any advantages that had been supposed to derive from an end to the contractual labour system. Such dislocations, spiralling from policies of 'development' which took no account of life outside the white-organised economy, and which plunged these territories into an ever deepening social crisis, were further enlarged by military policies aimed at containing the nationalist revolt. O f these the most influential was that of reordenamento rural, applied consistently to all three mainland territories after 1 9 6 7 . Rural populations in areas of 'nationalist infection', and gradually in most areas, were removed manu militari from their villages or homesteads and coralled within aldeamentos or other forms of 'guarded village', ranging in size from small annexes around fortified camps to large settlements within a military cordon. This was bad enough for sedentary cultivators; the evidence suggests that it was far worse for non-sedentary stock breeders. In the latter case, 'the resettle­ ments represented cultural genocide and economic ruin for the pastoralists whose social and economic way of life is dependent upon the careful ecological balance they have evolved within their 1

2

J. A . d e M o r á i s , ' E c o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s o f s o c i a l c h a n g e i n t h e C e n t r a l H i g h l a n d s o f A n g o l a ' , i n F . - W . H e i m e r ( e d . ) , Social change in Angola ( M u n i c h , 1973). T h i s c o n c l u d e s : ' T h e s o c i a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e s e e c o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s a r e d i s a s t r o u s . N o t o n l y is t h e r e a r e g r e s s i o n in t h e s t r u c t u r a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f r u r a l O v i m b u n d u s o c i e t y , b u t t h e r u r a l a r e a s a r e n o l o n g e r c a p a b l e o f s u p p o r t i n g t h e p o p u l a t i o n . . . ' ( p . 98).

* 2

1

B e n d e r , Angola under the Portuguese, 1 1 1 . B e n d e r , ibid., 130.

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annual transhumances'. By 1 9 7 4 more than one million rural people had been thrust into resettlements in Angola, not much less than a quarter of the country's whole population, while the position in northern and central Mozambique had become closely comparable. The plantation economy boomed, but its framework and foundations were n o w rotted to the core. Undismayed by any evidence to the contrary, educational policies persisted in assuming that they need only continue in order to succeed. Their object remained as J . M. da Silva Cunha had defined it in 19 5 7 : ' W e are attempting to accelerate the assimilation or complete " Portuguesation" of the natives, and to help improve their material situation by training them for more economically valued activities': in other w o r d s , for a more effective entry to an 'economy organised and governed by whites'. The Missionary Statute of 1 9 4 1 had laid d o w n the since confirmed objective, and as late as 1 9 6 4 da Silva Cunha glossed this once again when praising all those soldiers, missionaries and others ' w h o made this the land it n o w is, thoroughly Portuguese, with all the defects and virtues of the Portuguese: w h o made it what it is so that it could c o n t i n u e . . . and remain Portuguese, totally Portuguese, only Portuguese'. That the instruction thus provided was of an extremely rudimentary nature was contested by no one w h o made serious enquiry: in 1 9 6 9 , for example, an official Lisbon institute drew attention to the fact that while teaching missionaries in Mozambique had increased from 4 4 in 1 9 4 0 to 1 4 7 in i 9 6 0 , the number of Mozambican Africans receiving rudimentary or functional instruction was said to have risen from 9 5 4 4 4 in 1 9 4 2 - 3 to 3 8 5 2 5 9 iii 1 9 6 0 - 1 . The same institute cast doubt on the figures for pupils, and added that 'in any case these figures, although partial, leave no margin for doubt as to the low level of p r o g r e s s ' . W i t h due reservations on their accuracy, one may nonetheless offer the school-population figures for 1 9 6 9 - 7 0 (but for 1 9 6 8 - 9 in the case of Mozambique) in table 2

3

4

1

2

B e n d e r , ibid., 138-9. J. M . d a S i l v a C u n h a , Adminstracao edireito colonial(Lisbon,

1957), v o l . I , 1 6 1 : h e r e

tr. b y F e r r e i r a , Portuguese colonialism, 67-8. 3

Q u o t e d f r o m F e r r e i r a , Portuguese colonialism, 69.

4

I n s t i t u t o S u p e r i o r d e C i e n c i a s S o c i a i s e P o l í t i c a U l t r a m a r i n a ( e d . ) , Mozambique ( C u r s o d e E x t e n s á o U n i v e r s i t a r i a , A n o L e c t i v o d e 1 9 6 5 - 6 , L i s b o n ) , 645; q u o t e d h e r e

f r o m F e r r e i r a , Portuguese colonialism, 70.

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Table 1 5 . i. Numbers of pupils {all communities).

Type of school Infant teaching Primary Secondary Preparatory Secondary Technical/Occupational Arts Ecclesiastical Higher education (university, social service, ecclesiastical) Teacher training

Cape Verde

Guiñé

—

—

40685

26401

2006

1254

799 302

—

104

Sào T o m é and Principe

Angola

Mozambique

209 9089

2484 384884

964 496381

394

901 264

73°7 10524

4î5

"3

— —

— — —

25137 10779 14660 304 720

—

43

— —

1757

600 1124

1402

1124

Source: Anuario estatistico provincias ultramarinas, Lisbon, 1970, vol. I I ; quoted here from Ferreira, Portuguese colonialism, 81.

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1 5 . i. In looking at the figures for secondary and higher education, one should bear in mind that the total number of white residents by this time was of the order of half a million. There were few places for their children, but almost none for the children of Africans. A s for the latter, even the most rudimentary forms of this education had to be gained at the price of a more or less total alienation from their o w n cultures. W h a t the Missionary Statute had laid d o w n continued to be the rule: / I n the schools, the teaching of the Portuguese language and its use shall be obligatory. Outside school, missionaries and their assistants shall also use the Portuguese l a n g u a g e . . . * The catechism might be learned and said in African languages; otherwise, these were to be treated as though they did not exist. Little modified by the paper reforms of 1 9 6 1 - 2 , such attitudes and policies persisted through the 1 9 6 0 s . They were barely questioned from within the regime, so far as present evidence can show, and not at all by those w h o controlled the regime. This confidence in immobility appears to have derived from Lisbon's belief that the nationalist risings could and would be crushed without the need to make any serious concession to African grievances. D o w n to the early months of 1 9 7 3 in Guine, and in Mozambique and Angola even till the beginnings of 1 9 7 4 , little seems to have shaken this belief. Y e t the actual course of events, by that time, had clearly pointed to another outcome.

T H E

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1961-75

If there was no political development on the Estado Novo's side, save of gestures which came too late or of second thoughts which lacked sincerity, there was much on the African; and it is probably in the development of African political thought that hindsight will always see the central interest of these years of warfare. A s a prelude to considering that political development, this section will briefly review the military aspects and the chief events that led to independence. Militarily, the Estado N o v o was well placed in 1 9 6 2 to cope with any form or scale of armed resistance on 'traditional' lines. Its security services were ruthless and experienced, its armed forces relatively large and well supplied. Whether politically or militarily, however, it was poorly prepared to deal with any use 779

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A F R I C A

S E N E G A L P 3 T •Fahrn

Ä

Gabu

B Cacheu Mansoa ^•Bambadinka

X ! Madina da Boó J

X agosls. 0

Q

,

~

G U I N E A

150 km ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Approx. limits of PAIGC operations: A Southern front B Northern front C Eastern front X Chief centres of first armed actions, from Jan 1963 on southern front to mid-1963 on northern front and early 1964 on eastern front.

34

Guinea-Bissau: launching the war of liberation. Càssaca in Quitàfine region was the locus of the crucialfirstcongress of PAIGC in February 1964, where structures for political organisation and the mobile army were decided upon. of irregular warfare that was powered by a modernising political analysis and leadership. In this respect the fact that none of Portugal's fighting men had seen active service, though a few senior officers had toured Hitler's battle fronts as guests of the Wehrmacht, mattered far less than another fact: that the Estado Novo's political leaders and military commanders were alike convinced of possessing an absolute and inherent intellectual superiority, and thought of their enemy either as a horde of savages or the otherwise helpless puppets of 'international Communism'. But the wars showed that the truth was the other way round, and the intellectual inferiority of the Portuguese commanders repeatedly swung the balance of strategic advantage to the African side. These commanders tried to compensate in muscle for what they lacked in brain and, thanks to Portugal's allies, they found this easy to attempt. A complete record of western aid to the Estado 780 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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Northern Mozambique: the war situation in the wake of the earliest operations of September 1964.

N o v o as a member-state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ( N A T O ) remained impossible in these years, but this aid was unquestionably large and continuous. It took the form of sym­ pathetic diplomacy, going to the lengths of a formal celebration of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance and a state visit to Britain of Salazar's successor, Marcello Caetano, in July 1973, and many corresponding moves by the United States and other western p o w e r s ; of commercial and financial support by means o f a multiplicity of devices, chiefly arranged by the United States; and of a generous flow of arms and other forms o f military aid, notably in this respect by France and West Germany. A reliable list of 781 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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Portuguese military aircraft in service during 1 9 7 1 - 3 , mostly on active service in Africa, showed ten types of US manufacture, ranging from light bombers to interceptors, transports and trainers; one type of Spanish origin; one of Italian origin; one of joint French and British manufacture (the S A - 3 3 0 ' P u m a ' helicopter); three more of purely French manufacture (chiefly ' A l o u e t t e ' helicopters); and one of West German origin. Much napalm and some defoliants were provided, probably by the U S A , as well as a variety of sophisticated instruments such as bombsights, radio equipment and the like, by a number of countries, including Britain. 1

This armoury was deployed against the nationalist movements, and the zones they controlled, through the mobilisation of Portuguese military manpower on a rising scale to a point which had reached its feasible maximum by 1 9 7 1 . By that time the regime appears to have committed some nine-tenths of all its available military resources, whose overall totals, in 1 9 7 2 , were given as being 1 7 9 000 men in the army, 18 000 in the navy, and 2 1 0 0 0 in the air force. Together with the conscription of settler manpower in Angola and Mozambique, and of African service units and local militias (including a small number of African volunteers in ' commando '-type units at special rates of pay), the Portuguese then had in Africa a total force that was probably equivalent, by ratio of Portuguese and US populations, to at least seven times the largest US force deployed in Vietnam. By the same year, 1 9 7 1 , the Lisbon government was spending some 40 per cent of its national budget on military purposes, or a total of Esc. 15 3 1 1 . 7 million out of Esc. 3 6 6 4 7 . 8 million. From an already high point in 1 9 6 7 , these expenditures in Africa rose steadily until the end (table 1 5 . 2 ) . 2

While attempting to reduce areas of contestation or recover zones taken from their control, the Portuguese commanders also engaged in a variety o f ' counter-insurgency * measures borrowed from British and American experience in South East Asia. The most important of these, and in the end the least well judged, was reordenamento rural in its several aspects, all of them concerned chiefly with driving peasant populations into guarded villages or 1

U N G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y , A / 9 0 2 3 ( P a r t I V ) o f 8 O c t o b e r 1973 ( R e p o r t o f S p e c i a l C o m m i t t e e ) , 1 1 , t a b l e 6. U N G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y , ibid: 8, official P o r t u g u e s e s o u r c e s . 2

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Table 1 5 . 2 . Oversea territories: military budgets* {million escudos)}

Year

Angola

1967

782.0

834.4

88.4

19.7

10.5

92.8

25.2

10.4

1969

951.3 1289.6

910.3 945.0

106.1

1970

1746.9

1346.0

163.9

37.1

I97I

2050.3

1204.3

189.7

37-3

1925.1

1303.1

169.0

37.6

2037.3

2204.7

196.8

42.5

1968

1972 1973

e

Mozambique

Guiñé

Cape Verde

Säo Tomé

11.4 15.3 14.5 15.7 15.0

a

Not including Timor and dependencies. For an approximate sterling equivalent at the time, divide by 65. Incomplete. Source: UN General Assembly (Report of Special Committee), 9; official Portuguese sources. b c

within the perimeters o f fortified camps. Much experience had already shown that this was a policy that could succeed if the operating power's armed forces were able t o retain a firm and progressive strategic initiative, but that it would fail wherever this condition could not be met. For the most part, after 1 9 6 7 , the Portuguese commanders were unable t o meet that indispensable condition; they nonetheless persisted with the policy. Gradually, Portugal's comparatively copious numbers o f troops were swallowed up in guarding and supplying the aldeamentos, in garrisoning a multitude o f fixed camps and isolated posts, in trying to keep open the bush tracks or dirt roads that led to and from such camps and posts, while deploying occasional * offensives' against territory held by the troops o f the liberation movements. This went hand-in-hand with regular and sometimes daily bombing o f nationalist-held zones and villages and, increasingly after 1 9 6 8 , with helicoptered' search and destroy' sorties by picked units. Much o f this was painful and destructive, but none o f it was enough. A clear strategic initiative on the field of battle was never recovered. In April 1 9 7 4 a movement of young officers o f w h o m many had developed new political outlooks as a result o f their experience in the wars in Africa, and perhaps especially in G u i n e , 1

1

M y i m p r e s s i o n f r o m P o r t u g u e s e a n d A f r i c a n s o u r c e s i n 1974. S e e a l s o ' M F A n a G u i n e \ e d i t o r i a l i n P o r t u g u e s e a r m e d f o r c e s ' b u l l e t i n , Bolettm lnformativo, B i s s a u , 1 J u n e

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overthrew the Lisbon regime on the twin slogans of ' Decolonisation and Democratisation'. There was little or no further fighting after that, either because the wars had come to seem futile or unwinnable, or because the troops had had enough. The regime preferred the second explanation. ' O u r armed forces', General Costa Gomes told a press conference in May 1 9 7 5 , 'have reached the limits of psycho-neurological exhaustion.' The wars, in any case, were over. The nationalists had won. There is almost nothing further to be said about the politics of this period on the Portuguese side, for the nature of the Estado N o v o and its leaders prevented any intelligent response to African political initiatives that were inventive and continuous. Only General Spinola appears to have glimpsed the potentials that could exist in political warfare. Finding he could not beat the P A I G C by military means, he embarked in 1 9 7 0 on a programme of administrative propaganda designed to offer a 'better G u i ñ é ' {Guiñé melbor) which might somehow yet emerge from reform of the colonial system. In April 1 9 7 1 , talking to a South African journalist, he explained that ' success is not to be hoped for in a war of this nature' unless one could mount what he called, in terms which perhaps only a man of Spinola's cultural formation could have devised, 'an anti-reactionary counter-revolution' to outbid the revolution of the nationalists. Little came of this in Guiñé, 1

1974, n o . i , f o r d e t a i l s o f s t r u c t u r a l o r g a n i s a t i o n o f M F A i n G u i ñ é ; a n d s t a t e m e n t i n ( M F A - e d i t e d ) Vo% da Guiñé, B i s s a u . 19 A u g u s t 1974 ( m y t r a n s l a t i o n ) . T h e colonised peoples and the people o f P o r t u g a l are allies. T h e struggle for national liberation has contributed powerfully to the o v e r t h r o w o f Fascism and. in large degree, has lain at the base o f the A r m e d Forces M o v e m e n t w h o s e officers have learned in Africa the horrors o f a w a r w i t h o u t prospect, and have therefore understood the roots o f the evils w h i c h afflict the society o f Portugal... T h i s statement w a s the reproduction o f a reportedly unanimous declaration b y the a s s e m b l y o f the M F A in G u i ñ é . A p p o i n t e d t o g o v e r n o r - g e n e r a l s h i p a n d military c o m m a n d in G u i ñ é in the w a k e o f G e n e r a l A r n a l d o S c h u l t z , w h o r e s i g n e d i n 1968, G e n e r a l ( t h e n b r i g a d i e r ) Antonio S e b a s t i á o R i b e i r o S p i n o l a h a d first s e e n a c t i v e s e r v i c e a s a n o p e r a t i o n a l c o m m a n d e r i n A n g o l a d u r i n g 1961. S o m e y e a r s e a r l i e r , a n d i n l i n e w i t h t h e s a m e i d e a s o f s t r u c t u r a l r e f o r m , a m i n o r i t y t r e n d w i t h i n t h e r e g i m e ( a s s o c i a t e d e s p e c i a l l y , it a p p e a r s , w i t h t h e then O v e r s e a s Minister A d r i a n o Moreira) had l o o k e d w i t h favour o n a certain measure o f d e v o l u t i o n o f c o n t r o l f r o m L i s b o n . T h i s c a m e t o n o t h i n g , b u t g a v e rise f o r a w h i l e d u r i n g t h e 1960s, at l e a s t a m o n g t h e m o r e p o l i t i c a l l y c o n s c i o u s o f t h e P o r t u g u e s e c o m m u n i t y in A n g o l a , t o a h o p e that s o m e t h i n g m i g h t be d o n e . 1

Apart from Spinola, none o f Portugal's senior commanders was prepared to admit t h a t t h e w a r s w e r e u n w i n n a b l e b y m i l i t a r y m e a n s . T h e y p r e f e r r e d , after t h e L i s b o n c o u p , to claim that the ' h o m e front', o r w h o e v e r , had ' b e t r a y e d ' them. F o r characteristic v i e w s , s e e ( G e n e r a l s ) J. d a L u z C u n h a , K . d e A r r i a g a , B e t t e n c o u r t R o d r i g u e s , S . S i l v é r i o

M a r q u e s , Africa, a vitória traída ( L i s b o n , 1977).

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but it is plain that Spinola was already thinking o f Portugal itself, for he went on to say that *to support a social counter-revolution in a developing region implies the setting-up o f dynamic, solid and efficient structures; and to meet these needs Portugal is still encumbered w i t h a s l o w - m o v i n g obsolescent b u r e a u c r a c y . . . w e 1

must reform the structures on the h o m e f r o n t ' . It was t o become the Spinolist programme o f 1 9 7 4 , but years t o o late. T h e Africans, on their side, had to begin their wars in a posture of extreme weakness. T h e y w o n because o f their politics, but their politics could succeed only b y steadily i m p r o v i n g their military position. T h i s was more than difficult. T h e y had, to start w i t h , n o men o f military experience, t h o u g h they soon gained a few as African officers and non-commissioned officers joined them from the Portuguese army; and they had practically n o weapons. M o s t of their earliest fighting volunteers were trained in A l g e r i a : for the P A I G C in 1 9 6 0 - 1 , for M P L A a little later, for F R E L I M O in 1 9 6 3 . Gradually as their international contacts i m p r o v e d , they were able to train others elsewhere: mostly in the U S S R and one or t w o other countries in the East European bloc, some in 2

Y u g o s l a v i a and C u b a , and a handful in C h i n a . Initial supplies o f small-arms, very meagre in quantity, came from the same sources. Non-military aid was also sought in the west in line w i t h the movements' policy o f international non-alignment. Cabral spent many weeks in L o n d o n during i 9 6 0 ; N e t o visited old Methodist contacts in the U S A during 1 9 6 3 ; and M o n d l a n e actually succeeded in securing some educational aid from the American F o r d Foundation in 1 9 6 4 - 5 . But apart from winning the support o f liberal and left-wing aid committees, notably in Holland, Britain, Italy and Sweden, such efforts proved largely fruitless save in the case o f Sweden, whose government, onwards from 1 9 6 7 , g a v e 1

A. J. Venter, Portugal*s war in Guiné-Bissau (Munger Africana Library Notes, Pasadena, 19 April 1975), 190-1. Early in the 1960s, before its dispute with USSR, China provided military training for a few militants of the three movements (PAIGC, MPLA, FRELIMO). China then withdrew all direct aid, but provided small quantities of small-arms (chiefly light automatics and bazookas) for distribution through the Liberation Committee of the O A U and, from about 1967, helped to staff base-training camps in southern Tanzania in cooperation with Tanzania. In 1971 direct relations with the three movements were again renewed, and the leaderships of each were invited serially to Peking, although Chinese official propaganda continued, generally, to support the break-away or splinter groups in the case of each territory (UNITA in Angola, C O R E M O in the case of Mozambique and, briefly, the FLING group in Dakar in the case of Guiñé). During the Angolan crisis of 1974-5, Chinese instructors trained F N L A troops in Zaire and provided FNLA with a substantial quantity of arms for use against the MPLA. 2

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each o f the movements considerable sums o f money for nonmilitary supplies through the para-statal Swedish International Development Authority. A i d from the Communist countries generally increased after about 1 9 6 8 , though at a rhythm that was always erratic, and extended also to many forms of non-military aid, including school holidays in the U S S R for children living in badly bombed zones, as well as the training o f nurses, doctors and the like. Weapons' supply, training aid and medical aid from Cuba was initiated on a small scale by Che Guevara during his African sojourn o f the middle 1 9 6 0 s , (notably, at this stage, t o the M P L A in Angola), and became steadily more important for the M P L A and P A I G C although, it appears, less for F R E L I M O in Mozambique, as the years passed. Small Cuban medical teams and artillery-training sections served continuously in the liberated zones o f the P A I G C in Guinea-Bissau from late in the 1 9 6 0 s , but no Cuban troops were committed to battle. By this time, t o o , many children from the territories were in schools in Cuba, while adult militants were also receiving military and other training there. A n d , as is well-known, Cuban troops served directly in Angola, against South African invasion, from late November 1975Fighting from internal forest o r woodland areas linked to external sources o f supply by guarded trails and head porterage, the armed units o f all three movements worked generally towards the same concept:

In order to dominate a given zone, the enemy is obliged to disperse his forces. In dispersing his forces, he weakens himself and we can defeat him. Then in order to defend himself against us, he has to concentrate his forces. When he does this, we can occupy the zones that he leaves free and work in them, politically, so as to hinder his return there... 1

This programme was as hard to carry out as it was simple to define; but it proved both possible and the key to success. These movements built up their slender forces, stage by stage, from numerically very small handfuls o f fighters, each isolated in its 'zone o f contestation' and barely capable o f concerted action, until they were able to form large mobile units, o r groups o f mobile units, which attacked major targets. T o such forces, onwards from 1 9 6 8 o r 1 9 6 9 (somewhat earlier in Guiñé, somewhat later elsewhere), there was added a variety o f specialised units 1

A . C a b r a l , q u o t e d i n Afrique—Aste, 1974, 6 6 , 25.

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FOR

I N D E P E N D E N C E

A ^ S S l Approx. areas of PAIGC presence or control. except for some 150 or more Portuguese garrisons generally besieged in small towns, villages, or fortified camps. Bi i Approx. areas of contested, but chiefly Portuguese, control CI I Approx.areas of outright Portuguese control 4 • Approx. lines of PAIGC liaison with exterior

36 Guinea-Bissau: general position in late 1968 and after. The PAIGC continued to improve its control of areas A, and its penetration into areas B (with occasional raids into areas C). able to deploy mortars, light artillery, a Russian-made 1 2 2 mm 'rocket' in 1 9 7 1 and, after 1 9 7 2 , the similarly Russian-made ground-to-air missile known as S A M - 7 . No fighting volunteers from outside their own countries were accepted by any of the movements. By 1968 the P A I G C probably had some 4000 men in its regular mobile units, as well as the beginnings of a network of local (that is, non-mobile) village militias. Though outnumbered by about nine to one, this small army had seized and held the strategic initiative on the programme sketched above, and Lisbon's forces were beleaguered in a large number of fortified towns, camps, o r 787

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villages. It was then a question for the P A I G C commanders of keeping up the pressure, picking off selected garrisons, and preparing to assault the major points of Portuguese military control while, at the same time, promoting and improving the political and social institutions introduced by the P A I G C into the large zones n o w under its firm control. A l l this was achieved with small losses, although also with the disaster in January 1 9 7 3 of losing Amflcar Cabral, assassinated at Conakry, the chief exterior base o f the P A I G C , in a conspiracy launched by Portuguese African agents infiltrated from Bissau. T o this the P A I G C replied by closing its ranks in new offensive operations. In March its units began to use S A M - 7 S with decisive effect against General Spinola's hitherto invulnerable air force. In July the key Portuguese forti­ fied camp of Guileje was destroyed by bombardment from the ground, and the war, by the end of 1 9 7 3 , came largely to an end. 1

Meanwhile the P A I G C during 1 9 7 2 had carried through a general election in its liberated zones - then some two-thirds of all the rural areas - for the election o f regional councils which, in turn, elected a People's National Assembly; in September 1 9 7 3 this declared Guinea-Bissau to be an independent state, and widespread international recognition followed. A b o u t 75 countries recognised the new Republic within three months of this declaration of September 1 9 7 3 , while the General Assembly of the United Nations, on 2 November o f the same year, and by a very large majority, called on the Portuguese government to cease attacks on this sovereign republic and withdraw its armed forces. On 1 9 November, Guinea-Bissau became the forty-second member state of the Organisation of African Unity. Meanwhile hostilities continued on a small scale until May 1 9 7 4 . After the Lisbon coup o f April 1 9 7 4 the new Portuguese government, n o w under the presidency of Spinola, asked the P A I G C , by way o f President Senghor of Senegal, for an uncon­ ditional cease-fire. The P A I G C refused this, but agreed to a truce that would enable Lisbon to prepare itself for unconditional evacuation. While Lisbon procrastinated, seeking to win time, 1

Confirming the general rule that combatant losses in well-conducted irregular warfare are invariably small, official enquiries of the government of Guinea-Bissau made in 197 j - 6 showed, for military casualties, a total of about 345 seriously wounded, of whom 150 had suffered amputation; the number of military dead was not yet ascertained, but this figure for wounded could suggest that the number of killed, on the PAIGC side, was very small.

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local Portuguese commanders made contact with their opposite numbers of the P A I G C . A consequent evacuation of Portuguese garrisons began in late July in spite of Lisbon's opposition, and continued without incident but n o w with Lisbon's agreement, until 1 4 October, when the last Portuguese units left. Lisbon had meanwhile recognised the independence of the whole country on 10 September. The new regime took o v e r in circumstances of great economic difficulty but growing popularity. Fresh elections to the People's National Assembly, conducted in December 1 9 7 6 throughout the country for the first time, showed large or very large majorities for P A I G C candidates in all except t w o of the country's ten electoral districts: in Gabu and Bafata, where P A I G C candidates gained only 56 and 50.4 per cent of the v o t e respectively. The leaders of the P A I G C confirmed their posture of international non-alignment by seeking aid in the west as well as the east, and receiving some from both; its internal policies, however, assumed a non-capitalist model of development. In the Cape Verde archipelago the clandestine network of the P A I G C , originating in 195 7, came into the open during the middle months of 1 9 7 4 , and was reinforced in August and later by the return from Guiñé of Cape Verdean political and military leaders. Pressure for independence became general, rivalry to the P A I G C being limited to two or three small urban groupings which proved to be too closely identified with the Portuguese system to enable them to win any ground. A general election held under Portuguese supervision on 30 June 1975 brought 85 per cent of the electorate to the polls; of this, just o v e r 9 2 per cent voted for P A I G C candidates. A n independent Republic under P A I G C leadership was proclaimed on 5 July, and recognised by Lisbon. Its Presi1

1

This being a single-party system, votes against PAIGC candidates were signalled by a negative vote. No doubt some of these negative votes registered opposition to specific candidates, but in the case of the Gabu and Bafata districts the chief reason was certainly different. These districts, as the relevant map shows, had remained under Portuguese control almost till the end. Their populations are largely Fula and Mandinka whose chiefs, retaining much prestige, had almost all sided with the Portuguese against the PAIGC (cf. the general position of Fula chiefs in the nearby Futa Jalon in respect of the French colonial system during the mid-1950s, and the Parti Démocratique de Guinée led by Sékou Touré). The overall returns in these elections (of regional councillors, who in turn would elect members of the National Assembly) were as follows, compared with the similar returns in 1972 for all areas then liberated from Portuguese control: (i) The 19/2 {partial) elections. Of 82032 voters, 79680 voted 'Yes', 2352 voted ' N o ' ; percentage of * Yes* voters, 97.1. (2) The 1976 elections {whole country). Of 193 167 voters, 155 542 voted 'Yes', 37625 voted ' N o ' ; percentage of'Yes* voters, 80.6. (From O Militante, Bissau, 1977, no. 1.)

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dent was the secretary-general of the P A I G C , Aristides Pereira, while the party's deputy secretary-general, Luiz Cabral (younger brother of Amflcar Cabral), had become President of GuineaBissau. P A I G C policy had always aimed at an eventual union between the t w o countries; organisational steps towards union were taken in 1 9 7 6 and 1 9 7 7 . These consisted of forming a Council of Unity whose principal task was to promote and supervise the w o r k of joint commissions aiming at a comple­ mentary and convergent development of and between the t w o countries. Movement towards an eventual union would be ' step by step, and in practical and concrete w a y s ' . In Mozambique, at the beginning of 1 9 6 9 , F R E L I M O had been deprived of its initial leader, Eduardo Mondlane, by assas­ sination in Dar es Salaam with a parcel bomb of enemy provenance (as later established by a Tanzanian police enquiry), but a new leadership under the army commander, Samora Moises Machel, was able to reinforce the movement's unity against a small faction, led by Lazaro Nkavadame and Uriah Simango, w h o favoured one or other form of negotiation for a compromise solution. While holding much of the northern districts o f Cabo Delgado and Niassa, F R E L I M O forces opened a new fighting front in the Tete district and made rapid progress southward into the 'waist' of Mozambique. After April 1 9 7 4 the Spinolist government in Lisbon again tried for an unconditional cease-fire, evidently hoping to save some part of Portuguese control from the wreck of defeat, but FRELIMO, like its t w o companion movements, replied that it would continue the w a r unless the Portuguese withdrew. Frustrated of his hopes o f gaining a compromise, Spinola resigned in September 1 9 7 4 , and the way was clear for negotiation on the technicalities of Portuguese withdrawal. Apprehensions that a South African force would enter southern Mozambique failed to materialise, partly no doubt because of the sheer speed of the Portuguese collapse and the impossibility, as it proved, o f finding any alternative political organisation to F R E L I M O such as might have invited South African entry (as was to happen in Angola); and an independent Republic under F R E L I M O leadership was proclaimed and recognised on 25 J u n e 1975. 1

1

S p e l t o u t in d o c u m e n t s o f T h i r d C o n g r e s s o f P A I G C (Bissau, 15-20 N o v e m b e r ,

1977) a n d e s p e c i a l l y i n A r i s t i d e s Pereira, Kelatdrio do Conselho Superior da Luta. I n N o v e m b e r 1980 a m i l i t a r y t a k e - o v e r in G u i n e a - B i s s a u w o u l d r e j e c t u n i o n .

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Mozambique: the war situation after late 1 9 7 3 .

Some rioting by Portuguese settlers in Lourenfo Marques (now renamed Maputo) was quickly quelled; most settlers left the country; and the chief problem for the new administration remained to instal its structures and institutions in all those regions, but above all in the towns, which had not been brought under F R E L I M O control during the war. Initially, tolerable relations were established with a South African government which was n o w found to control electricity supply to southern Mozamibique, and agreement was given to the completion of the Cabora Bassa Dam and p o w e r system. But the new government moved at once to support the nationalist cause in Zimbabwe

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'Kinshasa (Léopoldville)

A F R I C A

Approx. areas of MPLA penetration, presence, or control Chief directions of further M P L A ' penetration Approx. lines of M P L A liaison with Cr""* interior FNLA(North-West) and UNITA (East) areas of presence, with lines of access 3 0 0 km 200miles

ZAIRE

Pereirad'Eca •

I SOUTH WEST AFRICAJSOUTH \

(NAMIBIA)

AFRICANS <1975)

(main lines of invasion)

38 Angola: approximate war situation in 1970 and after. (Note that in 1973 the MPLA in central Moxico was weakened by the defection of part of its forces there.)

(Rhodesia), g a v e its adherence to U N sanctions on the illegal Rhodesian regime, and encouraged Z i m b a b w e a n fighting units to open external bases on its territory. Relations with South Africa rapidly deteriorated after 1978, w h e n the South African g o v e r n ­ ment began to operate new policies o f aggressive military * déstabilisation ' aimed especially at M o z a m b i q u e and A n g o l a .

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A s at the onset o f the fight for independence, Angola proved a special case, partly because of its larger white population and its proven wealth in minerals, and partly because rivals were found to set against the M P L A . The record here was unusually complex and confused, and can be sketched here only in the barest outline. A t the demise of the Estado N o v o , in April 1974, the position of the M P L A was comparatively weaker than that o f F R E L I M O or P A I G C in Mozambique and Guiñé. Three chief reasons could be detected. Probably the most significant o f these lay in the long hostility of Zaire's President Mobutu, whose policy in Angola aimed at promoting the fortunes o f his protege, Holden Roberto, and the latter's Kongo-manned Frente Nacional de L i b e r t a d o de Angola (FNLA, successor to UPA). This meant, in practice, that M P L A was barred from any logistical access to central and western Angola by way of the Zaire frontier, a major handicap that was suffered, in comparable geographical circumstances, neither by F R E L I M O nor by P A I G C . A second reason lay in defections from the leadership o f M P L A that were reminiscent of those from F R E L I M O during 1968-9, the difference being that these M P L A defections occurred in 1 9 7 2 - 3 . A third reason, now of rising importance, lay in the existence o f F N L A and o f U N I T A (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola), initially a breakaway from F N L A led by Jonas Savimbi, as proclaimed rivals to M P L A . Neither o f these t w o organisations had played any significant part in the war. The FNLA had adopted an attentiste position since the uprisings o f 1961, and such warlike activities as it still engaged in were chiefly aimed at hampering o r destroying the M P L A . Established after 1968 in a small zone on the, borders of Moxico and Bihe south-east of the town of Luso, UNITA followed much the same line, and likewise made its peace with the Portuguese army on a joint anti-MPLA agreement. Each, not surprisingly, 1

1

T h e r e is m u c h e v i d e n c e f o r this. See, e . g . t h e exiled e x - P r i m e Minister M a r c e l l o C a e t a n o , i n h i s Depoimento ( R i o a n d S a o P a u l o , 1974), 180-1 ( t r . O . G j e r s t a d ) : ' T h e e n e m y ' s [that i s , t h e M P L A ' s ] o p e n i n g o f t h e E a s t e r n F r o n t [in A n g o l a ] c o n s t i t u t e d a tremendous preoccupation, and [General] Costa G o m e s , o n assuming responsibility for A n g o l a ' s defence, approached the case w i t h intelligence and decisiveness. [General] Bet ten c o u r t R o d r i g u e s r e c e i v e d t h e t a s k . . . t o pacify the r e g i o n , w h i c h h e d i d b y reaching an understanding with the people o f U N I T A . . . * A n evidently genuine e x c h a n g e o f letters b e t w e e n t h e U N I T A leader, J o n a s S a v i m b i , a n d t h e P o r t u g u e s e c h i e f o f staff i n E a s t e r n A n g o l a , L t . - C o l o n e l R a m i r e s d e O l i v e i r a , d a t i n g t o l a t e 1972 a n d c o n c e r n i n g t h e i r c o l l a b o r a t i o n , w a s p u b l i s h e d i n Afriquc-Aste, 8 J u l y 1974, 6 1 , 7-18.

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now found fresh external supporters and advocates, especially in South Africa and the U S A . This led directly to a struggle for p o w e r in which the Portuguese, holding the ring during 1 9 7 4 - 5 , sought to promote a 'tripartite government' o f all three organisations. This proved only an exacerbation as F N L A tried to win a foothold, increasingly by violent means, in Luanda and other coastal towns where M P L A had an obviously overwhelming support, while Savimbi's organisation, UNITA, did the same in the Ovimbundu areas of the central districts where M P L A was comparatively weak. In July M P L A riposted by driving F N L A out o f Luanda, and was then able to receive improved military supplies from the U S S R and Yugoslavia (China by this time being a declared supporter of F N L A and its patron, President M o b u t u ) . In September 1 9 7 5 M P L A had secured a dominant position in 1 2 out o f the country's 16 districts, and appeared able to take the rest. Helped by U S and Chinese aid, Mobutu then reinforced F N L A units with a considerable force from Zaire, partly o f Zairean units with Portuguese officers, while a South African armoured force invaded southern Angola from Namibia in cooperation with Holden Roberto and Jonas S a v i m b i . 1

2

Entering Angola on 23 October, this South African force pushed rapidly northward as far as a point beyond N o v o Redondo, where it was halted. The M P L A n o w declared the in­ dependence of a People's Republic of Angola on the agreed date o f 11 November, and set in motion an emergency plan for Cuban military support. A t what appears to have been extremely short notice, a Cuban force eventually o f some 13 000 men was shipped and airlifted t o Angola. J o i n t M P L A and Cuban units then stopped the South African northern drive and went o v e r to the offensive against the northern force from Zaire. The latter was driven out of the country in January 1 9 7 6 , at which point it became clear that Pretoria must either reinforce its o w n troops 1

In point of fact, the first military supplies available to MPLA in that crucial month of July did not come from any part of Europe, but were sent (in a Yugoslav ship) by the PAIGC of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. They included some armoured cars, which were landed with great difficulty, and were followed by a small contingent of PAIGC troops airlifted from Guinea-Bissau. See, for example, a report from the Johannesburg correspondent of The Times, 4 February 1977. This quotes South African official sources as saying that the maximum number of South African troops operating in Angola was 2000; outside observers had put this number as being closer to 6000. 2

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or withdraw. South African government statements n o w declared that reinforcement would not be attempted without direct A m e r ­ ican support. But the Nixon administration and notably its Secretary of State, D r Henry Kissinger, had by this time run into sharp Congress hostility to any further American involvement in support of FNLA or UNITA, and preferred to affirm that Pretoria had invaded Angola on its o w n initiative. Bereft of any direct and public American support, especially for the use of South Africa's powerful air force, Pretoria decided to withdraw. Its units pulled out of Huambo, Bihe and Benguela provinces early in February, and had crossed back into Namibia before the end of March. Behind them they left a scatter of demoralised U N I T A and FNLA bands, weakened further by fighting between each other since December; these either fled, or were quickly mopped up, except in the mountains and forests of Huambo and Bihe, where a number of U N I T A bands continued to be active, and the 'second war of liberation', as it was n o w called, came to an end. With this, the new government of the M P L A was left to cope as well as it could with the confusions and dislocations which inevitably filled the scene. These were approached with policies of radical reorganisation similar in principle to the policies of F R E L I M O and P A I G C . 1

Sâo Tomé and Principe acceded to independence as a single Republic without fighting or political resistance from Lisbon. Nationalists of the Movimento de Libertaçâo de Sâo Tomé e Principe (MLSTP) reached an agreement with Portugal on 25 November 1 9 7 4 , providing that colonial rule should end with elections to a constituent assembly. These were held on 6 J u l y 1 9 7 5 , and gave the M L S T P a 90 per cent majority of votes. On 11 July the last Portuguese troops and administrators were withdrawn, and independence was proclaimed the next day, Manuel da Costa becoming the country's first president. 1

T h e s e b a n d s w e r e left w i t h d u m p s o f w a r m a t e r i a l b y t h e r e t r e a t i n g S o u t h A f r i c a n a r m y (pulling o u t o f the H i g h Plateau early in F e b r u a r y ) and c o n t i n u e d a destructive w a r l i k e activity across a w i d e arc o f hill c o u n t r y in n o r t h e r n H u a m b o and B i h e districts. B y 1977 t h i s a c t i v i t y w a s d e g e n e r a t i n g m o r e a n d m o r e i n t o s p o r a d i c b a n d i t r y . T h e a r m y o f t h e M P L A b e g a n s y s t e m a t i c o p e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e m in J u n e 1977, b u t f i g h t i n g persisted. A t this stage U N I T A o p e r a t i o n s w e r e m a i n l y in S o u t h A f r i c a n - p r o m o t e d raids a c r o s s the N a m i b i a n b o r d e r i n t o s o u t h e r n m o s t A n g o l a , a n d a c o n t i n u e d air-lifted i n f i l t r a t i o n o f s a b o t a g e g r o u p s f o r t h e w r e c k i n g o f rail a n d o t h e r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s .

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Lisbon allowed itself small room for manoeuvre in foreign relations during these years o f warfare, but clearly thought that little o r none would be required, and that the nationalist challenge could be contained with no substantial shift o f posture. In this respect it relied upon its membership o f the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The value o f this membership was enhanced after the French withdrawal in 1 9 6 6 , when the IberianAtlantic command of N A T O was moved from France to Portugal. But whereas the active support o f individual N A T O powers stayed practically complete until the end, Lisbon's real bargaining power diminished. A n estimate o f 1 9 6 2 showed about 80 per cent of U S oversea military air traffic as being dependent on the U S base in the Azores, but another o f 1 9 6 8 (perhaps because so much US military air traffic was by then going to Vietnam) put this proportion at only 20 per cent. Till late in the 1 9 6 0 s , however, long-range U S air transports connecting with Western Europe appear still to have required some use o f the Azores base. 1

The nationalist movements had nothing to oppose the power­ fully supported colonial government save some rather scrappy African aid, unofficial but often weak links with sympathisers in the west and, after about i 9 6 0 , a cautious though growing readi­ ness o f several governments in the Soviet bloc (then including China) to give material aid and facilities for training and education. So far as peripheral neighbours were concerned, the P A I G C had continuous support from Guinea and occasional support from Senegal ; F R E L I M O could count on Tanzania and afterwards on Zambia but not on Malawi; while M P L A found help in CongoBrazzaville and afterwards (till 1 9 7 3 ) in Zambia, to offset the unrelenting hostility o f Zaire. The Liberation Committee o f the Organisation o f African Unity was sporadically able to collect military aid for each o f the movements, but its total volume was always small. The pioneering leaderships, drawn together from the first by their common cultural background and very comparable problems and policies, acted together in trying to evoke interest and raise support. In 195 7 a handful of nationalists from Angola and Guiné met in Paris, at a * réunion de consultation et d'étude pour le développement de la lutte\ and formed themselves into a Movimento AntiColonialista ( M A C ) , largely for propaganda purposes. In January i 9 6 0 , meeting at Tunis during the second All-African Peoples' 1

A b s h i r e a n d S a m u e l s , Portuguese Africa, 4 3 6 .

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Conference, M A C was enlarged into a Frente Revolucionaria Africana para a Independencia Nacional (FRAIN). Its common action programme was signed by Abel Djassi (the pseudonym of Amílcar Cabral, P A I G C ) , Hugo Menezes (an Angolan specifically representing FRAIN), t w o M P L A leaders (Lucio Lara, Viriato da Cruz), and also, though he at once cancelled his adherence, by José Guilmor (the pseudonym of Holden Roberto, U P A , A n g o l a ) . Later in i 9 6 0 members of F R A I N went on support-seeking tours wherever they could gain access, notably in Britain and France; Cabral spent some months in London at this time, still under his nom de guerre. The government of Guinea, and afterwards that of Algeria, proved especially helpful with passports. Later again, in April 1 9 6 1 , F R A I N gave way to a Conferencia das O r g a n i z a r e s Nacionalistas das Colonias Portuguezas (CONCP) during a meet­ ing in Casablanca; and CONCP remained as a coordinating body, based in Algiers, until the wars ended, though its activity dwindled as each movement developed its o w n external relations. By 1 9 6 2 the refusal of cooperation by Holden Roberto (UPA, then F N L A , Angola) became constant, while the Mozambicans, up to now represented in the councils of the movements chiefly by Marcelino dos Santos, w h o was to become Vice-President of Mozambique in 1 9 7 5 , appeared as regular participants after the formation of F R E L I M O in that year. 1

In 1 9 7 6 , after independence, the question was raised of forming a new type of coordinating body, but it became immediately apparent that this was regarded, by some if not by all, as undesirable. It was accepted that the five governments should not seek to form a 'lusophone grouping' within the O A U , and that basic political cooperation would in any case have to await the emergence of structured political parties, only then in prospect or course of formation. Even so, a three-day exploratory meeting of foreign ministers of the five governments met on Sao Tomé in May 1 9 7 6 , and some decisions were taken. The CONCP being now outdated, no other such organisation was formed, but the governments were recommended to agree on the principle of prior consultation before major internal gatherings. Some coor­ dination in political and cultural questions, as well as in matters of technical, diplomatic, consular and telecommunicatory common interest, was likewise recommended. 2

1

2

Photocopy of programme, with signatures, in my possession. A. Pereira, Retatóno, in N6 Pintcba, 4 September 1976, vol. 2, no. 47.

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Each government reaffirmed its position o f military nonalignment, and western apprehensions about east-bloc bases being established in these territories were not realised. While pursuing anti-capitalist domestic policies, each regime went out o f its way to secure good relations with leading western countries, as well as with the UN and its agencies; only in the case o f Angola, initially boycotted by the U S A , was there delay in achieving such relations. Each government adhered to UN and O A U policy towards the illegal Rhodesian regime and the South African occupation o f Namibia. Relations with the Portuguese govern­ ment improved after the latter had given up its demand that the new regimes should meet the debts to Portugal o f the previous colonial administrations. 1

T H E

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P R A C T I C E

With differences o f emphasis o r explanation, the founding lead­ erships o f the three nationalist movements (the M L S T P not really counting till very near the end) each arrived at the same appreciation of the problems before them. The gruesome lessons of repressive brutality in 1 9 5 9 - 6 0 confirmed the Lisbon regime's inflexibility, and reinforced their view that Portugal was a sub-imperialism incapable o f practising a meaningful policy o f reform. They saw well enough that if it had been thus capable, as one o f them reminded his colleagues in 1 9 6 5 , ' w e should surely not be at war with Portugal t o d a y ' . Things being as they were, however, Portuguese intransigence could be turned to advantage. For it eliminated the dangers o f a compromise solution; and they were convinced, and found ever more confirmation in the newly-independent Africa o f the early 1 9 6 0 s , that a compromise solution would leave the colonial condition of their peoples essentially unchanged. In eliminating those risks, moreover, 2

1

T h i s s u p p o r t f o r o t h e r m o v e m e n t s s e e k i n g t h e e n d o f racist r e g i m e s i n s o u t h e r n Africa entered into the policies o f non-alignment o f the n e w regimes. Cf. a characteristic statement b y Aristides Pereira, Secretary-General o f the P A I G C a n d President o f the C a p e V e r d e R e p u b l i c i n Relatdrio do CSL, r; November 19/7: 1

In creating o u r party, w e k n e w very well that the aims o f the struggle w e were b e g i n n i n g c o u l d n o t be reduced t o a mere liquidation o f the colonial y o k e u p o n o u r countries. T h i s is s o because it is impossible t o destroy colonial domination w i t h o u t s t r u g g l i n g against imperialism, w h i c h is the supporter o f colonialism in all its forms. T h i s anti-imperalist factor is a fundamental factor in o u r policy o f n o n - a l i g n m e n t . . . ' A . Cabral, in P r o c e e d i n g s o f an i n t e r - m o v e m e n t conference, D a r es Salaam, O c t o b e r 1 9 6 5 , 1 ^ Lutte de liberation nationale dans les coloniesportugaises ( C O N C P , A l g i e r s , 2

1965), 152.

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Portuguese intransigence placed before them an absolute need to find an alternative not only to the colonial system but also, beyond that, to any possible derivative from that system. The wars would have to be used as an instrument to forge this alternative. ' W e do not like w a r ; but this armed struggle has its advantages. Through it w e are building a nation that is solid, conscious o f itself...' For the wars did indeed take hold o f this starting theory o f change, vague and unsure as it necessarily was, and continuously developed it further. Circumstances increasingly combined to show that successful movements could be built and maintained only from the ground of rural interests and o f rural participation in serving those interests. A few townsmen might foresee a 'revolutionary future', but it very soon became clear that it was no good telling this to the peasants. What these saw, in their multitudes, were the * small immediate facts' of a colonial coercion: the facts o f contract labour, obligatory cultivation, a hated system of taxes, the pressures of the local chefe do posto and his reguíos and police. Meaningful change would have to begin with things like those, and offer an alternative to things like those. T o propose a mere change of masters from privileged white to privileged black would never be enough to justify the pains of war. In any and every case, the peasants would rally only to movements in which their interests and participation were seen and felt by them as paramount. T o 'mobilise' the peasants meant to identify their grievances and show h o w these could be removed. A P A I G C internal directive of 1965 spoke for the general experience: * Keep always in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone's head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and at peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their c h i l d r e n . . . ' The alternative would have to be a modernising and egalitarian democracy, but easy words and promises would never achieve it: 'Practise revolutionary d e m o c r a c y . . . Hold frequent meetings... Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies, claim no easy v i c t o r i e s . . . ' A further large conviction shaped itself. If the central objective 1

2

1

A . C a b r a l , f o r e w o r d t o D a v i d s o n , The liberation of Guiñé, 13.

2

A . C a b r a l , Palavras gerais, 1965, q u o t e d h e r e f r o m e x t r a c t i n C a b r a l , Revolution in Guinea ( L o n d o n , 1969), a u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n , 72. C o m p l e t e F r e n c h t e x t , A . C a b r a l , Unite et lutte ( P a r i s , 1975), e d . a n d t r . M . d e A n d r a d e , v o l . I I , 188-233; a n d i n C a b r a l , Unity and struggle ( L o n d o n , 1979) tr. M . W o l f e r s .

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was to create a movement in which the interests and participation of the vast majority were to be decisive - and fully rural popu­ lations were more than nine-tenths o f these peoples - this could not be allowed to give paramountcy to the existing ideas of that majority. On the contrary, what was needed was 'a new culture, also based on our o w n traditions, but respecting everything that the world today has conquered for the service o f mankind \ * A n d this need was an imperative; it could not be negotiable. Much bitter experience, right through the 1 9 6 0 s , proved again and again that allowing a free rein to the ' pre-colonial' o r ' traditional' fund of ideas w o u l d lead straight to disaster by way of inter-ethnic disputes and rivalries, witchcraft practices, individualist am­ bitions, and one or other degeneration into t e r r o r i s m . It became unquestionably sure that a successful alternative system must arise from a fight on t w o fronts: against the past as well as against the present. This was the close grappling with absolutely local realities which always made it certain that these wars of liberation would lead to an alternative sui generis, n o matter h o w otherwise glossed in revolutionary terms and titles. 2

Whatever the nationalists may have thought at the outset, they became aware that n o imported examples could solve their problems. Much evidence from their documents and statements could illustrate this, and display the meaning they attached to a revolutionary as distinct from a reformist nationalism. ' W e are trying, * Neto explained in 1 9 7 0 , ' to free and modernise o u r people by a dual revolution: against their traditional structures which can no longer serve them' —such as ethnic separatism, witchcraft belief, the oppression o f women —'and against colonial r u l e / W h e n F R E L I M O ' t o o k up arms to defeat the old o r d e r ' , recalled Samora Machel a little later, 3

W e felt the obscure need to create a new society, strong, healthy and prosperous, in which people freed from all exploitation would co-operate for the progress of all. In the course of our struggle, in the tough fight we have had to wage war against reactionary elements, we came to understand our objectives more clearly. W e felt especially that the struggle to create new structures would fall within the creation of a new mentality... 4

1

A. Cabral, 'Resistencia cultural \ PAIGC seminar paper, November 1969. For evidence of this experience, see Davidson, In the eye of the storm, 2 9 - 3 2 ; and, for Guinea-Bissau, Davidson, Africa in modem history: the searchfor a new society (London, 1978), Chapter 30, and source references. Davidson, In the eye of the storm, 279. S. M. Machel, Mozambique: sowing the seeds of revolution (London, 1974), 39. 2

3

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The styles might vary from dry realism to a vivid rhetoric; but the meaning was the same. The challenge was to overleap the colonial heritage but, just as much, the pre-colonial heritage as well. Against whatever obstacles of history or human nature, it had to be a matter of living differently in order to live better. But h o w should the ideas of living differently be made to develop in men's minds? The field laboratories in which the answer was sought were the 'liberated zones'. These were more or less large areas taken out of Portuguese control and secured generally against Portuguese action except in aerial bombing and sporadic ground raids. A s such, they were distinguished from 'zones of contestation' in which each side fought for control. In Guinea-Bissau the P A I G C was able to achieve its earliest liberated zones in 1964, progressively adding to them until 1974. F R E L I M O reached the same position in parts of Cabo Delgado and Niassa in 1966 and in parts of Tete in 1970; while M P L A , though under exceptionally adverse conditions of terrain and sparse population, achieved it in areas of eastern Angola after 1967. These zones became a central and decisive feature in the life of the movements, although their extent and security greatly varied with the tides of war. The chief effort of the leaderships in these zones was to develop an initial peasant sympathy, o r at times a merely suspicious tolerance, into an active peasant participation. This effort took different forms. O f these the most important from first to last was the promotion of local committees of self-administration derived from assemblies, necessarily partial and inadequate at the start, representing large villages o r groups of small villages. T o these committees there were progressively given responsibilities arising from the needs of the w a r as well as from the need to exercise a local government in place of ousted colonial officials and colonial-appointed 'chiefs'; and these responsibilities were widened in the measure that the committees became more repre­ sentative, elected, and efficient. In their mature form, in zones liberated o v e r a long period, the best of these committees were elected bodies concerned with local justice, through the creation of village tribunals; with local security, through the manning of militias; with local education and health, through the supply of pupils and food to new elementary schools, and the provision of food and porterage to new bush clinics staffed by newly trained

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nurses with an occasional doctor making his rounds; and, above all, with the forging of the ideas of a democracy based on equality of status between all adults, and notably between women and men. Efforts were made at the same time to provide a substitute for banished Portuguese trading networks through sale-and-purchase shops; these bought local produce by barter exchange for goods imported from the exterior. Swedish aid was particularly useful in supplying such goods, which ranged from cloth and household utensils to transistor radios. No doubt the results differed from zone to zone, and the mature form of this structural model could be achieved only in a few zones, while elsewhere the militants of the movements strove towards it as best they could. But the overall balance of evidence during the wars, and of what happened when the wars were over, combines to suggest that the essential structures of an alternative society, of a modernising and egalitarian culture, did indeed take shape in the experience of all three movements - if also, as one should perhaps emphasise, in widely varying degrees of maturity. There set in, undoubtedly, a dual process of cultural develop­ ment and convergence between 'the few* and 'the many'. The peasants learned new understandings and attitudes; but so did the originally urban leadership. Both aspects of this process helped to solidify the movements, broaden the scope of participation, and change the mentality of men and women; and it is in this elusive field of experience that one must look for the keys to their success, whether in making headway against their enemy or in preparing for the peace that would follow the enemy's defeat. In 1 9 7 0 Cabral offered a sketch of this crucial process:

The leaders of the liberation movements, who are generally drawn from the * petty bourgeoisie' (such as intellectuals, clerks) or urban workers (such as l a b o u r e r s , drivers, o t h e r employees), have to live day by day among various peasant communities in the heart of rural populations. They learn to know their people better. They uncover at its source the richness of their people's cultural values, whether philosophical, political, artistic, social or moral. They achieve a clearer perception of the economic realities, problems, sufferings and aspirations of the masses of their people. Not without a certain astonishment, t h e y discover t h e richness o f spirit, capacity for reasoned discussion and clear exposition of ideas, facility for comprehending and assimilating concepts, on the part of populations hitherto ignored, if not despised, and considered by the coloniser, and even by some nationals, as peoples of no kind of competence. The leaders thus enrich their own culture. They develop personally and free 802

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themselves from complexes. They reinforce their ability to serve their people through serving the movement. O n their side, the working masses and especially the peasants w h o are usually illiterate, and have never gone outside the boundaries of their village or region, also come into contact with other communities and, in their turn, lose the complexes which hampered them in their relations with other ethnic and social groups. They break the bonds of their village universe and integrate themselves progressively with their country and with the world. They acquire an infinity of new insights useful to their immediate and future action within the framework of the struggle. They strengthen their political awareness by assimilating the principles of national and social revolution that the struggle postulates. A n d so they become more able to play their decisive role of providing the chief force in the movement of liberation. 1

All this being so, the armed struggle for liberation from colonial rule, as from restrictive traditional ideas, was to be seen not only as ' a product of the culture' promoted by that struggle, but also as ' a determinant o f culture'; and this, ' without doubt, is o u r people's prime recompense for the efforts and sacrifices which w a r demands'. In thinking this, Cabral and his colleagues were giving the concept o f ' culture' a multivalence applicable to societies in transition from one historical phase to another: in this case, to a regained self-rule and self-reliance, but within a world different from any that the past had known. They saw this in all-round terms. A new culture would be the fruit of insights gained by participation in this building of a new society. It would be independent, modernising, self-aware. It would induce between the individual and the collective a relationship of harmony; and this relationship of harmony would be such as to bind together all w h o worked o r fought for common purposes. This was the developing harmony of understanding and purpose which, as a determinant, would open the way for, and accompany, organis­ ational changes in the structure of existing society. The cultural programmes of these movements accordingly began with the teaching of this politics of liberation, and of the morality associated with this politics: the morality, that is, of seeking individual self-realisation through service to these devel­ oping communities. The association of individuals and collec­ tivities in decisions affecting their daily lives was one form of innovation; pressure against exploitative customs and attitudes 1

A. Cabral, * National liberation and culture* (Syracuse University, Eduardo Mondlane Memorial Lecture, 20 Feb 1970), 13; Cabral, Unite et lutte, vol. I, 332, and Unity and struggle (London, 1979).

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derived from the pre-colonial heritage, such as polygamy and certain witchcraft beliefs, was another. Beyond such basic and decisive issues, affecting as they did the very capacity of these movements to make progress and develop, there evolved a modernising campaign against illiteracy, and in favour of the expansion of elementary forms of school education. Whenever zones could be sufficiently cleared of colonial control o r military interference, bush schools were founded where few o r none had existed before. Even by the end of 1 9 6 8 , leading the way in this respect, the P A I G C had some 1 4 0 0 0 children with an average age of twelve in about 1 5 0 schools with some 220 teachers in the zones of Guinea-Bissau which they controlled. The few w h o were fully literate, meanwhile, saw it as a duty to use their talents in support o f this cultural process, whether in poetry with a markedly political and social content, o r , though less often, in writing stories that might lay foundations for a popular written literature. Life in these movements became, as the years w o r e by, and in the broad sense indicated above, an increasingly cultural experience for growing numbers o f those w h o participated. Given the background of this subtle and continuous process of development pursued through years, the leaderships at the end of the wars were in no mind either to hasten or to modify their objectives. So far, through terrain often very harsh, their theory and practice had served well, and they could measure its strengths and weaknesses against a remarkable success. They n o w had strong movements behind them, movements which had become profoundly representative of their peoples, but the problems ahead were in many ways more complex, and therefore more difficult, than any that they had faced. The chief immediate task was to implant law and order into towns and other areas evacuated by the Portuguese (and, in Angola, evacuated also by 1

1

For examples of the poets, see several collections: for example, M. de Andrade, Antologia temdtica de poesia Africana: /, la noite gravida de Punbais (Lisbon, 1975); M. Dickinson (ed. and tr.) When bullets begin to flower (Nairobi, 1972) which, like the first, has resistance poetry from all the Portuguese colonies; Agostinho Neto, Sacred hope, tr. M. Holness (Dar es Salaam, 1974), one of Angola's leading poets (and President of Angola); and a Cape Vcrdean poet, Ovidio Martins, Ndo vou para Pasdrgada (Rotterdam, n.d.). For examples of new writers in prose, see J. Luandino Vieira, The real life of Domingos Xavier (tr. M. Wolfers, London, 1977, but written c. i960 in a rich language of Luanda slang and popular expression), and another Angolan, Pepetela, As aventuras de Ngunga (Lisbon, n.d., but written c. 1970). The list could be much extended.

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South African and other invaders), and then, gradually, install throughout their countries the institutions and attitudes elaborated or projected in the wartime zones of liberation. This latter task was to stretch them to their utmost for a long period ahead. The next immediate task was to cope with an invariably disastrous economic heritage. Production had collapsed in all urban and peripheral areas. Roads, bridges, railways were all much damaged, and huge numbers of land-mines had to be lifted. Every sort of technician, from book-keepers to plumbers, was in acutely short supply. There were few or no economic statistics, and no statisticians. They had to take into national ownership and management a large number o f enterprises of whose nature they could at first know almost nothing. Beyond that, they had to found national banks, issue national currencies, and conclude a long series of basic international agreements on trade and ex­ change. It was rapidly clear that all this would take time, and that some years must pass before production could be generally restored even to pre-war levels. The alternative they had begun to forge in the liberated zones of the war years predicated a non-capitalist and eventually socialist model. Yet they were careful, even with the wars behind them, to measure their words. If they remained insistent on emphasising their loyalty to a revolutionary objective defined in Marxist terms, they did so without demagogy. Some words o f Neto's, when talking in 1976 to an Angolan trade union congress, may probably stand for their general attitude:

The long period of transition from a colonial society to a socialist society will call for a multi-sided form of economic organisation. The progress of our economic transformation towards socialism will be expressed by a steady growth of the state sector and of the co-operative sector in the rural areas, and by a steady reduction of the mixed sector, of the private capital sector... 1

But there would be no hurry to collectivise property. 'Millions of Angolans o w n means of production. They have their bit of land. A n d we are very aware of how difficult it still is, in the rural areas, to transform these small properties into co-operative or state property.' Change could come only with peasant agreement: ' only when the peasantry fully understands the advantage arid the meaning of this more advanced mode of p r o d u c t i o n . . . This is a 1

Vitoria Certa, 23 O c t o b e r 1976, v o l . I I , n o . 4 4 , a u t h o r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n . A l s o i n People's Power ( L o n d o n , 1976), N o v . - D e c . 1976, n o . 5, 6-7.

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matter of years of organisation and educative w o r k . . . A s for the relations with major foreign enterprises, such as Cabinda Gulf Oil, Neto said that they would have to temporise, for such enterprises alone possessed the technology required to extract oil or other resources. But we do not wish to deceive foreign capitalist monopolies by concealing the fact that we intend to follow the road of socialising our means of production, of finance, of trade, of services, and of everything that can be socialised...' Meanwhile they would press on with the further promotion and installation of the basic political structures of participation, whether in terms of party organisation or of the state organisation which called for assemblies and executive committees of self-rule at all levels of government. A beginning had been made, but the bulk of this task still lay ahead. Thus the central committee of the M P L A in Angola asserted in a programmatic statement of October 1 9 7 6 that 4

The definitive forms of our state, considered as a whole and not merely as the apparatus of government, will arise from the representative institutions of power, from the organs of Poder Popular [People's Power], where the working class, the working people, participate institutionally in the command and government of society, in all activities and in every community throughout the national territory... 1

Corresponding statements and definitions were available from F R E L I M O and the P A I G C . These structures would take time to build. But they would represent, in the measure of their unfolding development, the groundwork of the society which these move­ ments had set themselves to create.

E Q U A T O R I A L G U I N E A , c. 1 9 4 0 to 1 9 7 5

... y alii, alegada de la verde masa africana, azotada por los vientos del Atlantico, orgullosa y solitaria, se erige una historia, un mundo, un destino... Written of the island of A n n o b o n , whose population in 1 9 5 0 was 1 4 0 3 , these lines from a 'lament' of Francisco Zamora might seem to apply to all the parts of Equatorial Guinea, cut off from the rest of Africa by the heritage of a Spanish colonial culture 1

Documentos: f

Reuntdo do Comite Central do MPLA

( L u a n d a , 1976).

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Table 1 5 . 3 . The censusfiguresfor

Whites Fernando Po Is. Rio Muni Annobón Is. Corisco Is. Elobey Is.

2161 1428 6

Non-whites 14735 142 316

ip/o.

' Foreigners ' ^3 579 12432

497 54 6 9

Totals 40 475 i56176 1403 54 96

unshared by any of its neighbours in * a world, a destiny' of its own. It remains that this little territory played out the drama of rising nationalism in the same essential themes as its English- and French-speaking neighbours, although with peculiarities of its own and a denouement both bizarre and tragic. One can divide its history in this period into three fairly distinct phases: up to 1 9 5 9 , when its status was raised from 'colonial' to 'provincial', taking a leaf out of Salazar's book; between i 9 6 0 and 1 9 6 8 , when Madrid went beyond Salazar's prescriptions and attempted a partial decolonisation which should, as it was hoped, conserve the territory as an integral segment of the Spanish system; and onwards from 1 9 6 8 , when the territory became an independent Republic. The first of these phases consisted of little more than a continuation of previous policies; these closely resembled the policies of Portugal and France, notably in dividing the population into a vast majority governed as 'natives' or non-citizens, and a very small minority (together with whites) admitted to civic status as emancipados, assimilation to the metropolitan culture being the only permissible means of advancement. W a r stagnation in this phase was slightly lessened, at least in the case of Fernando Po, by a treaty of 1943 with the British in Nigeria, regulating the immigration of contract workers, most of w h o m came from the Niger Delta regions. But the arrival of Admiral Faustino Ruiz Gonzalez as governor-general in 1 9 4 9 signalled the beginnings of a consistent effort to improve the colonial economy through the investment of budget surpluses in better communications, in the extension of elementary schools, and in some other initiatives. The whole phase showed a steady growth in population, though the relevant statistics are rough estimates save in the case of whites and, probably, of contractworkers in Fernando Po. In 1 9 4 2 the territory was said to have 807 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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167158 people, including 4124 whites, most of w h o m were permanent settlers or urban residents, and 24321 non-white 'foreigners' w h o were mostly Nigerian immigrant workers on plantations, chiefly in Fernando Po. The 1950 census figures are set out in table 15.3. By i960 the whole population had g r o w n from a total of about 200000 in 1950 to about 245 000, with whites increasing to some 7000, nearly three-quarters of whom were on Fernando Po. No later figures of any value are available; but it appears that large numbers of Africans in Rio Muni fled abroad after about 1972, and that the number of whites in 1975 was only a small fraction of those w h o had lived in Rio Muni in i960. During the Second W o r l d W a r the Madrid regime had nourished some hope, at least until 1942, of being able to inherit British and French colonial territory. Disappointed in this, it responded slowly to the new political currents set going after the end of the war, but felt it wise during the 1950s to adopt a much more determined policy of assimilation. This took constitutional form on 30 July 1959, when the colony became the Región Ecuatorial de España, being divided into t w o provinces (Fernando Po and Rio Muni). Each of these provinces proceeded in i960 to elect three deputies to the Spanish Cortes: t w o Africans and one European in the case of Fernando Po, t w o Europeans and one African in that of Rio Muni. A t the same time, a little earlier than in the Portuguese system (and 14 years after the French system), the constitutional distinction between 'natives' and ' civilised ' was abolished, while Admiral Gonzalez continued with his programme of cultural assimilation. Already by i960 it was claimed that the whole territory had 118 pre-primary schools, 14 primary schools, four technical schools, one secondary school, and also, at Santa Isabel (capital of Fernando Po), a training centre for teachers and clerks. In addition, Catholic missions were operating 20 pre-primary schools, and t w o seminaries. The comparison with Portuguese practice was again apparent: 'Instruction is given in Spanish.. .Hygiene, Christian virtues, love of the fatherland and of the Caudillo [General Franco], the elements of Spanish language and culture, the rudiments of agriculture: these are what is mainly t a u g h t . . .'* This 'provincial' phase saw the beginnings of nationalism, but 1

R. Pélissier, * L a G u i n é e E s p a g n o l e 1963, 1 3 , 631.

Revue Française de Science Politique, 3 S e p t e m b e r

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chiefly among small groups w h o had taken refuge from the Caudillo's paternal hand in Cameroun and Gabon. They formed t w o bodies: the Movimiento Nacional de Liberación de la Guinea ( M O N A L I G E ) , and the Idea Popular de la Guinea Ecuatorial (IPGE). Their pressures were weak, but the general trend in West Africa was n o t ; and Madrid n o w thought it well to seek its o w n interlocuteurs valables. A decision of 9 August 1 9 6 3 , approved by a referendum of 15 December 1 9 6 3 , introduced the territory to a measure of autonomy and the administrative promotion of a 'moderate* grouping, the Movimiento de Unión Nacional de la Guinea Ecuatorial (MUNGE). This proved a feeble instrument, and, with growing pressure for change from the UN, Madrid gave way to the currents of nationalism. Independence was conceded on 1 2 October 1 9 6 8 . The ' moderates * were n o w thrust aside, and Francisco Maclas Nguéma emerged as the dominant figure. Severely authoritarian from the start, Macias proceeded to silence his opponents or rivals one by one, revealing his preferred style in the renaming of Fernando Po, which became Macias Nguéma Byoga (while A n n o b ó n became Pigalu). A new constitution of 1 9 7 3 deprived Macias Nguéma Byoga of its remaining provincial autonomy within the Republic, evidently to the advantage o f the Fang supremacy on the mainland. Tensions with neighbouring countries were lessened by O A U and other mediation in the same year of 1 9 7 3 , but continued to disturb relations between the Macias regime and Nigeria and, at the time of writing, contacts between the t w o countries seemed uncertain. Little can be said with confidence about economic and cultural change. In 1 9 7 4 the country's production o f cassava was estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN as being 46 000 tons; of sweet potatoes 1 9 000 tons; of bananas 12 000 tons; of cocoa beans 1 2 0 0 0 tons; of coffee 7 2 0 0 tons; of palm-oil 4 3 0 0 tons; of kernels 2 1 0 0 tons; while power production in 1 9 6 7 was recorded as being 9 4 7 0 0 0 0 kwh on Fernando Po and 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 in Rio Muni. In 1 9 7 5 the Guiñean peseta was replaced by the ekuele. Some aid had been sporadically achieved from Cuba, the U S S R and China, but there is little reliable information as to its scale or use; and reports in 1 9 7 5 suggested that the regime was close to bankruptcy, though some allowance may need to be made for the fact that most of such reports have emanated from refugees. Towards the middle 1 9 7 0 s the Macias regime came under grave 809 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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accusations of being guilty of mass killings. In 1 9 7 4 the W o r l d Council of Churches affirmed that large numbers of people had been murdered since 1 9 6 8 in a 'reign of terror' which continued. The same body claimed that a quarter of the whole population had fled abroad, while 'the prisons are overflowing and to all intents and purposes form one vast concentration camp'. Early in 1 9 7 5 refugees in Madrid published a list of 3 1 9 persons said to have been executed by the president's orders, and these sources placed the number of refugees as being between 5 5 000 and 75 0 0 0 . A year later, reports from Madrid also spoke of clashes within the country, and of growing opposition to the regime. Various coups were to follow. 1

1

West Africa, 6

January 1975, 22.

* The Times, 28

June 1976.

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I. P R E L U D E

T O

2. D E C O L O N I S A T I O N

ESSAYS

D E C O L O N I S A T I O N A N DT H E P R O B L E M S

I N D E P E N D E N C E

O F

1

This volume of The Cambridge History of Africa differs from the two volumes immediately preceding it in that when it was first planned in 1975 archival sources were available to its authors only for the first five years in those few record offices that operate the 30-year rule. By and large, then, this is a volume whose contributors have been unable to use archival sources directly o r refer to works based on them. Indeed as far as Africa is concerned it is only very recently that w o r k based on the Public Record Office at K e w , covering the first ten years of our period, has been published in journals and books. Notable among these have been William R. Louis, Imperialism at bay 1941-194;: the United States and the decolonisation of the British Empire (Oxford, 1 9 7 7 ) ; Ronald Robinson,' A n d r e w Cohen and the transfer o f power in Tropical Africa, 1940-1951 \ in W . H. Morris-Jones and Georges Fischer (eds.), Decolonisation and after: the British and French experience (London, 1980); and R. D. Pearce, The turning point in Africa: British colonial policy 19)8-1948 (London, 1982). If archival sources have been unavailable for most o f the period covered by this volume, its authors have had to peruse a much greater wealth of newspaper reports, government publications, journal articles, sound recordings, photographs and films than for any other period o f African history. Though here again the years covered by this volume are unevenly provided for: the impact of the Second W o r l d W a r on Africa is understandably scantily treated in newspaper reports and contemporary government 1

B i l l y J. D u d l e y d i e d b e f o r e h e w a s a b l e t o d r a f t t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l e s s a y t o a c c o m p a n y C h a p t e r 2. I t w a s t h e r e f o r e d e c i d e d t h a t t h e e d i t o r o f t h i s v o l u m e , w h o i s also author o f the p r e c e d i n g chapter, should write an essay t o c o v e r t h e literature available f o r b o t h chapters w i t h the selection and evaluation o f b o o k s , articles and other sources b e i n g entirely his responsibility.

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publications, while the attention it has received from scholars in both journal articles and monographs has been equally scant, as David Killingray has pointed out in his article on ' Military and labour recruitment in the G o l d Coast during the Second W o r l d W a r ' , Journal of African History, 1 9 8 2 , vol. 2 3 . Material for the period 1 9 4 5 — 6 0 is much more abundant, but it can in no way compare with that available for the 15 years that succeeded it. Before i 9 6 0 a journalist visiting West Africa, politically the most advanced region of sub-Saharan Africa, was still something of a rarity and usually represented the 'serious' newspapers published in one of the metropolises of the colonial powers. This dearth of reporting on current events in Africa was compensated for in some countries like Nigeria and the then G o l d Coast by a vigorous local press, and by a few specialist magazines like New Commonwealth, African World, West Africa and The Times British Colonies Review. It was only after i 9 6 0 , the annus mirabilis of African independence, that the continent opened up to the international press. Similarly before i 9 6 0 relatively few scholarly works had been published on any African country relating to the period post-1940, and then for the most part they were written by nationals of the metropolitan country concerned. There were a few exceptions, such as the American scholar James S. Coleman's magnificent study, Nigeria: background to nationalism (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 9 5 8 ) . The great boom in doctoral dissertations on Africa did not begin in earnest until after i 9 6 0 , and few of them touch on the Second W o r l d W a r , though many deal in depth with the period 1 9 4 5 - 6 0 . A s far as the authors of many of the chapters in this volume are concerned, the period that has been most closely scrutinised in the press, in journal articles and monographs, and which is supported by a mass of sociological and economic data provided by both governmental and international agencies, is that of independence, as their bibliographical essays demonstrate. The period of independence of course differs in length for each African country, and only begins in the case of Portuguese-speaking territories at the date with which this volume ends. Generally we can say that by far the best served period from the point of view of scholarly coverage, documentation and availability of contemporary reportage is that from 1 9 6 0 - 7 5 . There have, however, been drawbacks to this comparative glut of material for the years since i 9 6 0 : some of it became available 812

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too late to be made use of by our contributors; a good deal of it, though scholarly in guise, is polemical and prescriptive in intent. While there have been many excellent regional and national studies concerned with either whole o r part of our period, there have been few continent-wide surveys of value. A number do, however, stand out. For the earlier years Lord Hailey's An African survey {revised 19j6) (London, 1 9 5 7 ) , is an invaluable source with regard to the administrative, political, social and economic record of the colonial powers in Africa. A s a study of African reaction to this record, Thomas Hodgkin's Nationalism in colonial Africa, published in the year the revised Survey was dated ( 1 9 5 6 ) , was seminal at the time and still has considerable value today. Immanuel Wallerstein's Africa: the politics of independence (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 1 ) provides a useful o v e r v i e w of the problems different African states were then facing o r had just faced in the struggle for independence. The role of political parties in this struggle and in the consolidation of the independence settlement thereafter is treated in Thomas Hodgkin's African political parties (Harmondsworth, 1 9 6 1 ) and James S. Coleman and Carl G . Rosberg (eds.), Political parties and national integration in tropical Africa (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 9 6 4 ) . Rene Dumont's UAfrique noire est mal partie, translated as False start in Africa (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , expressed the fears of a sympathetic but concerned agronomist for the future of Africa under the leadership that inherited independence; as did also the various w o r k s of Frantz Fanon, notably Les Damnes de la terre, translated as The wretched of the earth (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 3 ) . Ater independence there were many attempts to explain the myriad problems faced by post-independence African states or, as Stanislas Andreski described it, The African predicament (London, 1 9 6 8 ) . Few were of more than passing interest, with the exception of the works of dependence theorists discussed by Billy Dudley at the beginning of his chapter. A s general sources for the period 1960—75, Africa Contemporary Record (London, 1 9 6 8 to date), the annual Africa South of the Sahara, and Roland Oliver and Michael Crowder (general eds.), Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Africa (Cambridge, 1 9 8 1 ) , are all useful. No attempt is made here to treat either regional sources o r the country-by-country sources which are adequately covered in the bibliographical essays relating to the regional chapters, except 813

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where they are of more than local interest. Nor is material relating to economic, social and cultural change considered except where it relates directly to Chapters i and 2, for it is fully covered in the bibliographical essays relating to Chapters 4 and 5. As a background to the period covered by this volume, Lord Hailey's African survey provides a wealth of data. The chapters in John Fage's A history of Africa (London, 1978) covering the late colonial period and the problems of decolonisation are stimulating. More detailed coverage is given in regional surveys: W . K n a p p (ed.), A survey ofNorth-West Africa (Oxford, 1 9 7 7 ) , ? . J . Vatikiotis The modern history of Egypt (London, 1 9 6 9 ) ; D. A. L o w and Alison Smith (eds.), History of East Africa, vol. I l l (Oxford, 1 9 7 6 ) ; J . F. A. Ajayi and Michael Crowder (eds.), History of West Africa, vol. II (London, 1 9 7 4 ) , which can be supplemented by John Dunn (ed.), West African states (Cambridge, 1 9 7 8 ) ; M. Wilson and L. Thompson (eds.), Oxford history of South Africa, vol. II (Oxford, 1 9 7 1 ) , which can be supplemented by T. R. H. Davenport, South Africa-a modern history (Johannesburg, 2 n d ed., 1 9 7 8 ) . A t the time of going to press no comparable regional symposium was available for Central Africa, though David Birmingham (ed.), History of Central Africa, vol. II (in press) promised to fill the gap. French works translated into English that are valuable for an understanding of the colonial situation on the eve of decol­ onisation are J . S. Suret-Canale, French colonialism in tropical Africa 1900-194j (London, 1 9 7 1 ) , J . Berque, French North Africa (London, 1 9 6 7 ) , and Robert Delavignette, Freedom and authority in French West Africa (Oxford, 1950). As already noted, there has been little written specifically about the impact of the Second W o r l d W a r on Africa and information about it has largely to be mined from national and regional histories. The course of the war on African soil can be traced in the official histories of the war, while the actual involvement of Africans in that war has been the occasion of a few in-depth studies, notably G. O. Olusanya, The Second World War and politics in Nigeria 1939-19J3 (London, 1 9 7 3 ) , and that by D. Killingray already cited. Walter Rodney, in World War II and the Tan^anian economy (Cornell, 1 9 7 6 ) , looks at the overall impact of the war - political, social as well as economic - on what was then Tanganyika. Michael Crowder does the same for West Africa in West Africa under colonial rule and in his chapter on the Second 814

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W o r l d W a r in Ajayi and Crowder {op. cit.). There is useful material in Jean Ganiage et al. (eds.), L Afrique au XX siècle (Paris, 1 9 6 6 ) . African reaction to the war can be studied in a number of autobiographies and political statements by African leaders, such as Lamine Guèye's Itinéraire africaine (Paris, 1966) and Ndabaningi Sithole's African nationalism (Oxford, 1 9 6 8 ) . Sylvia Leith-Ross, Stepping-stones: memoirs of colonial Nigeria 1907-1960, edited and with an introduction by Michael Crowder (London, 1 9 8 3 ) , has a fascinating chapter on the impact of the war on Nigerians as she perceived it. Eugene P. Schleh has compared 'The post-war careers of ex-servicemen in Ghana and Uganda', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 6 8 , vol. 6, pp. 2 0 3 - 2 0 . Joyce Cary, in The case for Africanfreedom and other writings (London, 1 9 4 4 ) , also considered the impact of the war on African soldiers involved in it. y

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By far the most copious material available on the war concerns the impact it had on the colonial powers, particularly with regard to the introduction of more liberal political, economic and social policies in their African colonies. Examination of its role in the 'transfer of p o w e r ' or 'decolonisation' has become something of an industry. The w o r k of William R. Louis, Ronald Robinson and R. D. Pearce has already been referred to. A l s o important are J o h n D. Hargreaves, The end of colonial rule in West Africa (London, 1 9 7 8 ) ; D. Bruce Marshall, 'Free France in Africa: Gaullism and colonialism', in Prosser Gifford and William R. Louis (eds.), France and Britain in Africa: imperial rivalry and colonial rule (New Haven and London, 1 9 7 1 ) ; and Margery Perham, Colonial sequence 19^0—1949 (London, 1 9 6 7 ) . O f vital importance to an understanding of the thinking of a man with influence in 'progressive' colonial circles is Lord Hailey's The future of colonial peoples (London, 1 9 4 3 ) . O f the growing literature on 'decolonisation', Henri Grimal's Decolonisation: the British, French, Dutch and Belgian empires, 1919-196) (trans. Stephen de V o s , London, 1 9 7 8 ) and Rudolf v o n Albertini's Decolonisation: the administration andfuture of the colonies, i919-1960 (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 1 ) give respectively a French and German perspective on the problem. For a British point of view A. H. M. Kirk-Greene (ed.), Africa in the colonialperiod: the transfer ofpower - the colonial administrator in the age of decolonisation (Oxford, 1 9 7 9 ) , is useful though the contributions by many of the colonial officials show h o w bitter memories become tempered with time; 815

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perhaps a more realistic view of just h o w traumatic the 'transfer* could be for British officials is presented by Sylvia Leith-Ross, op. cit. The African view of the 'transfer* has still to be gleaned from national rather than regional or continental studies, and these are unevenly distributed over the continent. Billy J . Dudley's o w n study of Parties and politics in Northern Nigeria (London, 1 9 6 6 ) is a good example of a national's perspective on the problems of decolonisation. Generally informative are w o r k s by political leaders such as: H. K . Banda and H. M. Nkumbula, Federation in Central Africa (London, 1 9 5 1 ) , Edouardo Mondlane, The struggle for Mozambique (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , Patrice Lumumba, Congo, my country (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 3 ) or J . Rabemananjara's Le Nationalisme et problèmes malgaches (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) . Most of the new nations of Africa have had at least one study made by an American, French or British scholar of their struggle for independence, and these are noted in the bibliographical chapters for the regions into which they fall. A few of these studies are of more than local interest and those which Billy J . Dudley singled out for special mention are Crawford Young's Politics in the Congo: decolonisation and independence (Princeton, 1 9 6 5 ) and Ruth Schachter Morgenthau, Political parties in French-speaking West Africa (Oxford, 1 9 6 4 ) . T o these might be added Cranford Pratt's The critical phase in Tanzania, 194J-1968 (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) , Martin Kilson's Political change in a West African state: a study of the modernisation process in Sierra Leone (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 6 ) , and Carl G . Rosberg and J . Nottingham's The myth of'* MauMau (London, 1 9 6 6 ) . Generally useful for their country case studies - though these vary in quality - are the three volumes edited by Gwendolen M. Carter: African one-party states (Ithaca, 1 9 6 2 ) ; Five African states: responses to diversity (Ithaca, 1 9 6 3 ) ; and National unity and regionalism in eight African states (Ithaca, 1 9 6 6 ) . The constitutional inheritance of the new African states is again the subject of a large number of national and regional studies, the more important of which are evaluated in the bibliographical essays relating to the regional chapters. The phenomenon of the one-party state, which in so many African countries replaced the metropolitan legacy of a multi-party democracy, was the subject of much debate and a large number of studies. Perhaps the best of these was Aristide Zolberg's One-party government in the Ivory Coast (Princeton, 1 9 6 9 ) . His book, Creating political order : the party 9

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states of West Africa (Chicago, 1 9 6 6 ) and his article on 'The structure of political conflict in the new states of Africa ', American Political Science Review, 6 2 , 1 9 6 8 , provide helpful insights into the problems African states had in dealing with the constitutional inheritance. From the African point of view these problems are looked at from different perspectives by T o m Mboya in The challenge of nationhood (London, 1 9 7 0 ) ; K . A. Busia in Africa in search of democracy (London, 1 9 6 7 ) ; Bakary Traoré, M. Lô and J.-L. Alibert in Forces politiques en Afrique noire (Paris, 1 9 6 6 ) ; and Ali Mazrui in * Edmund Burke and reflections on the revolution in the Congo ', an essay in his book On heroes and Uhuru-worship (London, 1 9 6 7 ) . The question of *neo-colonialism' and 'depen­ dence' is the subject of a vast and often polemical literature. A useful introduction by one w h o is very committed to the dependency theory is Samir Amin's Neo-colonialism in West Africa (London, 1 9 7 6 ) . The economic inheritance, whether seen in dependency terms or otherwise, is also the subject of a vast literature which is exhaustively discussed in the bibliographical essay for Chapter 5. O f more than national and regional interest are Giovanni Arrighi's ' Labour suppliers in historical perspective : a study of the proletarianisation of the African peasantry in Rhodesia', Journal of Development Studies, April 1 9 7 0 , vol. 3 ; Giovanni Arrighi and J . S. Saul (eds.), Essays on the politicaleconomy of Africa (London, 1 9 7 3 ) ; Colin Leys, Underdevelopment in Kenya (London, 1 9 7 4 ) ; Robin Palmer and Neil Parsons (eds.), The roots of rural poverty in Central and Southern Africa (London, 1 9 7 7 ) ; Samir Amin's various studies of African states, such as Trois expériences africaines de développement : le Mali, la Guinée et le Ghana (Paris, 1 9 6 5 ) ; and R. W . Clower, G. Dalton, M. Harwitz and A. A . Walters, Growth without development: an economic survey of Liberia (Evanston, 1 9 6 6 ) . On the question of regional integration of the former colonial economies, A r t h u r Hazlewood's African integration and disintegration (London, 1 9 6 7 ) and his African economic integration: the East African experience (London, 1 9 7 5 ) , together with Peter Robson's Economic integration in Africa (London, 1968), provide a good introduction to the problem. Attempts by African economies to break out from dependence are examined in A. A. Adedeji (ed.), The indigenisation of African economies (London, 1981). The administration of the new African states after the departure 817

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of the colonial rulers is the subject of a number o f studies of which Morroe Berger's Bureaucracy and society in modern Egypt: a study of the higher civil service (Princeton, 1 9 5 7 ) and A . L. A d u , The civil service in Commonwealth Africa: development and transition (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , may be cited. The continuing role o f the traditional administration in the post-colonial state is examined in M. Crowder and Obaro Ikime (eds.), West African chiefs: their changing status under colonial rule and independence (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) . Social change is again the subject o f a vast literature, which is analysed in depth in the bibliographical essay for Chapter 4 . The studies in Peter C. Lloyd's The new elites of Tropical Africa (London, 1 9 6 7 ) provide a useful introduction t o the class that inherited the colonial state, while R. Sandbrook and R. Cohen, (eds.), The development ofan African working class (London, 1 9 7 5 ) look at those most likely to challenge that inheritance. The role o f the peasant in independent Africa is considered in Palmer and Parsons, op. cit., Arrighi, op. cit., Colin Leys, 'Politics in K e n y a : the development of peasant society', British Journal of Political Science, 1 9 7 1 , v o l . 1, D. C. O'Brien, The Mourides of Senegal (Oxford, 1 9 7 1 ) and Polly Hill, Studies in rural capitalism (Cam­ bridge, 1 9 7 0 ) . Education as a factor for social mobilisation is the subject o f many studies, notably those of Philip Foster for Ghana Education and social change in Ghana (Chicago, 1 9 6 5 ) , and David Abernethy for Nigeria - The political dilemma of popular education (Stanford, 1 9 6 9 ) . For East Africa there is an interesting com­ parative study by David Court, ' T h e education system as a response to inequality in Tanzania and K e n y a ' , Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 5 , vol. 1 3 , no. 3. Revolution as a means o f mobilisation is the subject of a number o f studies by Basil Davidson with respect to the Portuguese territories, notably In the eye of the storm: Angola s people (London, 1 9 7 2 ) , and by Thomas H. Henriksen,' Peoples' war in Angola, Mozambique and GuineaBissau \ Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 6 , vol. 1 4 , no. 3. The other end of the educational spectrum is brought out well in Pierre van den Berghe, Power andprivilege in an African university (London, 1973)The role o f the military in the government o f African nations succeeded the one-party state as the principal focus o f political scientists o v e r the last 15 years. There is a useful bibliography in 9

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Claude E. Welch and Arthur K . Smith, Military role and rule (Belmont, Cal., 1 9 7 4 ) . Ruth First's classic Through the barrel of the gun (London, 1 9 7 0 ) is the best introduction while useful local studies are D. Austin and R. Luckham, Politicians and soldiers in Ghana (London, 1 9 7 5 ) and S. K . Panter-Brick, Nigerian politics and military rule (London, 1 9 7 0 ) . Alistair Home's brilliant A savage war of peace: Algeria 19j4-62 (London, 1 9 7 7 ) shows the Algerian soldiers as both military leaders and politicians intent on building up the successor state to the former French department. No essay on the bibliographical resources for the period o f decolonisation and independence can conclude without mention­ ing the many excellent journals and magazines which regularly have articles relating to the period, notably The Journal of Modern African Studies, West Africa, African Affairs, Cahiers d*Etudes Africaines, Geneve Afrique, Civilisations and the invaluable Inter­ national African Bibliography.

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The limitations in the primary sources as yet available for the study of Pan-Africanism in the period 1 9 4 0 - 7 5 demonstrate many of the problems facing the historian of contemporary history. Many o f those most involved are still living, some in positions of p o w e r ; obvious inhibitions follow on the candour with which their friends and associates choose to enlighten the world as to parts played in recent, often controversial, events. Even in the case o f those recently dead - the example of J o m o Kenyatta comes to mind - the same restraints still largely apply. Till the period o f struggle for national independence in Africa, the movement and its leaders lived, for the most part, in comparative obscurity and had very limited resources; factors limiting the preservation and accumulation o f future archival material. Much of the later material is interred in the archives of governments, African and non-African, o r o f institutions such as the O A U , the U A M , O C A M and E C O W A S . W h e n the day comes when historians will have a wide degree o f access to this material, they will find it to have been subject to the inevitable processes o f accidental and deliberate decimation. Even so, they may well be almost over­ whelmed by the sheer volume of paper that modern governments and international bodies generate. Official papers that have been 819

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published are useful, but normally portray official positions, agreed formulae and the surface o f events, as well as giving useful information on non-controversial matters. The Charter of the Organisation of African Unity ( 1 9 6 3 ) is an essential document, yet the inner debates and divisions from which it emerged can only be inferred from it. For the period from the eve o f the Second W o r l d W a r to the era of independent African states, there are a number o f useful sources, mainly printed, though archival material is to be found in the W . E. B. DuBois papers, University of Massachusetts, the W . E. B. DuBois papers, Accra, and the K w a m e Nkrumah papers, Ghana National Archives, Accra. Useful material, es­ pecially on West Africa, is to be found in the United States National Archives, Washington D C , scattered in Department of State decimal files; and Bureau o f Commerce, Bureau o f Foreign and Domestic Trade files. Mention should be made o f the reminiscences o f the late Professor K . A . B. Jones-Quartey, re­ corded by himself, the tapes o f which are in the Centre o f African Studies library, University o f Edinburgh. A number o f magazines run by Pan-Africanist leaders o r institutions have survived, the chief o f these being The Black Man (Millwood, N Y ) , Marcus Garvey's last journalistic effort; The Keys and The Newsletter, both organs of the League of Coloured Peoples; and its successor WASU Magazine, both published in London by the West African Students' Union; the African Interpreter (New Y o r k ) , journal o f the African Students' Association; the New African (London), organ of the West African National Secretariat; and Pan-Africa (Manchester), edited by Ras Makonnen, and replacing the Inter­ national African Service Bureau's International African Opinion, library copies o f which d o n o t appear to exist. Mention should also be made of The Comet (Lagos), edited by the veteran Pan-Africanist Duse Mohamed A l i , and containing, in 1 9 3 7 - 8 , his serialised autobiography, 'Leaves from an active life'. In West Africa, t o o , Nnamdi Azikiwe's West African Pilot (Lagos), is important for its race consciousness and awareness o f events in the African continent as a whole. A number o f autobiographies shed light on the period to the m i d - 1 9 5 0 s . F o r candour, none excel Ras Makonnen's PanAfricanism from within, recorded and edited by Kenneth K i n g ( 1 9 7 3 ) . K w a m e Nkrumah's Ghana: the autobiography of Kwame 820

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Nkrumah (Edinburgh, 1 9 5 7 ) is valuable, despite its manifest intention of fostering his o w n cult of personality. Nnamdi Azikiwe's My odyssey: an autobiography (London, 1970) is much less directly useful to the student o f Pan-Africanism, whilst W . E. B. DuBois's Autobiography contains almost nothing on his career as a Pan-Africanist, still less on anyone else's, and is mainly concerned with justifying the pro-Soviet stance on world affairs of his later years. However, his autobiographical w o r k Dusk of dawn (New Y o r k , 1940) is useful in revealing his general outlook at that time. Outside the realm of autobiography, from the preindependence period note should be made o f DuBois's Black folk then and now (New Y o r k , 1 9 3 9 ) and The world and Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 4 7 ) , illustrating his essentially if not explicitly Pan-African concern for African and African diaspora culture and history. George Padmore's Pan-Africanism or Communism? (London, 1 9 5 6 ) is an important document insomuch as it sought to propagate an official line on the history o f the movement, as well as asserting the need for its freedom from Soviet control, and lauding Nkrumah's political achievements. Padmore's other w o r k s o f his prolific post-1945 years, especially Africa: Britain's third empire ( 1 9 4 9 ) , The Gold Coast revolution ( 1 9 5 3 ) , How Russia transformed her colonial empire ( 1 9 4 6 ) , and The life and struggles of Negro toilers ( 1 9 5 6 ) , all published in London, illustrate the trend of thought of the man w h o was perhaps the most influential Pan-African ideologue and organiser of his generation. The history of the Pan-African Congress (second edition, London, 1 9 6 3 ) , which he edited, is a major source on the 1945 congress. For the period from 1 9 5 8 onwards, the student o f PanAfricanism will find useful documentation on rival African groupings in Louis B. Sohn (ed.), Basic documents of African regional organisations (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 1 ) . Primary documentation for the O A U includes the Proceedings of the Summit Conference of independent African states, volumes 1 - 4 , Addis Ababa ( 1 9 6 3 ) ; Basic documents of the Organisation of African Unity, Provisional Secretariat o f the O A U , Addis Ababa ( 1 9 6 3 ) ; Assembly of Heads of State and Government resolutions, decisions and declarations of ordinary and extra­ ordinary sessions; and Council of Ministers' resolutions and declarations of ordinary and extraordinary sessions. These chart the surface of the O A U . Documents and resolutions o f the O A U specialised commissions, and of its council of ministers, and assembly o f 821

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Heads of State and Government, exist in mimeographed form in the O A U Secretariat, Addis Ababa, and are issued in that form to member governments and sometimes to friendly governments, but are not made generally available. Of the published works of Pan-Africanists in the era of independent African states, pride of place for sheer quantity must go to K w a m e Nkrumah, although the many w o r k s published under his name after his o v e r t h r o w have probably had little influence. More important are his p r e - 1 9 6 6 w o r k s , principally his Autobiography, already mentioned; his attempt at a political philosophy of decolonisation, Consciencism (London, 1 9 6 4 ) ; I Speak of Freedom (London, 1 9 6 1 ) ; Towards colonial freedom (London, 1 9 6 2 ) ; Africa must unite (London, 1 9 6 3 ) ; and Neo-colonialism: the last stage of imperialism (London, 1 9 6 5 ) . It is plain even from these works that Nkrumah failed to provide Pan-Africanism with either a coherent ideology or plan of action. O f modern African Pan-African leaders, only Julius Nyerere could offer any rivalry to this flood of print, with works such as his Freedom and unity (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 6 7 ) ; Freedom and socialism (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 6 8 ) ; and Freedom and development (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 7 3 ) . These illustrate his trend away from an emphasis on regional and all-African unity, towards an internal solution to his peoples' problems. O f the revolutionary leaders in former Portuguese Africa, Amilcar Cabral's occasional writings show great insight into problems of African unity, although circumstances were not such as to allow him to address the question in a systematic manner. His Revolution in Guiñé. An African people's struggle (London, 1969) contains such material, as does a reported interview with him in Basil Davidson, The liberation of Guiñé (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . In a category of its own, apart from official documents and the writings of individual Pan-Africanists, is the Resolutions and selected speeches from the Sixth Pan-African Congress (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 7 6 ) , containing as it does some frankly critical material about the O A U and many African leaders and states. Before passing o v e r to secondary sources, mention should briefly be made of some published primary material on the relations of the diaspora to Pan-Africanism since the 1 9 5 0 s . Richard Wright's Black Power (New Y o r k , 1 9 5 4 ) is a classic account of the problems faced by a sympathetic black American in coming to terms with both the old and the new Africa. Other 822

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accounts o f visits to and sojourns in Africa are to be found in Malcolm X , The autobiography of Malcolm X (London, 1 9 6 6 ) and Ernest Dunbar (ed.), The black expatriates (London, 1 9 6 8 ) . Imamu Amiri Baraka (ed.), African Congress (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 ) gives insight into the fervent if ill-organised Pan-Africanism o f many black Americans at that time, while the Resolutions and selected speechesfrom the Sixth Pan-African Congress contain material on the diaspora delegations at that meeting. The image o f Africa held by an illiterate Afro-Cuban survivor into modern times from the slave era is given in Esteban Montejo, recorded and edited by M. Barnet, Autobiography of a runaway slave (London, 1968). However, o f modern West Indians, the one w h o has most profoundly affected thinking about modern Africa has perhaps been Frantz Fanon; his Toward the African revolution (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 7 ) , and The wretched of the earth (second English edition, London, 1 9 6 7 ) have been immensely influential, though perhaps more so outside than inside Africa. Finally, Alex Hailey's enor­ mously successful novel Roots (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 6 ) , subsequently produced as a television serial, graphically demonstrates the sentiments of modern black Americans towards their African origins. Secondary works comprise both a small number o f general works, and a plethora of monographs, biographies and articles. O f the general works, the earliest were Philippe Decraene's Le Panafricanisme (Paris, 1 9 5 9 , second edition, 1 9 6 1 ) and Colin Legum's Pan-Africanism (London, 1 9 6 2 ) . Both were journalistic works, and although useful in their day, now seem outdated. Like Adekunle Ajala's Pan-Africanism, evolution, progress and prospects (London, 1 9 7 3 ) and V . B. Thompson's Africa and unity (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , both pay little attention to events before the post-Second W o r l d W a r period; likewise all four o f these w o r k s pay most attention to the formal and institutional aspects of Pan-Africanism, and show little interest in the diaspora contribution. Imanuel Geiss's The Pan-African movement, the most scholarly o f the general works, appeared in its English edition in 1 9 7 4 . It has only an epilogue on events after 1 9 4 5 , and is essentially a w o r k on the historic roots of the movement. I. Wallerstein's Africa: the politics of unity (London, 1 9 6 8 ) , entirely relates to the era o f African independence, as does J o n WoronofFs Organising African unity 823

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(Metuchen, N J , 1 9 7 0 ) . Woronoff and Wallerstein are in some ways closer to a batch o f w o r k s specifically on the O A U than to the truly general works. In this category, a particularly important contribution has been made by Z . Cervenka, with his w o r k s The Organisation of African Unity and its Charter (London, 1 9 6 9 ) and The unfinished questfor unity (London, 1 9 7 7 ) . General surveys o f the O A U are offered in Boutros Boutros-Ghali, L?Organisation de /'Unite Africaine (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) , Michael Wolfers, Politics in the Organisation of African Unity (London, 1 9 7 6 ) and Yassin El- A y o u t y (ed.), The Organisation of African Unity after ten years (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 5 ) . A more limited remit is thoroughly investigated in Berhanykun Andemicael, The OAU and the UN (New Y o r k , 1976). Problems of regionalism have received the attention of several studies. O n East Africa, there is A . J . Hughes, East Africa: the search for unity (London, 1 9 6 3 ) , J . S. Nye J r , Pan-Africanism and East African integration (Cambridge, Mass., 1966) and Richard Cox, Pan-Africanism in practice (London, 1 9 6 4 ) . All are n o w somewhat out o f date. In the case o f West Africa, the books on regionalism overlap with w o r k s dealing with francophone Pan-Africanism. Although it only considers events up to 1 9 4 5 , J . A . Langley's Pan-Africanism and nationalism in West Africa, 1900-194j (Oxford, 1 9 7 3 ) is nevertheless an essential introductory w o r k . The first general look at West African regionalism was Claude E. Welch J r , Dream of unity: Pan-Africanism and political unification in West Africa (Ithaca, 1 9 6 6 ) . More specifically on the francophone states are a number o f w o r k s : W . Foltz, From French West Africa to the ^t^UFederationQüev? Haven, 1 9 6 5 ) ; V . Thompson's West Africa's Council of the Entente (Ithaca, 1972)* and Albert Tevoedjre's Pan-Africanism inaction: an account of the UAM (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 5 ) , which tends to uncritical sympathy with its subject. Because its author was Foreign Minister of Senegal, Doudou Thiam's The foreign policy of African states (London, 1 9 6 5 ) has a certain air o f authority, especially on the francophone sphere. Throwing light not only on West African Pan-Africanism, but an era in Pan-Africanism as a whole, are W . Scott Thompson's Ghana's foreign policy, 19 / 7 - 1 9 6 6 (Princeton, 1969) and perhaps the best, and certainly one o f the most sympathetic (though not uncritically so), o f the biographical w o r k s on Nkrumah, Basil Davidson's Black star (London, 1 9 7 3 ) . 824

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Basil Davidson has also made a most distinguished contribution to the understanding of the revolutions in tropical Africa in the 1960s and 1 9 7 0 s , and although these works are not primarily o r directly on Pan-Africanism, they d o offer a critique o f the shortcomings of the formal Pan-Africanism o f the O A U , and are therefore essential reading. They are Which way Africa? (London, 1 9 6 7 ) ; The liberation of Guiné (London, 1 9 6 9 ) and In the eye of the storm (London, 1 9 7 2 ) , as well as, with J . S l o v o and A . R. Wilkinson, Southern Africa: the new politics of revolution (London, 1 9 7 6 ) . In the category of works on modern African revolutionary struggles, mention should also be made of Colin Legum and Tony Hodges, After Angola (London, 1 9 7 6 ) , and Eduardo Mondlane's The struggle for Mozambique (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . A number of works throw light on the attitude to Africa o f New W o r l d blacks. In this category come Harold Isaacs' distinguished w o r k , The new world of Negro Americans (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 4 ) ; Robert G . Weisbord's Ebony kinship (Westport, 1 9 7 3 ) ; John A . Davis's Africa seen by American Negroes (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) ; A. C. Hill and Martin Kilson, Apropos of Africa (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , which is a collection o f documents on 'sentiments o f American Negro leaders on Africa from the 1800s to the 1950s ' ; and Richard Moore's 'Africa conscious Harlem' in J . H. Clarke (ed.), Harlem, a community in transition (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 4 ) . Concerning economic aspects of African unity, mention might be made of two works. These are Reginald H. Green and A n n Seidman, Unity or poverty? (London, 1 9 6 8 ) , and I. W . Zartman, The politics of trade negotiations between Africa and the E.E.C. (Princeton, 1 9 7 1 ) . Zartman is also the author o f International relations in the new Africa (Englewood Cliffs, N J , 1 9 6 6 ) , which contributes t o the literature on the relations of African states in the first decade o f post-colonial Africa. Concerning cultural Pan-Africanism, there is no w o r k which deals with all aspects o f the question. However, there is a considerable literature both on and o f négritude; o f fundamental importance here is the journal Présence Africaine, published in Paris since 1 9 4 7 , and which contains many contributions by such figures as Leopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, and the Haitian D r Jean Price-Mars (who was a great influence on the founders o f négritude), as well as sympathetic commentaries on their writings and thought. The writings o f both Senghor and Césaire are t o o 825

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voluminous for discussion here, but leaving aside the large corpus of poetry produced by both men, reference should at least be made to Césaire's Discours sur le colonialisme, published by Présence Africaine in Paris in 1 9 5 5 , and to the selection of Senghor's writings in Liberté I; Négritude et humanisme (Paris, 1 9 6 4 ) . The works on négritude, and especially on Senghor's role in it, are again far too numerous to list comprehensively here, but t w o useful studies in this area are Jacques Louis Hymans, Leopold Sédar Senghor. An intellectual biography (Edinburgh, 1 9 7 1 ) , written with considerable cooperation from its subject; and I. L. Markovitz, Leopold Sédar Senghor and the politics of négritude (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . A totally different approach to the role of culture in African liberation than that espoused by the négritude movement can be found scattered in the writings of Amflcar Cabrai, and especially in the speech entitled 'The role of culture in the liberation struggle', given to a U N E S C O Conference in Paris in 1 9 7 2 , and printed in Guinea Bissau: towardfinalvictory (Richmond, BC, 1 9 7 4 ) . For Cabrai, the search for authentic cultural ' r o o t s ' characteristic of négritude was irrelevant for the African masses, w h o had never lost their culture in his opinion, and was no more than a preoccupation of the alienated African petite bourgeoisie under colonial rule. The most noted anglophone critic of négritude is the South African Ezekiel Mphahlele; reference should be made to his w o r k s The African image (London, second revised edition 1 9 7 4 ) , Voices in the whirlwind, and other essays (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 ) , and 'Remarks on négritude', reprinted in his African writing today (London, 1 9 6 7 ) . From within the francophone w o r l d , the Martiniquan psychiatrist, political thinker and revolutionary, Frantz Fanon, produced perhaps the most trenchant attack on négritude, both in relation to the West Indies and Africa, and like Cabrai saw it as a doctrine emanating from those intellectuals w h o belonged to neither the white world, which rejected them, nor the black world, which they turned to as they perceived that rejection. He first developed these ideas at length in his Peau noire, masques blancs (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) . Finally, a reaffirmation in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s of the concept of Africanity as central to the understanding of and development of modern African culture is outlined in W o l e Soyinka's introduction to his Myth, literature and the African world (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) .

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The sources for Africa's social and cultural history since the Second W o r l d W a r are both vast and diverse, since they include virtually all writing on Africa in the social sciences in this period. Of great importance are the major journals: Africa ( 1 9 3 0 - ) , Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines ( i 9 6 0 - ) , Journal of Modern African Studies ( 1 9 6 3 - ) , Canadian Journal of African Studies ( 1 9 6 7 - ) , and African Affairs, published for many years previously as the Journal of the Royal African Society but radically reshaped after 1 9 7 2 . There is also, of course, a host o f journals specific to particular disciplines and particular countries o r areas o f Africa, mostly founded since i 9 6 0 . The published papers from the series o f International African Seminars, held intermittently since 1 9 5 9 , indicate h o w quickly scholarly perspectives, as well as the actualités, have changed since the burgeoning of modern Africanist scholarship in the early 1960s when the majority o f African countries gained their independence. O f particular value here are A. W . Southall (ed.), Social change in modern Africa (London, 1 9 6 1 ) ; P. C. Lloyd (ed.), The new élites of tropical Africa (Oxford, 1 9 6 6 ) ; W , H. Whiteley (ed.), Language use and social change (London, 1 9 6 8 ) ; S. Amin (ed.), Modern migrations in Western Africa (London, 1 9 7 4 ) and D. J . Parkin (ed.), Town and country in Central and Eastern Africa (London, 1 9 7 5 ) . Of the pioneer attempts to break from static anthropological models o f African society and to understand the social sources o f nationalism, several are still w o r t h reading: M. Gluckman, 'Analysis of a social situation in Zululand', Bantu Studies, 1 9 4 0 , vol. 1 4 , 1 - 2 , G. Balandier, Sociologie actuelle de l'Afrique noire (Paris, 1 9 5 5 ) and T. Hodgkin, Nationalism in colonial Africa (London, 1 9 5 6 ) . Many o f the best studies of the nationalist movements in particular countries — such as J . S. Coleman, Nigeria: background to nationalism (Berkeley, 1958) o r R. L. Sklar, Nigerian political parties (Princeton, 1 9 6 3 ) , D. Austin, Politics in Ghana 1946-1960 (Oxford, 1 9 6 4 ) o r D. E. Apter, Ghana in transition (Princeton, 1 9 5 5 ) , and other such works mentioned in the regional chapters — contain original syntheses o f local-level studies in relation to nationalism. F o r East Africa, J . M. Lons­ dale's paper, * Some origins o f nationalism in East Africa', Journal of African History, 1 9 6 8 , v o l . 9, 119—46, has been very influential. 827

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J . Iliffe's masterly Modern history of Tanganyika (Cambridge, 1 9 7 9 ) sets the nationalist period in the longue duree and achieves great sophistication in the integration of social, cultural, economic and political data. A number of useful collections of papers on social change, covering the period of nationalist mobilisation into independence, have been made: I. Wallerstein, Social change: the colonial situation (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 6 ) , P. L. van den Berghe, Africa: social problems of change and conflict (San Francisco, 1 9 6 5 ) , J . Middleton, Black Africa: its peoples and their cultures today (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , R. I. Rotberg and A . A . Mazrui (eds.), Protest and power in Black Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) , R. Cohen and J . Middleton, From tribe to nation in Africa (Scranton, 1 9 7 0 ) . The genre continues with P. C. W . Gutkind and I. Wallerstein's Political economy of contemporary Africa (Beverly Hills, 1 9 7 6 ) and other volumes in the Sage Series on African modernisation and development, where the Marxist perspectives which have become influential since the early 1 9 7 0 s are evident. Migration and urbanisation have been pegs upon which every kind of argument about social change and development have been hung since the U N E S C O volume edited by Daryll Forde, Social consequences of urbanisation and industrialisation in Africa south of the Sahara (Paris, 1 9 5 6 ) . The themes are linked in H. K u p e r (ed.), Urbanisation and migration in West Africa (Berkeley, 1 9 6 5 ) and W . A . Hance, Population, migration and urbanisation in Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) , a general survey with extensive bibliography. The journal African Urban Notes ( 1 9 6 4 - ) is specifically valuable here. To the already-mentioned I A I Seminar volumes on migration edited by Amin ( 1 9 7 4 ) and Parkin ( 1 9 7 6 ) may be added the special number of African Perspectives (Leiden, 1 9 7 8 / 1 ) on theories of migration. For West Africa, A. L. Mabogunje's Urbanisation in Nigeria (London, 1 9 6 8 ) broke new ground in conceptualising what w e mean by ' t o w n s ' ; J . Gugler and W . G. Flanagan's Urbanisation and social change in West Africa (Cambridge, 1 9 7 8 ) has a useful bibliography. Studies of particular West African towns are too numerous to list: a number are reviewed in J . D. Y . Peel, 'Urbanization and urban history in West Africa', Journal of African History, 1980, vol. 2 1 . East Africa has been less well-served (but see Parkin ( 1 9 6 4 ) on Kampala), and several studies exist of towns in West Central Africa: G. Balandier's pioneer study, Sociologie des Brassavilles noires (Paris, 1 9 5 5 ) , J . S. La Fontaine, 828

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City politics: a study of Leopoldville (Cambridge, 1 9 7 0 ) , and V . Pons, Stanleyville: an African urban community under Belgian administration (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . Central and South Africa have both attracted notable w o r k , as much concerned with rural/urban links as with urban forms in themselves: studies by A. L. Epstein, J . C. Mitchell, W . Watson, J . Van Velsen and others associated with 'Manchester social anthropology' and the former RhodesLivingstone Institute at Lusaka, and w o r k from South Africa, notably the two-volume Xhosa in town (ed. P. Mayer, Cape Town, 1 9 6 1 ) and M. Wilson and A. Mafeje's study, Langa (Cape Town, 1 9 6 3 ) . With the establishment of the 'Bantustans' in South Africa and the emergence of new radical schools of social science and history (see especially Journal of Southern African Studies (1976— ) ) , the academic terrain changed greatly in the 1 9 7 0 s ; for a recent study of migratory labour in the South African periphery, see C. Murray, Families divided (Cambridge, 1 9 8 1 ) on Lesotho. Ethnicity figures in nearly all accounts of nationalist o r postindependence politics. Useful collections of regional studies are R. Melson and H. W o l p e (eds.), Nigeria: the politicsofcommunalism (East Lansing, 1 9 7 1 ) , and P. H. Gulliver, Tradition and transition in Fast Africa (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . A . Cohen's account of the Hausa community in Ibadan, Custom and politics in urban Africa (Man­ chester, 1969) and J . C. Mitchell's The Kalela dance (Manchester, 1 9 5 6 ) , are both classic studies of urban ethnicity. D. C. O'Brien's Saints and politicians (Cambridge, 1 9 7 5 ) is a witty, trenchant account of a country, Senegal, whose mode of political integration is relatively free of ethnicity. Until recently, the literature on religion was oddly imbalanced. Independent churches were better covered than ' mission' ones see the survey by D. B. Barrett, Schism and renewal in Africa (Nairobi, 1 9 6 8 ) , though its explanation is simplistic and untenable - and Islam was often better covered than Christianity compare the IAI volume edited by I. M. Lewis, Islam in tropical Africa (Oxford, 1 9 6 6 , second edition 1980) with that on Christianity in tropical Africa by C. G. Baeta (Oxford, 1 9 6 5 ) . This is n o w largely redressed with the appearance of t w o major books: E. Fashole-Luke et al. (eds.), Christianity in independent Africa (London, 1 9 7 8 ) , and A . Hastings's remarkable synthesis, A history of African Christianity iyjo-ipyj (Cambridge, 1 9 7 9 ) . Discussion of stratification began, particularly for English829

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speaking Africa, with the analysis of elites : see the special issue of UNESCO's International Social Science Bulletin, 1 9 5 6 , vol. 8, devoted to 'African e l i t e s ' ; and the theme was picked up again by P. C. Lloyd, The new elites. French discussion was always more in terms of class, as in several papers, by J . - C . Pauvert, P. Mercier and G. Balandier, in Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, from 1 9 5 4 (no. 1 6 ) to 1965 (no. 38). From the 1 9 7 0 s onwards, under the growing influence of Marxist ideas, class analysis of African societies became predominant, evidenced in at least one major new journal: Review of African Political Economy ( 1 9 7 4 - ). In East Africa the w o r k of G. Arrighi and J . S. Saul - see their Essays on the political economy of Africa, New Y o r k and London, 1 9 7 3 - and C T. Leys, Underdevelopment in Kenya (London, 1 9 7 4 ) have been influential. Some of this w o r k tends to a rather crude reductionism, e.g. M. Mamdani, Politics and class formation in Uganda (London, 1 9 7 6 ) ; but G. Kitching's Class and economic change in Kenya ( 1 9 8 0 ) is rich and subtle. Class analysis of such scope or scale has not yet been produced for West Africa ; though R. Stavenhagen's analy­ sis of the Ivory Coast, Social classes in agrarian societies (Garden City, 1 9 7 5 ) , G. Williams in various works (e.g. Nigeria: economy and society, London, 1 9 7 6 ) and several contributors to J . Dunn (ed.), West African states (Cambridge, 1 9 7 8 ) , have shown the way. Much writing on class formation focusses on particular sectors. A s regards the rural sector, most of that on West Africa has concentrated on the rise and, latterly, the decline of small-scale commercial agriculture : S. S. Berry, Cocoa, custom and socio-economic change in rural Western Nigeria (Oxford, 1 9 7 5 ) ; Polly Hill, Studies in rural capitalism in West Africa (Cambridge, 1 9 7 0 ) ; D. C. O'Brien, The Mourides of Senegal (Oxford, 1 9 7 1 ) ; and B. Beckman, Organising the farmers (Uppsala, 1 9 7 6 ) . Studies of this genre on East and Central Africa are more limited; e.g. N. Long, Social change and the individual (Manchester, 1 9 6 8 ) , G. Lamb, Peasant politics (Lewes, 1 9 7 4 ) . There has been a large literature evaluating ujamaa policies in Tanzania: e.g. M. v o n Freyhold, Ujamaa villages in Tanzania (London, 1 9 7 9 ) and G. Hyden, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania (London, 1980). Latterly the agrarian development of southern Africa has been seen anew in the light of its historical origins: see R. Palmer and N. Parsons (eds.), The roots of rural poverty in Central and Southern Africa (London, 1 9 7 7 ) , mostly relating to before 1 9 3 0 , but several contributions range into the independence 830

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period. Latterly too there has been important w o r k on 'rural development' and its implications for rural class formation: see studies relating to Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya in J . Heyer, P. Roberts and G. Williams (eds.), Rural development in tropical Africa ( 1 9 8 1 ) . A fresh treatment of ' peasantisation ' in a longer historical perspective is in M. A. Klein (ed.), Peasants in Africa ( 1 9 8 0 ) , with case studies of West and southern Africa. The treatment of urban class formation has been fullest in respect of wage-earners. Apart from several excellent case studies : e.g. R. Grillo, African railwaymen (Cambridge, 1 9 7 4 ) , on East Africa; R. Jeffries, Class, power and ideology in Ghana ( 1 9 7 8 ) ; A. Peace, Choice, class and conflict ( 1 9 7 4 ) , on Lagos, there are two useful collections, which extensively review earlier writing: R. Sandbrook and R. Cohen (eds.), The development of an African working class (London, 1 9 7 5 ) and P. C. W . Gutkind, R. Cohen and J . Cooper (eds.), African labor history ( 1 9 8 1 ) . The informal sector has received less concentrated treatment, though it features throughout the literature on urbanisation, and in ethnographies of particular towns. For the miscellaneous urban poor, see K. Hart, ' Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 3 , vol. 1 1 , 6 1 - 8 9 , and several papers in R. Bromley and C. Gerry, Casual work and employment in Third World cities ( 1 9 7 9 ) . A n important marker for discussion has been the I L O report, Employment, incomes and equality: a strategy for increasing productive employment in Kenya (Geneva, 1 9 7 2 ) . Particularly in West Africa (but increasingly elsewhere) women play an important role in petty trade; see here N. Hafkin and E. Bey (eds.), Women in Africa: studies in social and economic change (Stanford, 1 9 7 6 ) . More studies of commercial groups are needed — but see Marris and Somerset ( 1 9 7 1 ) , E. O. Akeredolu-Ale, The underdevelopment of indigenous entrepreneurship in Nigeria (Ibadan, 1 9 7 9 ) , M. G. Schatzberg, Politics and class in Zaire: bureaucracy, business and beer in L,isala (New Y o r k , 1980). G o o d institutional studies, ethnographies or social histories of the evolution of upper-class groups, as against the somewhat static studies of 'emergent elites' in the 1950s and 1 9 6 0 s , are rare. R. Luckham's study, The Nigerian military (Cambridge, 1 9 7 1 ) and P. L. van den Berghe's study of academics, Power and privilege in 831

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an African university (London, 1 9 7 3 ) , are valuable; A . Cohen's study of the Freetown Creoles, The politics of élite culture (Berkeley, 1 9 8 1 ) is unique of its kind. Anthropological studies of kinship may also be useful: e.g. for Ghana, C. Oppong's Marriage among a matrilinealélite (Cambridge, 1 9 7 4 ) . The literature on education and mobility is also very relevant (e.g. P. J . Foster, Education and social change in Ghana (Chicago, 1 9 6 5 ) ; P. J . Foster and R. Clignet, The fortunate few (Evanston, 1966)). The best study conceived within the ' tradition-to-modernity ' school, which transcends many of its limitations, is D. N. Levine's study of Ethiopia in the late 1 9 5 0 s , Wax and gold (Chicago, 1 9 6 5 ) . On questions of culture, identity and policy, however, it is usually best to turn directly to African writers themselves. A . A . Mazrui's writings eloquently cover most of the themes of concern to Africa's intelligentsia; see especially his Political values and the educated class in Africa ( 1 9 7 8 ) . The writings of political leaders, both theoretical (Nkrumah, Nyerere, Touré, Cabrai) and autobiographical (Nkrumah, A w o l o w o , Kaunda, the sardauna of Sokoto) and, of course, African novels, are always illuminating. Finally, there are the major journals in which current political and cultural themes have been debated: particularly Presence Africaine (Paris, 1 9 5 0 - ) and Transition (Kampala, 1 9 6 1 — 1 9 7 ? ) .

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The subject matter of this presentation is very broad and the existing literature equally extensive, covering such wide-ranging themes as underdevelopment, imperialism, colonialism, PanAfricanism, class struggle and revolution, accumulation and distribution of wealth and several other related economic and political issues in the equally broad field of planning and devel­ opment in Africa. Obviously, such a bibliographic review has to be selective of only a few from the large corpus of books and articles in learned publications. The selection has been guided principally by the need to relate the review to the main strands of thought in the quest for understanding the economic and social development of Africa. There exists a wealth of information on the economic devel­ opment of Africa as a whole. The bulk of this relates to the period after the Second W o r l d W a r during which most countries of the region attained political independence. Some of the published 832 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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works were written in anticipation of the developmental relation­ ships and problems that were to follow political emancipation, while others were devoted to analysing Africa's economic evolution and diagnosing the ills of the continent's slow pace of development and consequent failure to uplift its masses from poverty, ignorance, poor health and other common forms of deprivation. A detailed historical survey of useful background material for studying and appreciating Africa's social and economic evolution and the circumstances connected with this is provided by R. W . July, Precolonial Africa: an economic and social history (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 5 ) . Economic and social phenomena touching on issues such as environment and economic adaptation, concepts of private property, the idea of profit, the uses of surplus, and the role of the state in mercantile development are dealt with in a historical perspective. G. Dalton, 'Traditional production in primitive economies', Quarterly journal of Economics, 1 9 6 2 , vol. 7 6 , no. 3, 360—78 further provided background information on the role of traditional institutions in shaping the patterns of development, the receptivity of Africans to innovations and the containment of the social costs and dislocations of introducing new economic forms. This aspect receives further treatment in the chapter by J . B. Elliot, 'The character and prospects of African economies', in J . S. Uppal and L. R. Salkever (eds.), Africa:problems in economic development (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 ) , 5—26. The evidence for positive response to incen­ tives and the particular circumstances responsible for lack of response in the African setting are analysed by S. D. Neumark, 'Economic development and economic incentives', The South African Journal of Economics, 1 9 5 8 , vol. 26, no. 1, 5 6 - 6 3 . The w o r k by Charles Haines, Africa today (Baltimore, 195 5) is evidence of the development of intellectual interest in Africa after the Second W o r l d W a r . A b o u t the same time, W . A . Hance, in his book African economic development (New Y o r k , 1958) presented a series of studies covering agricultural and industrial develop­ ment, transport problems and case studies of Liberia, the Central African Republic and Madagascar. Written before most countries of the region achieved independence, the book reviewed the underdeveloped state of the economy and the gradual transition from subsistence to exchange economy. Using the comparative method, Clive Dewey and A. G. 833 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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Hopkins (eds.), Imperial impact: studies in the economic history of Africa and India (London, 1 9 7 8 ) , discussed former imperial and colonial economic policy to illuminate their economic experiences and so contribute to the study of the developmental problems of new independent states. For whatever they were w o r t h , efforts were made by governments in the colonial era to plan the economies of their colonies, as demonstrated by Barbu Niculescu, Colonial planning: a comparative study (London, 1 9 5 8 ) in a survey of the development plans of some 60 dependent territories. Of the priorities common to all the plans, communication and agriculture ranked the highest, followed by education and health. Global considerations of African development problems and processes have been the concern of many authors. Thus, Uppal and Salkever, Africa:problems in economic development, presented an anthology of articles and excerpts on the problems and processes of economic development in Africa as a whole. The article by A. M. Kamarck, 'African economic development: problems and prospects', Africa Report, 1 9 6 9 , vol. 1 4 , no. 1, 1 6 - 2 0 is in the same vein and reflects some of the views also developed in his book The economics of African development (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 7 ) , which is an illuminating study of the economic development o f Africa as a whole. The ties (economic, cultural and educational) with Western Europe are underlined along with the dependence for capital, personnel, technology and other infrastructural require­ ments long after political emancipation was attained. Donald Rothchild and R. L. Curry, in Scarcity, choice and public policy in Middle Africa (Berkeley, 1 9 7 8 ) assessed, among other issues, the benefits as well as the costs of multinational corpor­ ations' investments in Africa. That the MNCs, with their increasing oligopolistic powers, were creating a small, but rela­ tively privileged 'labour aristocracy' of well-paid employees while restricting the growth o f wage employment opportunities in the modern sector was put across by G. A r r i g h i , ' International corporations, labour aristocracies and economic development in Africa', in Robert T. Rhodes (ed.), Imperialism and underdevelopment (New Y o r k , 1970). S. Langdon, in the article,' Multinational firms and the state in Kenya', Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, *977> ° l - 9> 3 6 - 4 1 , saw the state as an independent institution which was contriving a symbiosis between the multi­ national corporations and the auxiliary bourgeoisie. In order to explain why Nigeria suffered from instability, the v

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role of the state and its officials were examined in terms of their relationship to multinationals - the means by which Nigeria was incorporated into the global capitalist system. Thus T. Turner, in her paper, 'Multinational corporations and the instability of the Nigerian state', Review of African Political Economy, 1 9 7 6 , no. 5, 6 3 - 7 9 , argued that the crucial nexus of the economy was a triad relationship between multinational corporations, commercial middlemen, and state officials. The satellitisation and peripherisation of the African economy were all aspects of the growing significance of the interrelationship of external and internal factors of development in Africa. Such considerations sought to underline the dynamics of the structural changes in economic patterns which have evolved in the continent. This, for example, is evident in the treatise on African modern economic history by J . Forbes Munro in Africa and the international economy 1800-1960: an introduction to the modern economic history of Africa south of the Sahara (London, 1 9 7 6 ) . In a broader, more comparative perspective, he took as his central theme the inte­ gration of Africa into, and the subsequent structural shaping of African economies by, the modern international economy. S. Amin, 'Development and structural change: the African experience, 1 9 5 0 — 1 9 7 0 ' , Journal of International Affairs, 1 9 7 0 , vol. 24, no. 2, 2 0 3 - 2 3, set out to examine the concept o f development'. For him, the African experience has shown that 'development' should be regarded as the continuation of the political struggle for independence. In the article, ' Underdevelopment and depen­ dence in Black Africa - origins and contemporary forms', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 2 , vol. 1 0 , no. 4 , 5 0 3 - 2 4 , he showed how the forms of colonial penetration in Africa were conditioned by the social relations and structures met in the three macro-regions of Africa which he identifies as: Eastern and Southern Africa; West Africa, Cameroun, Chad and Sudan; and the Congo River basin. In all three macro-regions, he argued, the organisation of export production resulted in the abolition of traditional societies and conversion to their current status of dependent and peripheral formations. R. Dumont, in False start in Africa (New York, 1 9 6 9 ) , subscribes to the same views and argues that the structural imbalance and dependence on exports was responsible for the present chronic trade deficits. Structural dependence of African economies has been strength-

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ened by the balkanisation o f the continent. It has therefore been held that the present structure of underdevelopment in Africa stems from the incorporation of the continent into the expanding capitalist system over a period of some four centuries, a process completed during the nineteenth o r early twentieth century with the partition of Africa and the imperialist expansionism of industrial capitalism. These are the views advocated in the w o r k by Richard Harris and his colleagues in The political economy of Africa: underdevelopment or revolution (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 5 ) . In New direction for economic development in Africa (London, 1 9 7 6 ) , Emanuel A. Okwuosa traced economic thought and approach to devel­ opment in Africa and the linkage of her economy to the economies of the western world and to the continent's colonial past; he argued that Africa should carve out her own path to development without necessarily breaking off the mutual interdependence between the different economic systems. The economic consequence o f the partition of Africa is well emphasised by Reginald Green and A n n Seidman in Unity or poverty? The economics of Pan-Africanism (Harmondsworth, 1968). They argued that balkanisation impeded economic growth and independence and as a result African countries were unable to achieve real economic growth and higher living standards on their own. Both authors further showed that the structural imbalance resulting from over-dependence on the export of one o r a few primary products made economies extremely vulnerable, highly dependent and incapable of internal adjustment. But why did efforts, especially after independence, fail to alter the inherited status quo} Once again Richard Harris, The political economy of Africa, offered some clues to this. The volume, restricted to Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, provided an analytical perspective of the interrelationship of political and economic factors as a prerequisite for under­ standing the causes of underdevelopment and the condition for the development of the continent. His views are to some extent shared by A n n Seidman, Planning for development in sub-Saharan Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 4 ) . She argued that, since independence, few countries succeeded in achieving their objectives of improvement in the lives o f their people; she then explored the fundamental constraints inherent in the inherited institutional and resource allocation patterns which thwarted efforts to attain delayed devel­ opment goals in 1960s. 836 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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Presenting the result of a symposium sponsored by the Haile Selassie I Prize Trust in 1 9 6 6 , R. K . Gardiner et al. (eds.), Africa and the world (Addis Ababa, 1970) agreed that Africa was passing through a critical phase in her economic development. Ideally agricultural development had to go hand in hand with industrial development, while educational and manpower planning and training should be undertaken concurrently. As well as the global perspective, efforts have also been directed at assessing developments at the regional and country levels, touching on the same issues as those dealt with above. Thus, the articles in R. C. O'Brien (ed.), The political economy of underdevelop­ ment: dependence in Senegal (Beverly Hills, 1 9 7 9 ) were directed at refining the debate on African political economy. The contributors were concerned about the exploitative features of Senegal's dependence on France and the world capitalist system in general. The origin of the most acute of the present problems is to be found in the colonial and post-colonial relationships with France marked by unequal trade exchange and satellisation or peripherisation in terms of the métropole-satellite model. In the same vein, Colin Leys in Underdevelopment in Kenya (London, 1 9 7 5 ) , postulated that colonialism led to the incor­ poration of the Kenyan economy into an increasingly global capitalist economy with the periphery subordinated to the centre. There was no free competition at the periphery, which was dominated by monopoly elements controlling the significant factors of production. Thus, the colonial period was marked by state activity for the benefit of European settlers creating conditions of monopoly. The central theme in A. G. Hopkins's An economic history of West Africa (London, 1 9 7 3 ) , is the interaction of the various internal and external factors which have determined the structure and growth of the market economy of West Africa. He contended that Africans were 'economic men' responding to opportunities. Having discarded the stereotype of the ' traditional ' he argued that the expansion of the domestic market was retarded not by institutional rigidities determined by anti-capitalist values, but by identifiable economic obstacles. There is a general analysis of current and future evolution of the economy of the Maghrib in the literature. W o r k s which also focus on economic integration include Samir Amin's UÉconomie 837 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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du Maghreb, z vols. (Paris, 1966). Others are A. Tiano, Le Développement économique du Maghreb (Paris, 1 9 6 8 ) ; C. F. Gallagher, The United States and North Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 3 ) ; J . d'Yvoire, Le Maghreb et la Com­ munauté Économique Européenne (Paris, 1 9 6 5 ) . An important aspect of the situation in East Africa is clearly brought out in a series of writings covering the activities of the now defunct East African Common Market. These studies include: D. P. Ghai, 'Territorial distribution of the benefits and costs of the East African Common Market', in C. Leys, and P. Robson (eds.), Federation in East Africa: opportunities and problems (Nairobi, 1 9 6 5 ) , W . T. Newlyn, 'Gains and losses in the East African Common Market', Yorkshire Bulletin, November 1965 ; and Philip Ndegwa, The Common Market and development in East Africa, 2 n d edition (Nairobi, 1968). Education and manpower planning should, for maximum effectiveness, be dealt with pari passu, since the two sectors are highly interrelated. This linkage is very well demonstrated by Richard Jolly, in Planning educationfor African development (Nairobi, 1969). The author developed an ingenious new technique, based on intensive field experience, for showing the levels of educational attainment in a country and how they are built up by flows through the educational system. The technique is also used to bring out the basic manpower problems of Ghana, Uganda, and Zambia, and to show how current educational policies affect the level and composition of the stock of qualified manpower for the future. Specific contributions directed mainly at the analysis of edu­ cational policies and problems are featured in several publications, among which the following can be cited: Julius K . Nyerere, Education for self-reliance (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 6 7 ) ; W . W . Brickman, 'Tendencies in African education', Educational Forum, May 1 9 6 3 , vol. 27, 3 9 9 - 4 1 6 ; and G u y Hunter, Educationfor a developing region : a study in East Africa (London, 1 9 6 3 ) . In his work, Harbison generally considered the relationship between education and manpower planning; F. H. Harbison and C. Myers, Education, manpower and economic growth (New Y o r k , 1964) ; F. H. Harbison, Human resources as the wealth of nations (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) . Problems of manpower development and diagnosis 838

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of the attendant problems have received the attention o f several studies. R. G. Hollister, in 'Manpower problems and policies in Africa', International Labour Review, 1 9 5 9 , vol. 9 9 , no. 5, 5 1 5 - 3 2 , analysed, among other issues, the shortage of skilled manpower; rural-urban drift and unemployment; malfunctioning of the wage system and components of an integrated manpower policy. Employment in Africa and related critical issues were the subject o f an I L O contribution (Geneva, 1 9 7 1 ) , while P. De Briey focussed on ' T h e productivity o f African labour', International Labour Review, 1 9 5 5 , vol. 7 2 , 1 1 9 - 3 7 . Labour migration has had significant economic and social consequences, particularly in the countries of southern Africa. This is the subject of the article by T. Soper on ' Labour migration in Africa' in the Journal of African Administration, 1 9 5 9 , vol. 1 1 , 9 3 - 9 . In a historical study, R. Cohen, Labour and politics in Nigeria, 194J-19J1 (London, 1 9 7 4 ) , traced the history o f the labour movement in Nigeria and tried to establish w h y factionalism prevailed; while G . Arrighi discussed the emergence o f different forms o f the bourgeoisie {petite, bureaucratic etc.) as a result o f the investment policies of oligopolistic corporations and consortia (see G . Arrighi, 'International corporations, labour aristocracies, and economic development in Africa', in Robert T. Rhodes (ed.), Imperialism and underdevelopment (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) ) . The agricultural sector had a central role to play, particularly in the resolution of the food crisis that increasingly faced the continent in the period covered by this volume. K. R. M. Anthony et aL in Agricultural change in tropical Africa (Ithaca, 1 9 7 9 ) con­ centrated on the process of agricultural change and on the factors that permit widespread increase in farm productivity and income. S. C. Jain in the Agricultural development of African nations, 2 vols. (Bombay, 1 9 6 5 ) , presented a study o f agro-economic structure, focussing on general agricultural development and on policies conducive to successful and rapid economic growth o f the African countries covered. Considerations o f the role o f the state and mechanisation, crop and livestock production, land use and ownership in agricultural development are adequately covered by I. A . Svanidze in ' The African struggle for agricultural productivity', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 6 8 , vol. 6, no. 3, 3 1 1 - 2 8 . 839

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Internal as well as external trade relations and conditions have been shown to be related to Africa's colonial and imperial heritage. Thus Claude Meillassoux (ed.), Development of indigenous trade and markets in West Africa (Oxford, 1 9 7 1 ) adopted a Marxist perspective in his introduction. He considered the effects of the growth of markets on social relations, the intensity of long-distance trade, and the impact of European capitalism. P. H. Turner made a comprehensive study of the workings of commercial institutions in Africa in The commerce of new Africa (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . Problems such as the supply of capital, the availability of skilled manpower, reform of outdated customs and practices are dealt with along with other more complex issues arising from the rapid pace of economic development and social change. With the external orientation of African commerce, seaports assume a critical role. B. S. Hoyle and D. Hilling, in Seaports and development in tropical Africa (London, 1 9 7 0 ) underline, through a collection of essays by geographers, the important role of seaports in the economic growth of underdeveloped areas. Maritime transport also affects the local level of industrialisation, mineral extraction and export. Thus the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa provided an assessment of the current state and past growth of industry in U N E C A , Industrial development in Africa: problems and prospects (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 7 ) . Studies on minerals are available and M. BostockandC. Harvey have edited a collection of papers under the title: Economic independence and Zambian copper (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 ) . A n early wartime study by Albert W . Postel, The mineral resources of Africa (Philadelphia, 1 9 4 3 ) , indicated Africa's annual production of each type of existing and known mineral along with the annual world production and the annual production of the world's chief producers. Similarly, N. de K u n in The mineral resources of Africa (Amsterdam, 1 9 6 5 ) , describes in detail the mineral wealth, the geology, and the various sources of energy, for all the countries of the continent. It has been commonly realised in the literature that political freedom has not been matched by economic independence. D. P. Ghai edited a collection of essays titled Economic independence in Africa (Nairobi, 1 9 7 3 ) which presented case studies of the 840

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policies pursued to obtain economic independence in Zambia, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. G. Arrighi and J . Saul in Essay on the political economy of Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) , tried to demonstrate the extent to which ' structures o f domination' (shaped by interaction of contemporary imperialism with patterns of domestic class formation) were the most important variables affecting the prospects for African progress and development. The authors argued that socialism was, in fact, becoming a real necessity in order to ensure the further development of the continent. This socialist orientation, with variations on the theme of class struggle, coloured the works of several authors including African leaders. Such studies include: K w a m e Nkrumah, Class struggle in Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) , in which he held that the colonial period gave rise to the development of ' capitalist social structures ' in Africa; and Frantz Fanon, Les Damnés de la terre, translated as The wretched of the earth (New Y o r k , 1963). Fanon perceives what Amin, Nkrumah and others correctly identified - that this new ruling class was dependent for its privileged position upon the intermediary role which it played in the neo-colonial framework. As Cabrai put it, decolonisation made possible an alliance between the local bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie of the capitalist metropoles (Amflcar Cabrai, 'The struggle in Guinea', International Socialist Journal, 4 4 2 ) . Other studies in the socialist/Marxist tradition include: E. J . Berg, 'Socialism and economic development in tropical Africa ,Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1 9 6 4 , vol. 7 8 , no. 4 , 5 4 9 - 7 3 ; F. Burke, 'The Search for Ujamaa', in W . Friedland and C. Rosenberg (eds.), African socialism (Stanford, 1 9 6 4 ) ; K w a m e Nkrumah, J speak offreedom (London, 1 9 6 1 ) , and Towards colonial freedom : Africa in the war against world imperialism (London, 1 9 6 2 ) ; Julius Nyerere, Socialism and rural development (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 6 7 ) ; and Freedom and socialism (London, 1968). The related contribution of L e o p o l d Senghor, On African socialism (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 4 ) , stressed the importance of culture in the task of nation-building, noting that it was not an appendage that could be dispensed with without damage to the entire fabric. The following three publications (among others) dwelt on the 'hu­ manist ' socialist views of the President of Zambia on development in his country: Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's economic revolution: the 9

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Mulmgushi Declaration (Lusaka, 1 9 6 8 ) ; Humanism in Zambia (Lusaka, 1 9 6 7 ) ; and Towards complete independence: after Mulungushi (Lusaka, 1 9 6 9 ) . It is now clear that the various attitudes represented either by socialist or capitalist thinking have been employed by govern­ ments in trying to reformulate their national development strategies. E. Marcus was concerned with this problem in 'The economic role of the government in independent tropical Africa', American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1 9 6 5 , vol. 2 4 , no. 3, 3 0 7 - 1 5 . The collection of papers edited by A . Adedeji under the title Indigeni!(ation of African economies (London, 1 9 8 1 ) , assessed the impact of government intervention in development planning, and gave a historical background to indigenisation. U. G. Damachi in his book Leadership ideology in Africa: attitudes towards socio-economic development (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 6 ) , claimed that many leaders had propounded different ideologies — Kaunda's Humanism; Seretse Khama's Kagisano; Nyerere's Ufamaa; Gaddafi's Green Revolution, etc. A s already implied above, the socio-economic development thinking of these leaders reflected a heavy reliance on socialist principles; all of them emphasised state control which necessarily limits the scope for private enterprise. G u y Hunter in The best of both worlds? A challenge on development policies in Africa (London, 1 9 6 7 ) showed how the transfer of institutions, technology, and values from one society to another with completely different structures proved infertile or caused social distortions and precipitated a ' revolution o r rising frustrations' with consequent social and military upheavals. Even before the advent of political independence, and since then, there has been a growing body of opinion in support of integrating, in one form or another, the generally small economies of the equally small and balkanised states in Africa. A r t h u r Hazlewood (ed.), in African integration and disintegration: case studies in economic and political union (London, 1 9 6 7 ) , presented a collection of papers on the way African states endeavoured to integrate their economies, and in some cases their political systems, in the face of powerful forces tending to pull them apart. The study is therefore concerned mainly with the politics as well as the economics of integration. Both R. H. Green and K . G. V . Krishna, in Economic co-operation in Africa: retrospect and prospect (Nairobi, 1 9 6 7 ) , reviewed developments in the field in 1965 and 842 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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analysed the institutional framework for and the dynamics of economic union together with considerations of external influ­ ences on and opposition to African economic cooperation and integration. The w o r k by A . M. A k i w u m i on the Judicial aspects of economic integration treaties in Africa (Leiden, 1 9 7 2 ) examined the general concept of international law in economic cooperation and analysed the various legal frameworks (treaties, conventions, etc.) adopted in the process, using to advantage the experiences of EAC, U D E A C and other such international organisations. Other contributions on the problems of economic integration in the continent include, among others, P. N. C. Okigbo, Africa and the Common Market (London, 1 9 6 7 ) ; F. V . Walker, 'Regional economic integration in Africa', in Uppal and Salkever, cited above; and P. Robson, Economic integration in Africa (Evanston, 1968). Valuable surveys of economic and customs unions and the commercial policy of protectionism and tariff bargaining appeared in the following publications, which have both theoretical and practical interest: J . Viner, The customs union issue (New Y o r k , 9 5 ° ) ; J - E. Meade, Problems of economic union (London, 1 9 5 3 ) ; R. G. Lipsey, 'The theory of customs unions: a general survey', Economic Journal, Sept. i 9 6 0 ; G. H. Johnson, ' A n economic theory of protectionism, tariff bargaining, and the formation of customs unions', Journal of Political Economy, 1 9 6 5 ; and C. A. Cooper and B. F. Massell, ' Toward a general theory of customs unions for developing countries', Journal of Political Economy (Chicago), 1 9 6 5 , vol. 7 3 . x

Contributions on African sub-regional integration with a focus on the development, benefits and problems of the East African Common Market, are: D. V . Co w e n , ' Towards a common market in Southern Africa', Optima, June 1 9 6 7 ; D. P. Ghai, 'Territorial distribution of the benefits and costs of the East African Common Market', in C. Leys and P. Robson (eds.), Federation in East Africa: opportunities and problems (Nairobi, 1 9 6 5 ) ; W . T. Newlyn, ' Gains and losses in the East African Common Market', Yorkshire Bulletin, November 1 9 6 5 ; and P. Ndegwa, The Common Market and development in East Africa (Nairobi, 1 9 6 5 , second edition 1 9 6 8 ) . For the Maghrib sub-region, A . Robana wrote The prospects for an economic community in North Africa: managing economic integration in the Maghreb states (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) .

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The problem of assessing the significance of recent events is a major difficulty faced by anybody rash enough to attempt a brief history of southern Africa over so turbulent a period as the past forty years. Peoples' experiences and claims vary and their interpretations of what has happened differ widely. One contem­ porary, when asked what he thought were the most significant events to have occurred during the period, put high on his list the granting of constitutional independence to the Transkei in October 1 9 7 6 . Another contemporary regarded it as 'irrelevant; a mere book-entry'. Both people were young with acute political minds. One is white and a member of the ruling National Party; the other, black, has since died in prison for his political activities. To take t w o further examples, the great Xhosa poet and writer, S. E. K . Mqhayi, resigned as a teacher from Lovedale, an insti­ tution which prided itself on being particularly sympathetic to the African cause, because he felt the history he had to teach was unduly biased and uncritical of white conquest. On the other side of the fence, an Afrikaner nationalist in 1 9 4 7 justified his party's attack on dual-medium schools where white children were taught in both Afrikaans and English. ' O u r children', he complained, ' sit in dual medium schools which means that if you tell the one section its history, you hurt the other. Thus w e paper over the cracks neatly, else w e are race-haters.' The way to a better understanding of events must, as a recent b o o k on ethnocentrism in historical writing points out, pass through the arena o f conflict where historians with different interpretations and perspectives face each other and try to incorporate the others' views into their o w n work. New books had to be written in Europe when children in the international schools were first required to learn history in a language other than their own. That day is still a long way off in South Africa. Meanwhile one has to pick one's way forward, ever mindful of the extent to which one's o w n views, experiences and place in society filter not only the interpretation of events but also their selection. 1

2

Nor is perspective the only difficulty. Paradoxically, where a major problem lies in deciding what to leave out, there is an acute ( B e r k e l e y , 1975)» * 4 ° -

1

C i t e d b y D u n b a r M o o d i e , The rise of Afrikanerdom

2

R o y P r e i s w e r k a n d D o m i n i q u e P e r r o t , Ethnocentrism and history ( N e w Y o r k , 1978).

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lack of information and of interpretation from some points of view. Much important writing is either banned or, for fear of police action, hidden away; sometimes destroyed; often never published. In a world of Sami^dat, many facts will not emerge from their hiding places, including peoples' heads, for years to come. During the 1960s almost an entire generation of black writers went voluntarily or involuntarily into exile; bans were imposed so that their books could neither circulate nor be quoted in South Africa. Nor is it only black writers w h o have been thus 'erased from the scene'. Books ordered from outside do not always arrive; works read abroad cannot always be brought back and re-read when needed. Important material is published overseas of which scholars inside the country are not always aware. Another barrier inhibiting the gathering of information is the diversity of languages in the region. Much has been printed though not all of it preserved - in a wide variety of languages ranging from Afrikaans and Arabic through to Yiddish and Zulu. In addition, until 1 9 7 9 state papers in South African archives were not open to the public until 50 (now 30) years after they had been written and thus the police records on such important political movements as the Ossewa Brandwag or Umkbonto we Si^we which were responsible for sabotage during the early 1940s and 1960s respectively, were not available and our information was limited to press cuttings, court records, or the memoirs of retired policemen. Until more monographs have been written which draw on this hidden wealth (including the fast-disappearing oral material), southern African history must remain fragmentary. Despite these difficulties, the area is one of the most richly documented in the continent and there is a mass of relevant writing, ranging from government commissions to unpublished student theses. W h a t follows is simply an introduction to enable the reader to go straight to some of the most important of the source material and interpretative writing currently available in English. y

It is best to begin with the bibliographical tools. Reuben Musiker's South African bibliography: a survey of bibliographies and bibliographical work (Cape Town, second edition, 1980) provides an admirable guide as to what is available. This is supplemented by his guide to important bibliographies and reference books published in the W o r l d Bibliographic Series as South Africa 845

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(Oxford, 1 9 7 9 ) . For books in general the SA national bibliography which has been published regularly since 1 9 5 9 is comprehensive. Government publications are listed in the House of Assembly's Index to the manuscript annexures and printed papers of the House of Assembly including select Committee Reports and Bills and also principal motions and resolutions and Commission Reports 1910-1961 (Cape Town, 1963) which has a useful section on reports o f government commissions. This is supplemented by the Library of Parliament's unpublished Index to the printed annexures of the House of Assembly 1962-19/1 (mimeo, Cape Town). In addition, there is the Depart­ ment o f Cultural Affairs, Bibliography of the Department of Statistics 1910-1968 (Pretoria, 1969). G o o d bibliographies focussing on particular fields include G . E. Gorman, The South African novel since 19 jo: an information and resource guide (Boston, 1 9 7 8 ) and University of the Orange Free State, Institute for Contemporary History, Bibliography on South African political history, 1902-19/4, vol. I (Bloemfontein, 1 9 7 8 ) . Also important, not least as a measure of the amount o f archival material n o w available is Susan G. W y n n , African political material: a catalogue of the Carter-Karis collection (Bloomington, 1 9 7 7 ) . The impact of censorship in the country is recorded in Jacobsen's Index of objectionable literature (Pretoria). For a guide to unpublished research w o r k scholars should consult Stefanus I. Malan, Union catalogue of theses and dissertations of the South African universities, 1942-19j8 (Potchefstroom, 1 9 5 9 ) , together with the Annual supplements compiled by the Ferdinand Potsmas Library in Potchefstroom. For theses written at other universities around the world the best guide is Oliver B. Pollak and Karin Pollak, Theses and dissertations on Southern Africa: an international bibliography (Boston, 1 9 7 6 ) . A rich quarry to be mined by historians of southern Africa is the periodical literature, most of which is recorded in the Annual index to South African periodicals compiled by the City of Johannesburg Public Library since 1 9 4 0 . Many of the books and articles cited in these bibliographies deal not only with South Africa but also with other countries in the region. But for references focussed specifically on these countries the best guides are: Richard P. Stevens, Historical dictionary of Botswana (Metuchen, 1 9 7 5 ) ; John J . Grotpeter, Historical dictionary of Swaziland (Metuchen, 1 9 7 5 ) ; Eckard Strohmeyer,

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Namibian national bibliography 1971-19JJ (Basle, 1978) and Shelagh M. Willett and D. Ambrose, Lesotho (Oxford, 1980). W e turn now to books (most of which themselves contain useful bibliographies) which may be regarded as starting points for those wishing to read more deeply. A wider, though by no means comprehensive, set of references is included in the bibliography at the back of this volume. The t w o volumes of the Oxford history of South Africa edited by Monica Wilson and Leonard Thompson (Oxford, 1 9 6 9 and 1 9 7 1 ) broke new ground and sparked off a lively debate about the interpretation of South African history. A good general w o r k which takes account of this ferment amongst scholars is T. R. H. Davenport, South Africa - a modern history (Johannesburg, second edition, 1 9 7 8 ) although Leo Marquard, The peoples and policies of South Africa (London, fourth edition, 1 9 6 9 , retitled A short history of South Africa) remains the best brief account. T w o books which look specifically at the different interpretations of the various schools of thought are, for the earlier years, F. A. Van Jaarsveld, The Afrikaners' interpretation of South African history (Cape Town, 1 9 6 4 ) and, for the 1 9 7 0 s , Harrison Wright, The burden of the present (Cape Town, 1 9 7 7 ) . There is as yet no major w o r k by a black historian whose experience and perspective is so badly needed for a fuller understanding of the past. For Swaziland there is J . S. M. Matsebulo, A history ofSwaziland (Cape Town, second edition, 1 9 7 6 ) . In addition there is a major biography by Hilda Kuper, Sobhuqa II (London, 1 9 7 8 ) . For Namibia the best introduction remains J o h n H. Wellington, South West Africa and its human issues (Oxford, 1 9 6 7 ) supplemented, for details of the subsequent decade, by J . H. P. Serfontein, Namibia? (Randburg, 1 9 7 6 ) . For the international aspects see J o h n Dugard (ed.), The South West Africa/Namibia dispute, documents and scholarly writings on the controversy between South Africa and the United Nations (Berkeley, 1 9 7 3 ) . A major change in historical approach has been the change in time depth and archaeologists have provided evidence for this. It is summarised in R. R. Inskeep, The peopling of Southern Africa (Cape Town, 1 9 7 8 ) . Southern Africa has produced an unusually large number of in-depth studies of society in transition. Isaac Schapera's books on the Tswana, beginning with Tswana law and custom (London, 1938), Monica Hunter's

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Reaction to conquest (London, 1 9 3 6 ) , E. J . and J . D. Krige's The realm of a rain queen (London, 1 9 4 3 ) and Hilda Kuper's An African aristocracy (Oxford, 1 9 4 7 ) laid the foundation. Amongst more recent studies three books which demonstrate something of the depth and range of modern anthropology are Richard B. Lee and Irwen De V o r e (eds.), Kalahari hunter gatherers (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 7 6 ) ; Axel Ivar Berglund, Zulu thought patterns and symbolism (Uppsala, 1968), and Colin Murray, Families divided: the impact of migrant labour in Lesotho (Cambridge, 1 9 8 1 ) . For the sociological contribution one might begin with Heribert Adam (ed.), South African sociological perspectives (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . In the field o f economics there are good general w o r k s on four of the five countries under consideration but in confining themselves to political boundaries of a single nation state all of them remain essentially partial descriptions. But taken together the following four books provide a comprehensive o v e r v i e w : D. Hobart Houghton, The South African economy (Cape T o w n , fourth edition, 1 9 7 6 ) ; Wolfgang H. Thomas, Economic development in Namibia (Munich, 1 9 7 8 ) ; I L O Jobs and Skills programme for Africa (Jaspa), Options for a dependent economy: development\ employment and equity problems in Lesotho (Addis Ababa, 1 9 7 9 ) ; and C. Colclough and S. McCarthy, The political economy of Botswana: a study of growth and distribution (Oxford, 1980). For those w h o find delving into statistical tables illuminating, t w o invaluable sources, albeit confined to one country, are published by the Department of Census in Pretoria: Union statistics for fifty years 1910-1960 and the biennial South African statistics whose 1 9 7 8 edition contains a number o f tables covering a long run of years. In labour there are t w o classics which complement each other. But both Sheila T. van der Horst, Native labour in South Africa (Cape Town, 1 9 4 2 ) and Edward Roux, Time longer than rope (Wisconsin, second edition, 1 9 6 4 ) focus primarily on the period before 1936 and are best read for understanding of the roots from which subsequent labour developments grew. More recent studies include Francis Wilson, Labour in the South African gold mines 1911-1969 (Cambridge, 1 9 7 2 ) and Eddie Webster (ed.), Essays in Southern Africa labour history (Johannesburg, 1 9 7 8 ) . Similarly, S. H. Frankel, Capital investment in Africa (London, 1938) laid the foundation for understanding the further development of international economic links during the period. This remained 848

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virtually the only study until, as with labour, a spate of books and articles were published in the 1 9 7 0 s . A guide, though it needs up-dating, to some o f these may be found in J a n Edwards, Bibliography on foreign investment in South Africa (Johannesburg, 1 9 7 5 ) . T w o books on some of the infrastructural links being forged in Africa south o f the equator are: G u y A r n o l d and Ruth Weiss, Stragetic highways of Africa (London, 1 9 7 7 ) and Keith Middlemas, Cabora Bassa: engineering and politics in Southern Africa (London, 1 9 7 5 ) which together show something of the significance of links binding together South Africa and other parts o f the continent which lie outside the regional definition used in this volume. Given the very wide range of material available, it is difficult to reduce one's desert island list o f political reading to less than a dozen books. The best descriptions of government in the decade before 1 9 4 8 are to be found in t w o outstanding political biographies: W . K . Hancock, Smuts: thefieldsof force 1919-19 jo (Cambridge, 1968) and Alan Paton, Hofmeyr (Cape T o w n , 1 9 6 4 ) . A contemporary account o f Afrikaner politics in the wilderness is to be found in Michael Roberts and A . E. G . Trollip, A South African opposition (Cape T o w n , 1 9 4 7 ) whilst the best reference for the next decade is Gwendolen M. Carter, The politics of inequality: South Africa since 1948 (London, second edition, 1 9 5 9 ) . Perceptive analysis o f transformations within Afrikanerdom since the 1960s is undertaken by Heribert Adam, Modernising racial domination (Berkeley, 1 9 7 1 ) , and by Heribert Adam and Hermann Giliomee, The rise and crisis of Afrikaner power (Cape Town, 1 9 7 9 ) . A longer-term perspective is well provided by T. Dunbar Moodie, The rise of Afrikanerdom (Berkeley, 1 9 7 5 ) , and W . A . de Klerk, The Puritans in Africa (London, 1 9 7 5 ) . For a view from inside the laager see A . N. Pelzer (ed.), Verwoerd speaks: speeches 1948-1966 (Johannesburg, 1 9 6 6 ) .

1959-1941

The most important collection of original documents in politics from a black perspective is contained in Thomas Karis and Gwendolen M. Carter (eds.), From protest to challenge, o f which vols. II and HI (Stanford, 1 9 7 3 , 1 9 7 7 ) cover the years 1 9 3 5 - 6 4 . For general accounts o f African political resistance see Peter Walshe, The rise of African nationalism in South Africa (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , Gail M. Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa (Berkeley, 1 9 7 8 ) and T o m Lodge, Black politics in South Africa since 194J 849

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(Johannesburg, 1983). For the best detailed account of a specific confrontation between the state and its people see Charles Hooper, Brief authority (London, i960), whilst accounts of the impact of apartheid on those affected by it are provided by Naboth Mokgatle, The autobiography of an unknown South African (Berkeley, 1971) and Z. K . Matthews, Freedom for my people (London, 1980). For a contemporary record of all political developments the Annual survey of race relations, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg, is invaluable. In the field of law, A . S. Matthews, Law, order and liberty in South Africa (Cape T o w n , 1971), Albie Sachs, Justice in South Africa (Berkeley, 1973), Muriel Horrell, Laws affecting race relations in South Africa 1948-1976 (Johannesburg, 1978) and J o h n Dugard, Human rights and the South African legal order (Princeton, 1979), provide a comprehensive overview. In military affairs Neil Orpen et al., South African forces, World War II, 6 vols. (Cape T o w n , 1968-77) covers the early period in minute detail, whilst the best intro­ duction to the later period is Basil Davidson, J o e S l o v o and Anthony R. Wilkinson, Southern Africa: the new politics of revolution (Harmondsworth, 1976). In science the best book is A . C. Brown (ed.), A history of scientific endeavour in South Africa (Cape T o w n , 1977). For education in general it is best to begin with E. G. Malherbe, Education in South Africa (Cape T o w n , 1977) whilst also reading I. B. Tabata, Education for barbarism (East London, i960) to understand the depth of black opposition to the imposed education system. A preliminary guide to the confrontation between church and state during the period is J o h n W . de Gruchy, The Church struggle in South Africa (Grand Rapids, 1979); t w o original sources from either end of the spectrum are Basil Moore (ed.), Black theology: a South African voice (London, 1973) and W . A . Landman, A plea for understanding: a reply to the Reformed Church in America (Cape T o w n , 1968). For discussion of the rapidly growing independent churches which lie outside the boundaries of the major traditional Christian denominations, see Bengt Sundkler, Bantu prophets in South Africa (London, second edition, 1961). Gabriel Setiloane, The image of God among the Sotho-Tswana (Rotterdam, 1976) is also illuminating. It is not possible to select any one novel to represent the wealth of literature written during this period. Some of the more 850

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important books are listed in the bibliography. Here three anthologies may serve to whet readers' appetites. Nadine Gordimer and Lionel Abrahams (eds.), South African writing to-day (Harmondsworth, 1 9 6 7 ) ; Richard Rive (ed.), Quartet (London, 1 9 6 5 ) ; and Jean Marquard (ed.), A century of South African short stories (Johannesburg, 1 9 7 8 ) . In addition to prose, a lot of poetry welled up during the 1 9 7 0 s , some of which is in the anthology edited by G u y Butler and Chris Mann, A book of South African verse in English (Cape T o w n , 1 9 7 9 ) . To conclude, it is perhaps w o r t h making the point that those wishing to understand Southern Africa better will often learn more from the wide range of novels, plays, poetry and autobio­ graphies written during this period than from much of the more academic analyses. Certainly twentieth-century South Africa cannot be understood, any more than nineteenth-century Russia, from the work of academics alone. But South Africa, as yet, has no Tolstoy. 7.

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Books covering several African territories are seldom more useful than those covering a number of European countries. There are exceptions. Thomas Hodgkin pioneered the serious study of African politics by foreign scholars with his Nationalism in colonial Africa (London, 1 9 5 7 ) . Concerned largely with Commonwealth West Africa this was a landmark. From the British side, in The turning point in Africa (London, 1 9 8 2 ) , R. D. Pearce chose the decade 1 9 3 8 - 4 8 , not the following years when independence was achieved, as the watershed in British colonial policy. For in 1 9 4 7 the Colonial Office - if not the Labour government - decided, chiefly because of developments in the Gold Coast and Nigeria, that African colonies must become independent' within a gener­ ation'. Hodgkin's and Pearce's books provide the background to political development in West Africa up to 1 9 5 7 . A m o n g books dealing with West African economies in general, two are classics: Peter Bauer's West African trade (Cambridge, 1 9 5 4 , second edition London, 1963) which is concerned with only Nigeria and Ghana, and Polly Hill's Studies in rural capitalism in West Africa (Cambridge, 1 9 7 0 ) , which is also concerned with these t w o countries, and analyses the way in which rural people, the great majority, 'order their economic behaviour'. 851

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Nigeria Four American 'blockbusters', o f 500 pages or more, are essential for understanding Nigerian politics up to 1 9 6 6 . They are James S. Coleman, Nigeria: background to nationalism (Berkeley, 1 9 5 8 ) ; Richard L. Sklar, Nigerian political parties (Princeton, 1 9 6 3 ) ; C S. Whitaker, The politics of tradition (Princeton, 1 9 7 0 ) a fascin­ ating and sympathetic analysis o f the then Northern Nigeria by a black American; and J . N. Paden, Religion and political culture in Kano (Berkeley, 1 9 7 3 ) whose discussion o f the role o f Muslim Brotherhoods in politics is significant far beyond K a n o . A British contribution is Nigerian government and politics (London, 1 9 6 6 ) by J o h n P. Mackintosh et al. while Billy J . Dudley, Parties andpolitics in Northern Nigeria (London, 1 9 6 8 ) provides an interesting analysis by a Southern Nigerian. 9

A vast number of other books by Nigerians and outsiders deal with Nigerian politics. Books by o r about individual politicians are essential for understanding the post-Second W o r l d W a r era. My life (Cambridge, 1 9 6 2 ) by the Sardauna o f Sokoto — believed to have been ' ghosted' by a senior administrative officer - covers the period up to self-government of the Northern Region in 1 9 5 9 . W e await a biography o f Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Chief A w o l o w o , the most prolific author among the Nigerian leaders, produced in 1 9 4 6 Path to Nigerian freedom (London, 1 9 4 6 ) and, among later w o r k s , his autobiography, Awo (Cambridge, i 9 6 0 ) . D r Azikiwe's autobiography My odyssej (London, 1 9 7 0 ) takes his story up to 1 9 4 7 — when he was already an experienced journalist and politician. African revolutionary (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) is an inadequate biography (taking the story up to 1 9 7 0 ) o f Malam Aminu K a n o , the NEPU leader and one o f the most interesting of Nigeria's politicians. Chris Offodile's biography, Dr M. I. Okpara (Enugu, 1980), is t o o short to d o justice to Azikiwe's successor as leader of the NCNC, and one o f the most under­ estimated politicians in Nigeria. From countless books about Nigeria's economy one can recommend Planning without facts (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 6 ) by Wolfgang G . Stolper, an American w h o was briefly in charge o f Nigeria's economic planning unit. In Industrialisation in an open economy: Nigeria 194J-1966 (Cambridge, 1 9 6 9 ) Peter K i l b y argues that government efforts had little effect in promoting industri­

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alisation. Professor W . Arthur Lewis's short Reflections on Nigeria's economic growth (OECD, 1 9 6 7 ) is nevertheless the best of its kind. Books that are more significant for understanding Nigeria than their titles suggest include : Education in Northern Nigeria (London, 1 9 8 1 ) by Ozigi and Ocho; Nigerian census, 1963 (Benin, 1 9 7 2 ) by I. I. Ekanem; The Second World War and politics in Nigeria (Lagos and London, 1 9 7 3 ) by G. O. Olusanya; and the Willink report on minorities (London, 1 9 5 8 ) . The administration of Nigeria 1900 to i960 (London, 1970) by I. F. Nicolson began, if with exaggeration, the 'démystification' of Lugard. It was taken a stage further by Jeremy White in Central administration in Nigeria (Dublin, 1 9 7 1 ) . Of the memoirs of British officials the fullest is But always as friends (London, 1968) by Sir Bryan Sharwood-Smith, w h o retired as G o v e r n o r of Northern Nigeria in 195 7 after 36 years in Nigeria. T w o general books for the layman hold their places down the years: Michael Crowder, The story of Nigeria (London, many editions); and Nigeria (London, 1 9 6 8 ) by Walter Schwarz. For the civil war, J o h n de St Jorre's The Nigerian civil war (London, 1 9 7 2 ) is still the standard work. General Obasanjo's My command (Ibadan, 1980) is concerned mainly with war operations. A m o n g many other books on the war and the secession, N. U. Akpan's The strugglefor secession {London, 1 9 7 1 ) is a valuable account of events leading to secession and of the administration of the rebel areas. A civil servant, he was head of the Biafran administration. Alexander Madiebo, commander-in-chief of the Biafran army, offered a somewhat different approach in The Nigerian revolution and the Biafran war (Enugu, 1980).

Ghana No book on an African subject can have been recommended more often - or more properly - than Dennis Austin's Politics in Ghana, 1946-60 (Oxford, 1 9 6 4 ) . A useful background is provided by Ghana: the road to independence (London, i 9 6 0 - n e w edition) by F. M. Bourret. D r Nkrumah's numerous publications range from his Autobiography (London, 1 9 5 7 ) , believed to have been 'ghosted', to Africa must unite (London, 1 9 6 3 ) , Neo-colonialism, the last stage of imperialism (London, 1 9 6 5 ) and the obscure philos­ ophical work Consciencism (London, 1 9 6 4 ) . Study of these is necessary for understanding the course of Ghanaian politics until 853

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his death and after. In contrast are the scholarly w o r k s o f D r Kofi Busia, w h o became prime minister in 1 9 6 9 , in particular his standard w o r k , The position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti (London, 1 9 5 1 ) . A m o n g books by Nkrumah's lieutenants are Africa unbound (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 3 ) by Alex Quaison-Sackey, a considerably more balanced w o r k than Africa's golden road (London, 1 9 6 5 ) by Kwesi Armah. Inside the massive Reap the whirlwind (London, 1968) by Geoffrey Byng, Nkrumah's attorney-general and later adviser, a really good book struggles to get out. There is strong criticism of Nkrumah in Kwame Nkrumah: the anatomy of an African dictatorship (London, 1 9 7 0 ) by Peter Omari, a Ghanaian university lecturer and international civil servant. In Black star (London, 1 9 7 3 ) Basil Davidson produced, after Nkrumah's death, an appraisal which recognised his 'important failings' but claimed that his influence on the course o f events would always seem significant. From its title the subject matter o f Political corruption: the Ghana case (Stanford, 1 9 7 5 ) by Victor T. Le Vine can be inferred. A m o n g studies of particular topics, Organising the farmers by Bjorn Beckman (Uppsala, 1 9 7 4 ) describes the fluctuating relations between cocoa farmers and the CPP. Uses and abuses ofpoliticalpower (Chicago, 1 9 7 1 ) by Maxwell Owusu analyses the relationship between wealth and local political power in Swedru in the south-central region, up to 1 9 6 6 . It concludes that the real object of politics in Ghana was p o w e r rather than wealth. A m o n g books describing Ghana's social scene are Social structure of Ghana (Accra, 1 9 8 1 ) by Max Assimeng, a teacher at Legon, w h o tries to relate social phenomena in Ghana to those in the rest of the w o r l d ; Society and bureaucracy in contemporary Ghana (Berkeley, 1 9 7 5 ) by R. M . Price; and Achimota in the national setting (Accra, 1 9 7 7 ) by Francis Agbodeka, published to mark the institution's golden jubilee, assesses the college's importance in the nation's life. A n American blockbuster, Ghana's foreign policy, 19J7-66 (Princeton, 1 9 6 9 ) by W . Scott Thompson, overshadows all other books in this field. But for an understanding of Nkrumah's approach to external affairs a much shorter book, The administration of Ghana's foreign policy 1917-6} (London, 1 9 7 5 ) by Michael Dei-Annang, is essential. He was principal secretary, Ministry of 854

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Foreign Affairs, 1959-61, and head o f the African Affairs Secretariat, 1961-66. A m o n g many books on Ghana's economy, Nationalism and economic development in Ghana (McGill, 1969) by Roger Genoud is perhaps the most important. O f several studies concerned with the enterprise, The Volta River Project (Edinburgh, 1980) by David Hart is the most critical o f the benefits it offered to Ghana. The two volumes o f A study of contemporary Ghana (London, i960) edited by Walter Birmingham, I. Neustadt and E. N. Omaboe, covers not only the economy but subjects such as land tenure and even religion. Tony Killick's Development economics in action (London, 1978) examines both the Nkrumah and the postNkrumah years. Nobody has written the essential study that will demonstrate that Ghana's economic decline was the direct result of the corruption of both the Nkrumah regime and those o f his successors. Sierra Leone Scholars from a number o f countries, as well as Sierra Leoneans themselves, have produced valuable studies o f the country. There are, however, significant gaps: no biography exists, for example, of Sir Milton Margai. A good introduction is Cyril P. Foray's Historical dictionary of Sierra Leone (Metuchen, 1977). J o h n R. Cartwright, Politics in Sierra Leone 1947—67 (Toronto, 1970) is a standard w o r k , but Martin Kilson, Political change in a West African state (Cambridge, Mass., 1966), offers a more restricted but more stimulating study. Because o f the community's political as well as social signifi­ cance, Leo Spitzer, The Creoles of Sierra Leone (Wisconsin, 1974), which takes the story up to 1945 and covers the emergence o f Wallace-Johnson, is of general interest. I would put in a plea, too, for the delightful A Krio-English dictionary (Oxford, 1980) compiled by Clifford N. Fyle and Eldred D. Jones. N. A . Cox-George, Finance and development in West Africa: the Sierra Leone experience (London, 1961) is the first major study o f the country's social and economic development. A later study is The economic system ofSierra Leone (Durham, NC, 1967) by Ralph Gerald Saylor, w h o concludes that the cost o f government intervention in economic affairs far outweighed its benefit. A specialised but essential study is The Sierra Leone diamonds (London, 1965) by H. L. Van de Laan.

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Liberia Liberia is usually treated as a * special case' in West Africa. It is not normally included in the multitude of w o r k s covering the whole area, since it is neither a francophone nor a Commonwealth state. There are, however, a number o f good books - the best perhaps inevitably critical - dealing specially with the country. Liberia: the evolution of privilege (Ithaca, 1969) by J . Gus Liebenow, emphasises that in spite of Tubman's reforms the elite entrenched themselves in the new foreign enterprises. In Tribe and class in Monrovia (Oxford, 1 9 6 4 ) Merran Fraenkel, whose fieldwork was done in 1 9 5 8 , rejected the analogy between Americo-Liberians and European 'settlers', but saw the correlation between ethnic origin and social class as still significant. A member o f the vigorous K r u tribe, Tuan W r e h , used the Liberian motto The love of liberty brought us here (London, 1 9 7 1 ) as the ironic title o f his critique o f the Tubman regime. Another 'tribal' Liberian w h o , like W r e h , was in government service as a lawyer, Anthony Nimley, criticises the extortion practised by officials and the nepotism governing their appointments in The Liberian bureaucracy (Washington, DC, 1 9 7 7 ) . This emphasises that until 1 9 3 4 the country had not even a nominally 'accountable' civil service. The classic book on Liberia's economy is Growth without development (Evanston, 1 9 6 6 ) . The authors, R. W . Clower, G. Dalton, M. Harwitz and A . A . Walters, were university economists w h o carried out an economic survey of Liberia in 1 9 6 0 - 2 for the government and US AID. The book, their 'unofficial' report, emphasised that unless political aims were changed, increased revenues would be irrelevant. Kinder judge­ ments were made in books by t w o American writers: The jet lighthouse (London, i 9 6 0 ) by Galbraith Welch; and Liberia: America's Africanfriend (Chapel Hill, 1962) by R. Earle Anderson. The official view is to be found in Tubman of Liberia speaks (London, 1 9 5 9 ) and The official papers of William V. S. Tubman (Monrovia, 1 9 6 8 ) , well-produced collections o f speeches.

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The Gambia Few books are devoted exclusively to the Gambia. Harry A. Gailey's A history of the Gambia (London, 1 9 6 4 ) deals with events up to the eve of independence ( 1 9 6 5 ) . Information about the Gambia is, however, to be found in books concerning West Africa in general, Commonwealth West African states, or Senegal. Senegambia (Aberdeen, 1 9 7 4 ) , edited by R. C. Bridges, proceedings of a colloquium held at Aberdeen University in 1 9 7 4 , discusses issues which have since come to dominate Gambian politics. The nature of poverty (London, 1 9 7 5 ) by Margaret Haswell deals with the Gambia's nutritional problems, and so agriculture. Books about the intervention of soldiers in politics have become a secondary industry. Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone are discussed in most of the general w o r k s , some of which seek a pattern which is not there. These include J . M. Lee, African armies and civil order (London, 1 9 6 9 ) . More specific, and relevant, are single-country studies, such as Robert Pinkney, Ghana under military rule 1966-1969 (London, 1 9 7 2 ) ; Robin Luckham, The Nigerian military, 1960—1967 (Cambridge, 1 9 7 1 ) and N. J . Miners, The Nigerian army 19 j6—1966 (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . Victor O. Olusanya, Soldiers and power (Stanford, 1 9 7 7 ) examines the 'development performance' of the Nigerian military. In Soldiers and oil (London, 1 9 7 8 ) edited by Keith Panter-Brick, 13 scholars, Nigerian and British, discuss many different aspects of Nigeria under military rule. Thomas S. Cox, Civil-military relations in Sierra Leone (Cam­ bridge, Mass., 1 9 7 0 ) concludes that military intervention in politics complemented civilian intervention in military matters. In Nigeria and Ghana participants in, or close observers of, military takeovers produced numerous memoirs. These include Why we struck (Ibadan, 1 9 8 1 ) by Adewale Ademoyega, w h o sees events in Marxist terms; and Nigeria'sfivemajors (Onitsha, 1 9 8 1 ) by Ben Gbulie, another planner of the 1 9 6 6 coup. For Ghana the most important book is The Ghana coup (London, 1966) by the then Colonel Afrifa, Brigade-Major to Colonel K o t o k a w h o planned the 1 9 6 6 takeover. Politics of the sword (London, 1 9 7 7 ) is by General A. K . Ocran, w h o brought in the units under his command in support of the coup. Several writers have been tempted to illuminate the affairs of «57

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one state by comparing it with another. W e had a useful comparison, or contrast, in Liberia and Sierra Leone (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) by Christopher Clapham, covering the 1960s and early 1 9 7 0 s . Eleven papers on 'alternative strategies' appear in Ghana and the Ivory Coast (Chicago, 1 9 7 1 ) edited by Philip Foster and Aristide R. Zolberg. In Nigeria and Ghana (Englewood Cliffs, N J , 1966) J o h n E. Flint discusses the t w o countries' differing political paths, while Olajide A l u k o called his Ghana and Nigeria 19J7—70 (London, 1 9 7 4 ) 'a study in inter-African discord'. A curiosity in this field is The politics of pluralism (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 5 ) by David R. Smock and Audrey C. Smock. This contrasted, to Ghana's disadvantage, the policies pursued in the Lebanon and in Ghana, to deal with the t w o countries' common problem of 'pluralism'. Trade unions played a more significant political than industrial role in both Ghana and Nigeria. Class, power and ideology in Ghana (Cambridge, 1 9 7 8 ) , by Richard Jeffries, analyses the S e k o n d i Takoradi railwaymen's strike of 1 9 6 1 , which exposed the CPP government's claims to radicalism. The role of trade unions in the development process (London, 1 9 7 4 ) , by Ukandi G o d w i n Damachi, is concerned with Ghana. It traces the worsening relations between the CPP government and the workers, as well as union activities under both the Busia and military regimes. The title of Labour and politics in Nigeria, 194J-71 (London, 1 9 7 4 ) by Robin Cohen explains the book's scope. The trade union movement in Nigeria (London, 1 9 6 9 ) by W o g u Ananaba was written by a leading actor in the drama. In Choice, class and conflict (Brighton, 1 9 7 9 ) , Adrian Peace analyses attitudes of workers after the civil war in the Agege and Ikeja industrial estates, and union disputes with the G o w o n government. Another category of books concerns relations between West Africa and Communist countries about which, at the time of independence, some western commentators were almost hysteri­ cal. A n objective survey is provided by Robert Legvold in Soviet policy in West Africa (Harvard, 1 9 7 0 ) , which includes sections on Nigeria and Ghana, Books by disillusioned West African students include Moscow diary (London, 1 9 6 7 ) by William Anti-Taylor, one of the first Ghanaian students to go to Moscow, and On the tiger's back (London, 1 9 6 2 ) by the Nigerian Aderogba Ajao, w h o spent six years in East Germany. The list of books about the English-speaking West African 858

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states - many of them ephemeral - is being added to at an enormous rate each year. T o this must also be added the huge number of articles published in scholarly journals o f which the Journal of Modern African Studies is perhaps the most notable. A n indispensable source for the course o f political, social, economic and cultural events over this period is the weekly magazine West Africa. The volume of source materials for the scholar o f the recent history of West African states is swelled not only by the many published government reports but by the archives which in the case of the former British colonies are n o w open for the first decade of our period in Britain and in some cases can be consulted for more recent years in the individual states.

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Extensive documentary and secondary sources are available for the study o f East and Central Africa, although not every country in the region has received equal attention, and the materials vary a great deal in value. A reasonably comprehensive guide to sources for East Africa is to be found in vols. II and III o f the History of East Africa (Oxford, 1965 and 1 9 7 6 ) , while Tony Killick, The economies of East Africa provides a comprehensive guide to the sources on economic development of that region. For the East African Community see J o h n Bruce Howell, Subject guide to official publications (Library o f Congress, 1 9 7 6 ) . Volume V of L. Gann and P. Duignan's Colonialism in Africa, a bibliographicalguide to colonialism in sub-Saharan Africa (Cambridge, 1 9 7 4 ) is the most useful starting point for Central Africa. A n d r e w Roberts' History of Zambia (London, 1 9 7 6 ) contains an up-to-date bibliographical appendix which lists the main secondary sources for Zambia, and Robin Palmer's Land and racial discrimination in Rhodesia (London, 1 9 7 7 ) should also be consulted for Rhodesia. A great deal of valuable material is contained in the unpublished papers of the East African Institute o f Social Research, n o w the Makerere Institute o f Social Research, and of the research institutes of the Universities of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Particularly useful are the mimeographed conference papers o f the annual social science conference that has been held under one title or another since 1 9 5 0 . Reference should be made t o Makerere 859

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Institute of Social Research, Kampala, Institute publications 19jo-1970, and Research and publications, 1968-69; also to Univer­ sity of Nairobi, Institute for Development Studies, Research and publications (annual); University of D a r es Salaam, Bureau of Resources Assessment and Land Use Planning, List ofpublications, and Economic Research Bureau, List of discussion papers. For the publications o f the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute, see: University of Zambia, Institute for Social Research, A complete list of the publications of the former Rhodes-Livingstone Institute. Each colonial government and Great Britain as the colonial power published a range o f official materials which are an invaluable source o f information for the colonial period. These include on the one hand annual departmental and other reports, and on the other the findings of a range of commissions of enquiry. Mention may be made here only of East Africa Royal Commission, 19JJ—JJ: report (Chairman Sir Hugh D o w ) Cmd 9 4 7 5 , 1 9 5 5 ; Report of the Commission on the Civil Services of the East African Territories and the East African High Commission 19J3-J4 (Lidbury Report) (London, H M S O , 1 9 5 4 ) ; Report of the Uganda Relationships Commission, 1961 (Munster Report) (Entebbe, 1 9 6 1 ) ; Report of the Fiscal Commission (Nairobi, 1 9 6 3 ) . F o r the Central African federation reference should be made to the A d v i s o r y Commission on the Review of the Constitution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Cmnd 1 1 5 1 , i 9 6 0 , 'Report and Evidence', 5 volumes (the Monckton Commission). The Proceedings o f the Legislative Council and the National Assembly which replaced it are an important source of information on political change for each state, although most especially for Kenya. Tanganyika, as a Trust Territory, was the subject o f reports by the Visiting Missions (of 1 9 4 8 , 1 9 5 1 , 1 9 5 4 , 1 9 5 7 and i 9 6 0 ) . For Zambia a particularly useful study of conditions immediately prior to independence is United Nations, Report of the UNJECA JFAO economic survey mission on the economic develop­ ment of Zambia (the Seers Report) (Ndola, 1 9 6 4 ) . In addition to the statistical publications o f each territorial government, reference should be made to the East African economic and statistical bulletin, (quarterly from September 1 9 4 8 to June 1 9 6 1 ) succeeded by the Economic and statistical review, and to the Central African Statistical Office's Federal monthly digest. The availability o f reliable economic data becomes more variable after 860

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independence. The Annual economic report remains the most authoritative statement o f economic development for Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi. For Malawi especial note should be made of the Statement of development policies 19/1—1980 (Zomba, 1 9 7 1 ) and the Compendium of statistics, 19JJ-6J (Ministry o f Development and Planning, 1 9 6 6 ) . Economic data for Uganda since 1 9 7 1 and for Rhodesia since 1965 is a good deal more difficult to obtain, and for Zambia at the time of writing the latest Statisticalyearbook published was for 1 9 7 1 , although the Monthly digest of statistics remains a reliable source. D. A . L o w and J o h n Lonsdale's Introduction to vol. I l l o f the History of East Africa draws together the many threads o f recent scholarship to provide a valuable introduction to colonial policy and decolonisation, although reference must also be made to Gary Wasserman's The politics of decolonisation (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) which draws upon recently available settler archives to provide a significant reassessment o f the role o f settlers in Kenya's transfer of power. Cranford Pratt's The critical phase in Tanzania 194 j-1968 (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) provides not only a critical account o f the failure of Britain's multiracial strategy in Tanganyika but also provides a perceptive analysis o f Colonial Office thinking at this time. See also for the period o f decolonisation and the transfer of power, David Goldsworthy, Colonial issues in British politics 194j-1961 (Oxford, 1 9 7 1 ) ; W . P. Kirkman, Unscrambling an Empire, a critique of British colonial policy 19j6—1966 (London, 1 9 6 6 ) ; and J . M. Lee, Colonial development and good government (Oxford, 1 9 6 7 ) . More recent writing on the transfer o f power, benefiting from additional official materials that have become available under the 30-year rule, has begun to probe further than was hitherto possible the underlying assumptions and motivations, and the influences upon policy changes after 1 9 4 0 - 5 , and to reassess the process o f decolonisation. See, inter alia, W . H. Morris-Jones and Georges Fischer (eds.), Decolonisation and after: the British and French experience (London, 1 9 8 0 ) ; J o h n Hargreaves, The end of colonial rule: essays in colonial history (London, 1 9 7 9 ) ; and James Morris, Farewell the trumpets (London, 1 9 7 8 ) . David J o h n Morgan, The official history of colonial development, 5 vols. (London, 1980), written with full access to official sources, provides a good deal o f information but is essentially a straight­ forward documentary account. 861

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The role o f white-settler communities in the decolonisation process is dealt with in A . Emmanuel, ' W h i t e settler colonialism and the myth of investment imperialism', New Left Review, M a y - J u n e 1 9 7 2 . Gary Wasserman, in The politics of decolonisation (Cambridge, 1 9 7 6 ) , and ' T h e independence bargain: Kenya Europeans and the land issue 1 9 6 0 - 6 2 ' , Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, July 1 9 7 3 , v o l . 1 1 , has documented the role of settler and commercial groups in the bargaining process that accompanied the transfer o f power in Kenya, a story taken up by Colin Leys in Underdevelopment in Kenya: the political economy of neo-colonialism (London, 1 9 7 4 ) . See also A . Amsden, International firms and labour in Kenya 194J—1970 (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . While there is as yet n o comparable analysis for any of the other states in the region, the role o f corporate capital in the decolonisation process had emerged at the end o f the 1 9 7 0 s as a major issue f o r debate among historians, although one as yet unresolved. The most useful general survey o f the colonial period in East Africa is the History of East Africa, vol. II, edited by V . Harlow and E. M. Chilver (Oxford, 1 9 6 5 ) , covering the period from 1900 to 1 9 4 5 , and vol. I l l , edited by D. A . L o w and Alison Smith (Oxford, 1 9 7 6 ) , from 1945 to 1 9 6 3 . There is a rich literature from which to supplement the country chapters in those volumes, but space allows mention of only a few. For Tanzania, essential reading is J o h n Iliffe's A modern history of Tanganyika (Cambridge, 1 9 7 9 ) . Henry Bienen's Tanzania: party transformation and economic development (Princeton, 1 9 7 0 ) must remain an indispensable source for the T A N U Party, and G . A . Maguire's Towards uhuru in Tanzania: the politics of participation (Cambridge, 1969) is the best introduction to the dynamics o f party politics and nationalism at the grass-roots level. F o r Zanzibar, Michael Lofchie's Zanzibar: background to revolution (Princeton, 196 5) is the most comprehensive account of Zanzibar's politics in this period. Nelson Kasfir, in his 'Cultural sub-nationalism in Uganda' in Victor Olorunsola's The politics of cultural sub-nationalism in African politics up to 1970 (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 2 ) , which takes the analysis up to the military coup o f 1 9 7 1 , approaches Ugandan politics from the perspective of ethnic cleavage and conflict. While there is a rich array o f ethnographic material for most parts o f Uganda, it is Buganda that has been most richly served by scholars. O f the extensive studies o f Buganda mention can be made here only of Christopher Wrigley's 862

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Crops and wealth in Uganda (Kampala, 1959), D. A. L o w and R. C. Pratt's Buganda and British overrule 1900-193; : two studies (Oxford, i960), and The King's men: leadership and status in Buganda on the eve of independence (London, 1964), edited by L. A . Fallers, whose own contribution constitutes the most authoritative study of social change in Buganda. The Kenyatta election: Kenya 1960-1961 by George Bennett and Carl Rosberg (London, 1961) must remain the most authoritative introduction to Kenyan politics in the nationalist period, as Rosberg and Nottingham's study of Mau Mau, The myth of Mau Mau: nationalism in Kenya (New Y o r k , 1966) remains indispensable on the role of the K i k u y u . The latter must now however be supplemented by more recent w o r k on K i k u y u politics, especially Frank Furedi's 'The African crowd in Nairobi: popular move­ ments and élite polities', in Journal of African History, 1973, vol. 14, no. 2. Four nationalist leaders have written autobiographical accounts of the nationalist years from very different political per­ spectives: Oginga Odinga's Not yet uhuru (London, 1967), Tom Mboya's Freedom and after (London, 1963), Josiah Kariuki's Mau Mau detainee (Oxford, 1963), and Bildad Kaggia's Roots offreedom (Nairobi, 1975). The most perceptive study of President Kenyatta is Jeremy Murray-Brown's Kenyatta (London, 1972). Events in independent East Africa have generated a consider­ able literature. William Tordoff's Government and politics in Tan%ania (Nairobi, 1967) provides a valuable analysis of changes in government and administration in the first five years of inde­ pendence over the transition to the one-party state. Pratt's The critical phase, cited above, is a perceptive analysis of the emergence of Tanzania's socialist strategy, and of the central role played by President Nyerere; and Lionel Cliffe and J o h n Saul have edited a valuable collection of essays in their two-volume Socialism in Tanzania (vol. I, Politics, vol. II, Policies) (Nairobi, 1972, 1973) covering the years from the Arusha Declaration to the early 1970s. Tanzania's one-party state has attracted a good deal of scholarly writing of which mention must be made of One-party democracy (Nairobi, 1967), the volume of essays on the first general election of 1965 edited by Lionel Cliffe. The three volumes of President Nyerere's speeches, Freedom and unity (Dar es Salaam, 1967), Freedom and socialism (1968) and Freedom and development (1973) provide a perceptive guide to the development of Tanzania's 863

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national ethic. While the Ugandan coup o f 1 9 7 1 has generated a good deal of literature none has provided an authoritative account of that event, although Ali Mazrui's Soldiers and kinsmen: the making of a military ethnocracy (Chicago, 1 9 7 5 ) , which seeks to place the 1 9 7 1 coup and General Amin in Ugandan history, is a perceptive analysis of the post-colonial state. Michael Lee's African armies and civil order (New Y o r k , 1969) is the best source for information on the Ugandan military up to 1 9 6 9 , and Henry Kayemba, former private secretary to ex-President Obote and subsequently Minister of Health in Amin's regime, until his defection in 1 9 7 7 , has provided an inside account o f the Amin regime in his State of blood (London, 1 9 7 7 ) . For the post-colonial state in Kenya, Cherry Gertzel's The politics of independent Kenya (Nairobi, 1 9 7 0 ) provides a detailed account o f Kenyan politics up to 1 9 6 8 , and Colin Leys's Under­ development in Kenya is essential for its critical analysis of the Kenyan political economy up to the 1 9 7 0 s . Gerald Holtham and A r t h u r Hazlewood's study, Aid and inequality (London, 1 9 7 6 ) , while concerned primarily with economic development, provides an equally perceptive analysis o f western influence in independent Kenya from a more sympathetic viewpoint. Former Vice-President of Kenya Oginga Odinga's Not yet uhuru, cited above, is a critical account o f the first years o f independence by one o f the central actors, which provides useful insights into Kenya's factional politics. Richard Sandbrook's Proletarians and African capitalism: the Kenyan case 1962—70 (London, 1 9 7 5 ) provides not only an important study o f the role o f labour in Kenyan politics, but also contributes a good deal to an understanding o f the factional basis of Kenyan politics. But perhaps the most important study o f independent Kenyan politics is Geoff Lamb's Peasant politics (London, 1 9 7 4 ) , a case study o f politics at grass-roots level in one K i k u y u district that illuminates the nature o f centre-locality. C. J . Gertzel, M. Goldschmidt and D . Rothchild (eds.), Govern­ ment and politics in Kenya (Nairobi, 1 9 6 9 ) , provides a useful guide to the working of government but t w o government reports are also essential reading: Report of the Mai%e Commission of Inquiry ( 1 9 6 6 ) , and Report of the Commission of Inquiry {Public Service Structure and Remuneration) 1970-71 (Ndegwa report). Y . P. Ghai and J . P. McAuslan's Public law and political change in Kenya (Nairobi, 1 9 7 0 ) is an authoritative account of the manner in which 864

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institutional change has assisted in the centralisation of power in Kenya, and Goran Hyden and Colin Leys's * Elections and politics in single-party systems: the case of Kenya and Tanzania' in the British Journal of Political Science, October 1 9 7 2 , provides a critical analysis of the trend to authoritarian rule that characterises the region as a whole. Of the extensive literature on East African regional association, mention can be made only of three books: Donald Rothchild's Politics of integration: an East African documentary (Nairobi, 1 9 6 8 ) reproduces extracts from basic documents covering the history of East African association and is a useful guide to the literature. Colin Leys and Peter Robson's Federation in East Africa (Nairobi, 1 9 6 5 ) covers the efforts to establish a federation in the early 1 9 6 0 s , and A r t h u r Hazlewood's Economic integration: the East African experience (London, 1 9 7 5 ) surveys the strengths and weaknesses of the East African economic association up to the eve of its collapse in the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s . The most succinct analysis of the East African economies up to 1963 is probably B. van Arkadie and D. Ghai's chapter in P. Robson and D. A. Lury, The economies of Africa (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , and for the post-colonial state, R. H. Green's article 'Ugandans pre­ pare to work for progress', in East Africa Journal, August 1 9 6 6 , and B. van Arkadie's chapter on Tanganyika in M. Faber and D. Seers, Crisis in planning, vol. 3 (Sussex, 1 9 7 2 ) are particularly useful. T. Szentes, ' Economic policy and implementation prob­ lems in Tanzania: a case study', in African perspectives, edited by C. Allen and W . Johnson (Cambridge, 1 9 7 1 ) , provides a percep­ tive critique of the impact of foreign capital on the Tanzanian political economy by a Marxist economist. Rural development in post-Arusha Tanzania is dealt with in a number of contributions to Cliffe and Saul's volumes on Socialism in Tanzania cited above, and in the volume on Rural cooperation in Tanzania produced by the Rural Development Committee at the University of Dar es Salaam. The most perceptive critique of ujamaa is G o r a n Hyden's 'Ujamaa, villagisation and rural development in Tanzania', in the Overseas Development Review for April 1 9 7 5 . The ILO's Employment, incomes and equality: a strategy for increasing productive employment in Kenya (Geneva, 1 9 7 2 ) , provides a good deal of material on both social as well as economic change in independent Kenya, and Colin Leys's Underdevelopment in Kenya 865

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cited above is a perceptive critique from a neo-Marxist perspective of Kenya's capitalist development strategy and her neo-colonial dependency. The volume edited by Judith Heyer, J . K . Maitha and W . M. Senga, Agricultural development in Kenya, an economic assessment (Nairobi, 1 9 7 1 ) is the most authoritative survey of the agricultural economy. Christopher Wrigley's chapter on 'Changes in East African society' in v o l . I l l of the History of East Africa must stand out for its sensitive and authoritative analysis of social change, drawing upon not only his o w n w o r k but also on that of the outstanding group of social scientists associated with the East African Institute of Social Research at Makerere. Elite formation at the national level is the subject of Aidan Southall's chapter in P. C. Lloyd (ed.), New elites of tropical Africa (Oxford, 1 9 6 6 ) , and at grass-roots level in a fascinating study of grass-roots change in a northern district in Joan Vincent's more recent African elite: the big man of a small town (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 1 ) . M. P. K . Sorrenson's Land reforms in the Kikuyu country (Nairobi, 1 9 6 7 ) provides an essential introduction to the history of land alienation and the independence land settlement which was the basis for the emer­ gence of the Kikuyu bourgeoisie which R. van Zwanenberg identifies in his ' Neo-colonialism and the origin of the national bourgeoisie in Kenya between 1940 and 1 9 7 3 ' , in Journal of Eastern African Research and Development, 1 9 7 4 , vol. 4 , no. 2. The best analyses of post-colonial society are Colin Leys's 'Politics in Kenya: the development of peasant society', in the British Journal of Political Science, July 1 9 7 1 , v o l . 1, and Walter Elkan's 'Is a proletariat emerging in Nairobi?', in Economic Development and Cultural Change, 196J-7J, vol. 2 4 . For the role of labour in the colonial state, a wealth of detailed information is available in Anthony Clayton and Donald Savage's Government and labour in Kenya 189J-1963 (London, 1 9 7 4 ) ; in W. H. Friedland's Vuta Kamba: the development of trade unions in Tanganyika (Stanford, 1 9 6 9 ) ; and Walter Elkan's Migrants and proletarians: urban labour in the economic development of Uganda (London, 1 9 6 1 ) . Finally the most sensitive introduction to the role of education in the process of class formation is David Court's ' Education as social control: the response to inequality in Kenya and Tanzania', in the Journal of Modern African Studies, January 1 9 7 7 . The source material for Central Africa is a good deal more 866

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uneven, and for Malawi a good deal more limited. Patrick Keatley's The politics of partnership (Harmonds worth, 1 9 6 3 ) pro­ vides the most useful introduction; Richard Gray's The two nations: aspects of the development of race relations in Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Westport, Conn., 1 9 7 4 ) is an analysis of economic and social history up to 1 9 5 3 , and Philip Mason's Year of decision: Rhodesia and Nyasaland in i960 (London, i 9 6 0 ) continues the story up to i 9 6 0 . L. H. Gann's History of Northern Rhodesia: early days to 19j3 (London, 1964) is a detailed and complex account of that territory, and three studies of Rhodesia complement each other: Colin Leys's European politics in Southern Rhodesia (Oxford, 1 9 5 9 ) , Larry Bowman's Politics in Rhodesia: white power in an African state (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 7 3 ) , and Giovanni Arrighi's The political economy of Rhodesia (The Hague, 1 9 6 7 ) , which is essential for its analysis of politics and class formation. Claire Palley's The constitutional history and law of Southern Rhodesia (Oxford, 1 9 6 6 ) is a major contribution to our understanding of the law and working of the formal structure of government up to UDL Robert Rotberg's Rise of nationalism in Central Africa: the making of Malawi and Zambia, 1873-1964 (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 5 ) remains the most informative introduction to the growth of African nationalism across the region as a whole. The most detailed and authoritative study of Zambian nationalism is David Mulford's Zambia: the politics of independence, 19J7-1964 (London, 1 9 6 7 ) . The most perceptive study of African politics on the Copperbelt remains however A. L. Epstein's Politics in an urban African community (Manchester, 1958) a study of Zambia's miners in the context of social change in the 1950s. Ian Henderson's un­ published Ph.D. thesis,' Labour and politics in Northern Rhodesia 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 5 3 ' (Edinburgh University, 1 9 7 7 ) adds significantly to but in no way supersedes Epstein's study. Elena Berger's Labour, race and colonial rule (Oxford, 1 9 7 4 ) provides a detailed analysis of colonial labour policy for the Copperbelt. There is as yet no full-length study of African politics in Rhodesia, although t w o useful accounts by Rhodesian African politicians are Ndabaningi Sithole's African nationalism (Cape Town, 1 9 5 9 ) and Nathan Shamuyarira's Crisis in Rhodesia (London, 1 9 6 5 ) . Nor is there any major study of African nationalism in Malawi, although Clyde Sanger's Central African emergency (London, i 9 6 0 ) is a fascinating eye-witness account of 867

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the 1 9 5 9 Emergency by one of Africa's most sensitive and experienced journalists; and the Report of the Nyasaland Commission of Inquiry 19J8-J9, Cmnd 8 1 4 (London, H M S O , 1 9 5 9 ) (the Devlin Report) provides a vivid account of mass nationalism. Richard Hall's The high price of principles, especially the second edition (Harmondsworth, 1 9 7 3 ) , identifies better than any other source the dynamics of nationalist politics and the basic issues at stake in independent Zambia, while William Tordoff edited Politics in Zambia (Manchester, 1 9 7 4 ) , a valuable collection of essays on political development between 1 9 6 4 and the introduction of the one-party state in 1 9 7 2 . Donald Rothchild's 'Rural-urban inequalities and resource allocation in Zambia', in the Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, 1 9 7 2 , vol. 1 0 , no. 3, documents the rural-urban cleavages which remain the focus of Zambian politics, and Jan Pettman provides a useful study of the implications of her front-line position for Zambia's foreign and domestic policies. Although there is a good deal less available on the politics of Malawi, useful insights are provided by R. Hodder-Williams's 'Dr Banda's Malawi', in the Journal of Commonwealth and Com­ parative Politics, March 1 9 7 4 . Banda (London, 1 9 7 4 ) , Philip Short's stimulating biography of Malawi's president, is also a perceptive analysis of the country's political system. The most perceptive study of Rhodesia focussed upon UDI is Robert Good's UDI: the international politics of the Rhodesian rebellion (London, 1 9 7 3 ) , and for the years since 1 9 6 5 , R. W . Johnson's How longcan South Africa survive?(Oxford, 1 9 7 7 ) . William Barber's The economy of British Central Africa: a case study of economic development in a dualistic society (London, 1 9 6 1 ) remains the most extensive treatment of the economy of the region as a whole, although his concept of dualism has been seriously challenged. W. L. Taylor's chapter, 'The economy of Central Africa', in Robson and Lury's The economies of Africa concentrates on the ten years of the Central African federation. Phyllis Deane's Colonial social accounting (Cambridge, 1 9 5 3 ) is a detailed study of the economies of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the late 1940s which emphasises the village economy and its importance in Central African economic life, and at the same time provides important insights into the nature of social change. Deane's article, 'The industrial revolution in British Central Africa', in Civilisations, vol. 12 (Brussels, 1962) also provides an authoritative 868

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introduction to industrial development in Central Africa in the 1950s. Robert Baldwin's Economic development and export growth: a study of Northern Rhodesia 1920-1960 (Berkeley, 1966) is the most authoritative study of the g r o w t h of that economy, and Arthur Hazlewood and P. D. Henderson's Nyasaland: the economics of federation (Oxford, 1965) is indispensable for an understanding of Malawi's colonial economic legacy. The most important, if not the most comprehensive, treatment of the Rhodesian political economy is Arrighi's The political economy of Rhodesia cited above, while his * Labour supplies in historical perspective: a study of the proletarianization of the African peasantry in Rhodesia', first published in English in The Journal of Development Studies, April 1 9 7 0 , no. 3, challenges the basic assumptions of Barber's w o r k quoted above and provides a radical analysis of the impact of European economic systems on the predominantly agricultural African societies of that territory. Economic development in the early years of independence in Zambia is best followed in the collection of essays, Constraints on the economic development of Zambia (Nairobi, 1 9 7 1 ) , edited by Charles Elliot, although the most stimulating introduction to the Zambian political economy is surely Anthony Martin's account of the economic reforms of 1 9 6 8 - 6 9 , Minding their own business (Harmondsworth, 1 9 7 5 ) ; while Richard Sklar in his Corporate power in an African state (Berkeley, 1 9 7 5 ) has produced a major study of the mining companies which have dominated the economy. A good deal less information is available for Malawi since independence. D. H. Humphrey's Malawi since 1964: economic development, progress and problems (Zomba, 1 9 7 4 ) and Kathryn Morton's Aid and dependence (London, 1 9 7 5 ) provide an overview, the latter with a good deal of basic data on Malawi's aid relations. The most useful introduction to Malawi's development strategies is however the government's o w n Statement of development policies 1971—1980. As at Makerere in Kampala so at the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute in Livingstone and then Lusaka, a distinguished group of social scientists over the 1940s and 1950s produced an outstanding body of literature on social and economic change, in both rural and urban Central Africa. The crucial process of urbanisation is treated in a succession of fine monographs, of which mention here can be made only of G. and M, Wilson's An 869

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essay in the economics of detribalisation (Livingstone, 1 9 4 1 - 2 ) and Epstein's Urban politics cited above, while J . Clyde Mitchell's The Kalela dance (Manchester, 1 9 5 6 ) must now stand as the classic analysis of ethnicity in the urban situation. For the post-colonial state, Robert H. Bates's Rural responses to industrialisation: a study of village Zambia (New Haven, 1 9 7 6 ) provides a detailed analysis of the relations between town and country, and the effects of industrialisation on rural life. The most useful introduction to the relationship between the Central African states and South Africa and their place in southern Africa is K. Grundy's Confrontation and accommodation in southern Africa (Berkeley, 1 9 7 3 ) , and to B. Mtshali's and A. Hughes's chapters, on Zambia and Malawi respectively, in Cervenka's Land-lockedcountries ofAfrica (Uppsala, 1 9 7 3 ) . Malawi's relations with South Africa receive special attention in Caroline McMaster's Malawi: foreign policy and development (New Y o r k , 1974). 9.

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There are good bibliographical guides to all of the territories in the Horn. H. G. Marcus, The modern history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa: a select and annotated bibliography (Stanford, 1 9 7 2 ) covers the whole region. For Ethiopia, there are t w o further general bibliographies, A. Hidaru and D. Rahmato, A short guide to the study of Ethiopia (London, 1 9 7 6 ) and C. F. Brown, Ethiopian perspectives: bibliographical guide to the history of Ethiopia (Westport, 1 9 7 8 ) . A separate brief bibliography of Eritrea is available in K. Chekole, 'Eritrea: a preliminary bibliography', Africana Journal, 1 9 7 5 - 6 , vol. 6. Somalia is covered in M. K. Salad, Somalia: a bibliographical survey (London, 1 9 7 2 ) , and the literature on Djibouti is discussed in W . S. Clarke, 'The Republic of Djibouti: an introduction to Africa's newest state and a review of related literature and sources', Current Bulletin of African Affairs, 1 9 7 7 - 8 , vol. 1 0 . The Second World War: The campaigns of 1 9 4 0 - 1 and the subsequent British administrations of occupied territories have been described in contemporary official publications, notably The Abyssinian campaigns (London, 1942), The first to be freed (London, 1944), and Lord Rennell of Rodd, British military administration of occupied territories in Africa, 1941-4/ (London, 1948). George 870

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Steer, Sealed and delivered (London, 1 9 4 2 ) is a contemporary account of the campaign by a British journalist with a strong sympathy for the Ethiopian cause. No adequate history of the Ethiopian resistance has been published, the most detailed avail­ able account being in Richard Greenfield, Ethiopia: a new political history (London, 1 9 6 5 ) . Ethiopia The official gazette, Negarit Ga^eta, has been published since 1 9 4 2 in Amharic and English, and includes all legislation and major government appointments. Other useful series of official docu­ ments include Statistical abstract (Central Statistical Office, 1 9 6 3 onwards), surveys of the various provinces (CSO, 1 9 6 6 - 6 8 ) , Land tenure surveys of the provinces (Ministry of Land Reform, 1 9 6 7 - 7 0 ) , and the Administrative directory produced by the Imperial Ethiopian Institute of Public Administration at t w o - or three-year intervals from May 1 9 5 7 until the late 1960s. There are no census records or published parliamentary papers, and economic information is most easily gained from the regular series published by the United Nations, though Economic progress of Ethiopia (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 195 5) is useful for the post-war period. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has published Ethiopia: a preliminary survey ( 1 9 5 0 ) , Economy of Ethiopia: main report ( 1 9 6 7 ) , and Economic growth and prospects in Ethiopia (1970). Ethiopian central government between 1 9 4 1 and 1 9 7 4 has been fairly fully covered. Margery Perham, The government of Ethiopia (London, 1 9 4 8 , second edition, 1 9 6 9 ) is largely concerned with the period before 1 9 3 6 , but also discusses the changes made after 1 9 4 1 , and the second edition includes a postscript on developments in the intervening two decades. Christopher Clapham, HaileSelassie's government (London, 1969) treats the development of the central government between 1 9 4 1 and 1 9 6 7 in some detail, while J . Markakis, Ethiopia: anatomy of a traditional polity (Oxford, 1 9 7 4 ) is a more general analysis of the development of Ethiopian society and politics up to the eve of the 1 9 7 4 revolution. P. Schwab, Decision-making in Ethiopia (London, 1 9 7 2 ) , deals only with a single issue, the agricultural income tax of 1 9 6 7 , but is particularly useful in following through its attempted implementation in the countryside. 871

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G. A . Lipsky et al., Ethiopia: its people, its society, its culture (New Haven, 1962), and Robert L. Hess, Ethiopia: the modernisation of autocracy (Ithaca, 1970), are both useful general introductions drawn largely from secondary sources. The only general history of Ethiopia covering the modern period, Greenfield's Ethiopia, cited above, concentrates heavily on the t w o post-war decades and especially on the attempted coup d'etat of i960, an incident also discussed in Clapham, ' The Ethiopian coup d'etat of December i 9 6 0 ' , Journal of Modern African Studies, 1968. The only available biographies of leading Ethiopians during the period are, un­ surprisingly, of Haile Selassie himself. L. Mosley, Haile Selassie: the conquering lion (London, 1964) is uncritical in treatment and almost entirely confined to the pre-1941 period, whereas P. Schwab, Haile Selassie I: Ethiopia's Lion of Judah (New Y o r k , 1979), takes a more critical end-of-reign perspective. Christopher Clapham, 'Ethiopia', in R. Lemarchand (ed.), African kingships in perspective (London, 1977) discusses his political role. His Selected speeches 1918-196/ have also been published (Addis Ababa, 1967). The dramatic events of 1974 and their aftermath have produced a large literature, amongst which may be mentioned C. Legum, Ethiopia: the fall of Haile Selassie's empire (London, 1975), and M. and D. Ottaway, Ethiopia: empire in revolution (New Y o r k , 1978). Patrick Gilkes, The dying lion (London, 1975) is despite its title largely concerned with the pre-revolutionary period, and includes useful material on the political economy of the imperial regime and on opposition to Haile Selassie. The often polemical literature on the nature and policies of the post-revolutionary regime lies beyond the period covered by this essay. Local and provincial government has been very little studied, the outstanding exception being J . M. Cohen and P. H. Koehn, Ethiopian provincial and municipal government: imperial patterns and postrevolutionary changes (East Lansing, 1980). Other material on local politics includes C. B. Rosen,' The Governor-General of Tigre Province: structure and antistructure', in H. G. Marcus (ed.), Proceedings cited below, and P. T. W . Baxter, ' Ethiopia's unacknowledged problem: the O r o m o ' (African Affairs, 1978). The ethnographic literature includes t w o outstanding studies of the Amhara, D. N. Levine, Wax and gold: tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture (Chicago, 1965), and A . Hoben, Land tenure among the Amhara of Ethiopia (Chicago, 1973). Levine's Greater 872

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Ethiopia: the evolution of a multiethnic society (Chicago, 1974) is a more speculative and controversial volume. Ethnographic writing on other Ethiopian peoples, including the Afar, Dassanetch, Gurage, K o n s o , Majangir, Mursi, O r o m o (Galla) and Tigreans, falls beyond the scope of this essay. Rural society and economic change has been examined in several studies, the best general overview being J . M. Cohen and D. Weintraub, Land and peasants in imperial Ethiopia : the social background to a revolution ( Assen, 1975). One particular development project, the Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU), has received a disproportionate amount of attention, including books by M. Stahl, Ethiopia: political contradictions in agricultural development (Stockholm, 1974) and B. Nekby, CADU: an Ethiopian experiment in developing peasant farmings and articles by J . M. Cohen in Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1974, and the Journal of Developing Areas, 1975. L. Bondestam, 'People and capitalism in the north-eastern lowlands of Ethiopia' (Journal of Modern African Studies, 1974) examines one of the most dynamic areas of Ethiopian cash-crop farming. In addition to the IBRD reports already noted, a useful outline of the economy appears in Assefa Bequele and Eshetu Choie, A profile of the Ethiopian economy (Nairobi, 1969), while G. J . Gill, Readings on the Ethiopian economy (Addis Ababa, 1974) is a sourcebook for student use. J . Halpern, 'La Planification et le développement en Ethiopie après la deuxième guerre mondiale' {Culture et Développement, 1974) deals with government economic policy, and Teketel Haile-Mariam, 'The impact of coffee on the economy of Ethiopia', in S. R. Pearson et al., Commodity exports and African economic development (Lexington, 1974) discusses the role of the principal export crop. Chapters on urbanisation in Ethiopia appear in several general collections, by B. Winid in R. Jones, Essays on worldurbanisation (London, 1975), by J . J . Palen in A. H. Richmond and D. Kubat, Internal migration (London, 1976), and by P. and E. F. K o e h n in R. A. Obudho and S. ElShakh, Development of urban systems in Africa (New Y o r k , 1979). On education, Helen Kitchen (ed.), The educated African (London, 1962) provides the best general overview of the period up to i960, while Teshome G. Wagaw, Education in Ethiopia: retrospect and prospect (Ann A r b o r , 1979), gives a post-imperial perspective. For further appraisals see the articles by O. D. Hoerr in East African 873

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Economic Review, 1 9 7 4 , and by M. N. Lovegrove in Comparative Education, 1 9 7 3 . Periodicals on Ethiopia, publication of which was affected by the 1 9 7 4 revolution and subsequent upheavals, include Ethiopia Observer ( 1 9 5 7 - ) , Journal of Ethiopian Studies ( 1 9 6 3 - ) , Journal of Ethiopian Law (1964— ), and Ethiopian Journal of Education ( 1 9 6 7 - ). Finally, the papers delivered at the occasional con­ ferences on Ethiopian studies have been published in widely scattered places: the First International Conference (Rome, 1 9 5 9 ) , in E. Cerulli (ed.), Atti del Convegno Internationale di Studi Etiopici (Rome, i 9 6 0 ) ; the Second International Conference (Manchester, 1 9 6 3 ) , in Journal of Semitic Studies, 1 9 6 4 , v o l . 9, no. 1 ; the Third International Conference (Addis Ababa, 1 9 6 6 ) , in R. K . P. Pankhurst, ed., Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Ababa, 1 9 6 9 - 7 0 ) ; the Fourth International Conference (Rome, 1 9 7 2 ) , in IV Congresso Internationale di Studi Etiopici (Problemi Attuali di Scient(a e di Cultura, Quaderno no. 191) (Rome, 1 9 7 4 , 2 vols); this was followed by an American conference, published in H. G . Marcus (ed.), Proceedings of the First United States Conference on Ethiopian Studies, 1973 (East Lansing, 1 9 7 5 ) ; the Fifth International Conference was divided into t w o sections, the first (Nice, December 1 9 7 7 ) published in J . Tubiana (ed.), Modern Ethiopia: from the accession of Menelik II to the present. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Rotterdam, 1980), the Second (Chicago, April 1 9 7 8 ) in R. L. Hess (ed.), Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Session B (Chicago, 1 9 7 9 ) . The Sixth International Conference was held in Tel A v i v in April 1 9 8 0 , and the Seventh in Lund, Sweden, in April 1 9 8 2 .

Eritrea Material specifically on Eritrea falls into t w o groups, that on the post-war British administration and the disposal of the territory by the United Nations, and that on the liberation movements from the mid-1960s onwards. On the first period, G . K . N. Trevaskis, Eritrea: colony in transition, 1941-19/2 (London, i 9 6 0 ) was written by a British administrator, E. S. Pankhurst and R. K . P. Pankhurst, Ethiopia and Eritrea: the last ten years of the reunion struggle, 1941-19j2 (Woodford, Essex, 1 9 5 3 ) by t w o dedicated supporters 874

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of unification with Ethiopia. Articles by L. Ellingson in the Journal of African History, 1 9 7 7 , and by Tiruneh Andargatchew in Northeast African Studies, 1 9 8 0 - 1 , look at the period with the benefit of hindsight. For t w o books on the later period, see A. Fenet et al., La Question de /'Erythrée (Paris, 1 9 7 9 ) and R. Sherman, Eritrea: the unfinished revolution (New Y o r k , 1980). A large number of pamphlets and articles cover much the same ground, as do several of the works noted under International Relations. Somalia The Somali Republic must rank among the lowest o f African states in terms o f its level o f academic coverage, and material on many aspects o f its modern history is sparse. The immediate post-war period is documented in the British official publications, and for the period of its trusteeship the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a detailed annual Rapport du Gouvernement Italien à l Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies sur r administration de tutelle de la Somalie (Rome, 1 9 5 1 - 9 ) ; the British Colonial Office reports on the Somaliland Protectorate are much briefer and appeared biennially. Aspects of the transfer of power are also discussed in G. A . Costanzo, Problemi costitu^ionali della Somalia nella prepa­ ration airindipenden%a, 19J7-1960 (Milan, 1962), and D . Hall, *Somaliland's last year as a Protectorate', African Affairs, 1 9 6 1 . The most useful Somali government publication is Statistical abstract (Mogadishu, 1 9 6 4 - ) . y

There is, fortunately, an excellent general history, I. M. Lewis, A modern history of Somalia (London, second revised edition, 1980), and the same author has written extensively on Somali politics and society, including A pastoral democracy (London, 1 9 6 1 ) , ' T h e politics of the 1969 Somali coup ', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 2 , 'The nation, state and politics in Somalia', in D . R. Smock (ed.), The search for national integration in Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 5 ) , and Abaar: the Somali drought (London, 1 9 7 5 ) . The strong connexions between Somali culture, society and politics are made clear by D. D. Laitin, Politics, language and thought: the Somali experience (Chicago, 1 9 7 2 ) , and also by B. W . Andrzejewski and I. M. Lewis, Somali poetry (Oxford, 1964). The fullest analysis o f the changes undertaken by the post-1969 military government is P. Decraene, L*Expérience socialiste somalienne (Paris, 1 9 7 7 ) , but see 875

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also D. D. Laitin, 'The political economy of military rule in Somalia', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 7 6 . V . G . Solodovnikov, Ucenye Zapiski Sovetsjo-Somalijskoj Ekspedicii (Moscow, 1 9 7 4 ) provides a Soviet view of post-1969 social and economic development during a period when relations with Somalia were close. A . A . Castagno, in Helen Kitchen (ed.), The educated African (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 2 ) surveys educational development up to independence. The considerable literature on Somalia's international relations, and especially on the 'Somali dispute', is surveyed in a later section. CFS/TFAI The available material on Djibouti is dominated by t w o substantial volumes, V . Thompson and R. Adloff, Djibouti and the Horn of Africa (Stanford, 1968), and P. Oberlé, Afars et Somalis: le dossier de Djibouti (Paris, 1 9 7 1 ) . The subsequent political development of the microstate can be followed in articles by Shilling {Journal of Developing Areas, 1 9 7 3 ) , Marks {African Affairs, 1 9 7 4 ) , Leymarie {Revue Ffrançaised'ÉtudesPolitiques Africaines, 1 9 7 7 ) , and K . Shehim & J . Shearing {African Affairs, 1980).

International Relations The international relations literature is overwhelmingly domin­ ated by the conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia which, though breaking out into large scale warfare only after the period covered by this volume, was a consistent element in the politics of the region from 1 9 4 1 onwards. E. S. Pankhurst, Ex-Italian Somaliland (London, 1 9 5 1 ) , provides an early Ethiopian viewpoint geared to the disposal by the United Nations of the former Italian colonies, while Saadia Touval, Somali nationalism (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 3 ) and J . Drysdale, The Somali dispute (London, 1 9 6 4 ) , both take it from the post-independence Somali perspective. C. Hoskyns, The Ethiopia-Somalia-Kenya dispute 1960-196-7 (Dar es Salaam, 1 9 6 9 ) , and V . Matthies' monumental Die Gren^konflikt Somalias mit Aethiopien undKenya (Hamburg, 1 9 7 7 ) are concerned with the legal and diplomatic basis of the dispute. Finally, the war of 1 9 7 7 - 8 gave rise to a substantial literature, much of it concerned with the Horn as a whole, and especially with the level of external intervention. T w o volumes which go back into the historical 876 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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bases for the conflicts both in the Ogaden and in Eritrea are T. J . Farer, War clouds on the Horn of Africa (second revised edition, New Y o r k , 1 9 7 9 ) and Bereket Habte Selassie, Conflict and intervention in the Horn of Africa (New Y o r k , 1980), the latter being the w o r k of a committed Eritrean nationalist.

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T w o of the standard works on Egypt used by both scholars and general readers are The history of Egypt (London, second edition, 1980), by P. J . Vatikiotis and Egypt: imperialism and revolution (London, 1 9 7 2 ) by the eminent French scholar Jacques Berque. The first is a revised version of The modern history of Egypt, which appeared in 1 9 6 9 , and contains chapters on the nineteenth-century history of Egypt and the British occupation as well as on the reaction against Europe during the period from 1 9 3 0 to 1 9 5 0 . Additional chapters cover the period of the Second W o r l d W a r and the decline of the Wafd Party from 1 9 3 9 to 1 9 5 2 , the coup by Nasir and the Free Officers and political and social developments to 1 9 7 9 . Interestingly, the revised version contains a new final chapter on educational and cultural developments in the modern period, including comments on the w o r k of the playwright Tawflq al-Hakim, the novelist A b d al-Rahman alSharqawT and the educational writings of Mahmud A m l n al-Alem. Jacques Berque's study poses a useful contrast to the w o r k by Vatikiotis, in that it looks at the history of Egypt from the eyes of the indigenous citizens themselves. Sections on the history of imperialism and decolonisation are followed by a close examin­ ation of both peasant and village life, literature and social change as well as on political and economic developments. Another work by Vatikiotis, Nasser and his generation (London, 1 9 7 8 ) takes a closer look at the period following the 1 9 5 2 revolution, but it also includes material on Nasir's origins, the Y o u n g Egypt society and the Muslim brotherhood not easily available elsewhere. The Society of Muslim Brothers (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , by Richard P. Mitchell, remains a classic w o r k of its kind. Aside from discussing the origins, history and organisation of the brotherhood, it includes useful chapters on other Islamic organ­ isations in Egypt and the debate about the nature of an Islamic state. Students of class structure and class conflict will find t w o w o r k s «77 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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of particular use: Mahmoud Hussein's L'Egypte: lutte de classes et libération nationale (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) and Anouar Abdel-Malek's Egypte: société militaire (Paris, 1 9 6 2 ) . Both cover the growth of the Communist Party in the 1940s and the development o f class consciousness under Nâsir, as well as the conflicts between Nàsir, the party and the intellectuals. Finally, a new w o r k , Egypt : portrait of a president (London, 1 9 8 1 ) , by an Egyptian sociologist resident in Paris, Ghali Shoukri, brings the history of Egypt up to date and includes very useful material on both Sadat's domestic and foreign policies as well as on the growth of Islamic militancy in the late 1960s and early 1 9 7 0 s . Few satisfactory works exist on the modern history o f Libya, but t w o notable exceptions are J o h n Wright's Libya (London, 1969) and Ruth First's Libya : the elusive revolution (Harmondsworth, 1 9 7 4 ) . The first contains a good overview of the struggle for independence and of political and economic developments during the reign of King Idrïs. The second also includes material on the resistance to Italian colonisation, the independence movement and the role of the United Nations, but in addition includes sections on the role of the army after the 1 9 6 9 coup, the growth of religious ideology and Qadhdhâfï's relations with his A r a b and African neighbours. La Libye nouvelle: rupture et continuité (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) contains essays by several notable French scholars on everything from the geography and history of Libya to the status of women and changes in rural society. Another work, published by CNRS a year earlier, Villes et sociétés au Maghreb: études sur l'urbanisation, includes an essay by B. Atallah and M. Fikry on ' Le phénomène urbain en Libye: problèmes juridiques et sociaux'. P. M. Holt's A modem history of the Sudan from the Funj Sultanate to the present day (London, second edition, 1963) remains the classic w o r k on the Sudan. More recent developments are covered by Anthony Sylvester, in Sudan under Nimeiri (London, 1 9 7 7 ) , although critics of the president will find little comfort for their views here. T w o other works are essential for an understanding of the civil w a r : The Southern Sudan by Mohamed Orner Beshir (Khartoum, 1 9 6 8 ) and The secret war in the Sudan: 19jj-1972 by Edgar O'Ballance (London, 1 9 7 7 ) . Islam in the Sudan (London, 1 9 6 5 ) by J . Spencer Trimingham is invaluable for students of the Brotherhoods and their role in society and politics. Islam, nationalism and communism in a traditional society (London, 1 9 7 8 ) , 878

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despite its title, is mainly a history o f the Communist Party in the Sudan and contains documents on the rise and decline of the party not obtainable elsewhere. While many of the above-mentioned books cover economic development as well as politics and history, the w o r k s of t w o Middle Eastern economic historians, Robert Mabro and Patrick O'Brien, are also useful. The first has written an essay on 'Libya' in Wilfred K n a p p (ed.), North West Africa: a political and economic survey (London, third edition, 1 9 7 7 ) , and together with Patrick O'Brien contributed an article on 'Structural changes in the Egyptian economy, 1 9 3 7 - 1 9 6 5 ', to a w o r k edited by M. A . Cook entitled Studies in the economic history of the Middle East (London, 1 9 7 0 ) . O'Brien has also written an essay on ' T h e long-term growth of agricultural production in Egypt: 1 8 2 1 - 1 9 6 2 ' , pub­ lished in P. M. Holt (ed.), Political and social change in modern Egypt (London, 1968). Social anthropologists and students o f tribal societies will fund the extensive w o r k s of E. E. Evans-Pritchard on the Nuer, Shilluk and Azande of the Sudan and on The Sanussi of Cyrenaica (Oxford, 1949) indispensable. Finally, mention must also be made of the numerous annual reviews and yearbooks published on the Middle East and Africa, some of which contain useful general summaries of historical and economic developments in the post-war era. A m o n g these are The Middle East and North Africa published annually since the early 1 9 5 0 s by Europa Publications, London, and Africa Guide and the Middle East Annual Review published each year by W o r l d o f Information Ltd., Saffron Walden (England). The Middle East Yearbook 1980 (International Communications Ltd., London), contains a series of valuable essays on political, economic and social change in Libya, Egypt and the Sudan in the 1 9 7 0 s by several well-known African, A r a b and western scholars.

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The most useful reference w o r k on the contemporary Maghrib is the Annuaire de l'Afrique du Nord, published since 1962 by the Centre de Recherches et d'Études sur les Sociétés Méditerrané­ ennes of the University of Aix-Marseille III. In addition to systematic and critical bibliographies, political, diplomatic, econ­ omic, and social commentaries on each country, and related 879

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documentation, it assembles academic articles each year around a common theme. Maghreb, published by the Documentation Française, was more useful between 1 9 6 4 and 1 9 7 3 than subse­ quently, when as Maghreb-Machreq its coverage of the Maghrib was progressively diminished. The best general survey of the area is Wilfrid K n a p p , North West Africa: a political and economic survey, (London, third edition, 1 9 7 7 ) , though Charles F. Gallagher, The United States and North Africa (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 3 ) is still w o r t h consulting, as is Jean Despois, U Afrique du Nord (Paris, 1 9 6 4 ) . The only w o r k s , however, that have attempted systematically to compare and explain national processes of development and political change in the three countries are Clement Henry Moore, Politics in North Africa (Boston, 1 9 7 0 ) and Elbaki Hermassi, Leadership and national development in North Africa (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 9 7 2 ) . Douglas Ashford, t o o , tried to attribute differences in specific policy areas to differences in the respective regimes treated in his National development and local reform'.politicalparticipationin Morocco, Tunisia, and Pakistan (Princeton, 1 9 6 7 ) . Another promising approach to the area is that o f political anthropology, best exemplified in Ernest Gellner and Charles Micaud (eds.), Arabs and Berbers (London, 1 9 7 3 ) . The most stimulating political study of the pre-independence period remains Charles-André Julien, L'Afrique du Nord en marche (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) , supplemented by an excellent critical bibliography in the third edition ( 1 9 7 2 ) . In an equally penetrating, but more phenomenological vein is Jacques Berque, French North Africa, translated by Jean Stewart (London, 1 9 6 7 ) , while standard political history, country by country, is covered by Roger Le Tourneau, Évolution politique de l'Afrique du Nord musulmane, 1920-1961 (Paris, 1 9 6 2 ) . Nationalism in each country is also treated separately in L. J . Duclos, L. Duvignaud, and J . Leca, Les Nationalismes maghrébins (Études Maghrébines 7, Paris, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1 9 6 6 ) . Further case studies include, for Algeria : André Nouschi, La Naissance du nationalisme Algérien (Paris, 1 9 6 2 ) , Colette and Francis Jeanson, L'Algérie hors la loi (Paris, second edition, 1 9 5 6 ) , and William B. Quandt, Revolution and political leadership: Algeria, 19j4-1968 (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 9 ) ; for Morocco: J o h n P. Halstead, Rebirth of a nation: the origins and rise of Moroccan nationalism, 1912-1944 (Cambridge, 880

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Mass., 1 9 6 7 ) ; Robert Rézette, Les Partis politiques marocains (Paris, 1 9 5 5 ) , and Stéphane Bernard, The Franco-Moroccan conflict (New Haven, Conn., 1 9 6 8 ) ; for Tunisia: Charles A . Micaud, Leon Carl Brown and Clement Henry Moore, Tunisia: the politics of modernisation (London, 1 9 6 4 ) . There have also been a number of political biographies of nationalist leaders. Jean Lacouture, Cinq hommes et la France (Paris, 1 9 6 1 ) provides vivid portraits of Mohammed V , Habib Bourguiba and Ferhat Abbas, while Ania Francos and Jean-Pierre Séréni offer an informative if somewhat less than critical account of the career of Un Algérien nomméBoumediène (Paris, 1 9 7 6 ) . Even more adulatory are Attilio Gaudio, Allai al-Fassi, ou l'histoire de l'Istiqlal (Paris, 1 9 7 2 ) , misleading by its very title, and Félix Garas, Bourguiba et la naissance d'une nation (Paris, 1 9 5 6 ) . The figures in question have done better by themselves in their respective works, Independence movements of North Africa (Washington, 1 9 5 4 ) and La Tunisie et la France (Paris, 1 9 5 4 ) . Their output of books and speeches has been prodigious; Al-Fassi's Al-naqd al-dhati (Cairo, 1 9 5 2 ) appeared in French translation in the newspaper Al-Istiqlal during the month of March, 1 9 5 7 . The Tunisian Ministry o f Information has regularly published Bourguiba's speeches since independence. A convenient selection o f Citations du Président Boumediène was edited by Khalfa Mameri (Algiers, 1 9 7 5 ) . Opposition leaders have also published their reminiscences and analyses: Ferhat Abbas, La Nuit coloniale (Paris, 1 9 6 2 ) , Mohammed Boudiaf, Où va l'Algérie? (Paris, 1 9 6 4 ) , Mehdi ben Barka, Option révolutionnaire au Maroc (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) , to cite but a few. Elite transformation during the colonial period has not elsewhere received the remarkable treatment o f Henri de Montety, 'Vieilles familles et nouvelle élite en Tunisie', translated by William I. Zartman for the volume he edited, Man, state and society in the contemporary Maghreb (London, 1 9 7 3 ) . Consequently there is no good baseline for subsequent comparisons, as Jean-Claude Vatin concludes from his monumental ' re-reading ' of the colonial period in L'Algérie politique, histoire et société (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) . Jean Morizot, L'Algérie kabylisée (Paris, 1 9 6 2 ) provides some indications o f the disproportion o f Kabyles occupying strategic positions, but the best sociological and anthropological studies o f Algeria have focussed on societal rather than élite transformations. Pierre Bourdieu, The Algerians (Boston, 1 9 6 2 ) , discusses changes 881

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induced by the insurrection from a perspective somewhat similar to that o f Frantz Fanon, A dying colonialism (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 5 ) , but both authors overestimated the changes in authority relationships within the family engendered by participation in the revolution. In Morocco, with the notable exception of A n d r é Adam, Casa­ blanca (Paris, 1 9 6 8 ) , the countryside received more attention than urban strata. One o f the more interesting monographs linking the t w o is J o h n Waterbury's study o f the Soussi merchants, North for the trade (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 9 7 2 ) . The straight ethno­ graphic w o r k o f Julio Caro Baroja, Estudios Saharianos (Madrid, 1 9 5 5 ) , was of course more appropriate for the Spanish Sahara. The only comparative study o f urban élites is found in Samir Amin, L* Économie du Maghreb (Paris, 1 9 6 6 ) , abridged in the translation by Michael Perl, The Maghreb in the modern world (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , but it is confined to indicators o f employment and income distribution. Yet despite such juridical works as Maurice Flory and Robert Mantran, Le Régime politique des pays arabes (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ) , the principal political studies o f the independent regimes have focussed on élites and their interactions. Perhaps the most outstand­ ing and certainly the most readable of these is J o h n Waterbury, Commander of the Faithful: the Moroccan political élite — a study of segmented politics (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , but the first part o f Rémy Leveau, Le Fellah marocain défenseur du trône (Paris, 1 9 7 6 ) , offers the explanation for the elite's apparently anachronistic behaviour that originally escaped Waterbury, namely the monarch's strategy with respect to rural élites. The most methodologically selfconscious of the élite studies is that o f Quandt, cited above; in contrast Jean Leca and Jean-Claude Vatin suggest a variety o f methods, from juridical and ideological to systemic analysis eclectically borrowed from Anglo-Saxon political scientists, for presenting their encyclopaedic study o f independent Algeria, L'Algérie politique: institutions et régime (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) . A somewhat uneven but provocative synthesis raising the question o f a ruling class is Bruno Etienne's L'Algérie, cultures et révolution (Paris, 1 9 7 7 ) . Tunisia's one-party system permitted a blending of élite and institutional analysis; Clement Henry Moore, Tunisia since independence: the dynamics of one-party government (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 9 6 5 ) , was more sceptical of the party's mobilisational efforts than Lars Rudebeck, Party and people (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 9 ) , whose approach was functionalist. 882 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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More recently the Centre de Recherches et d'Études sur les Sociétés Méditerranéennes has published t w o studies of the three national élites, La Formation des élites politiques maghrébines (Paris, 1 9 7 3 ) , and Élites, pouvoir et légitimité au Maghreb (Paris, 1 9 7 3 ) . Michel Camau, La Notion de démocratie dans la pensée des dirigeants maghrébins (Paris, 1 9 7 1 ) provides useful material for analysing their efforts to legitimate themselves; for Morocco, Clifford Geertz, Islam observed (New Haven, Conn., 1968), and Ernest Gellner, Saints of the Atlas (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , provide important clues. Other than Moore, Politics, and Ashford, National development, there are no systematic comparative attempts to correlate regimes with policies and strategies of development, but Leveau, Le Fellah, presents a fascinating case study, while Algeria and Tunisia seem most honestly served, respectively, by Gérard Viratelle, L'Algérie algérienne (Paris, second edition, 1 9 7 0 ) and, ideology aside, Jean Poncet, La Tunisie à la recherche de son avenir (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) . A n d r é Tiano, Le Maghreb entre les mythes (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ) offers useful comparative economic data, while Abdellatif Benachenhou, * Forces sociales et accumulation du capital au Maghreb ', Annuaire, 1 9 7 3 , vol. 1 2 , 3 1 5 - 4 2 , essentially concerns Algeria. A concise balance sheet of the performance of the Algerian economy since independence is given by Kader A m m o u r , Christian Leucate, and Jean-Jacques Moulin, La Voie algérienne (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) while the vagaries o f self-management, which elicited a number of studies, are treated most exhaustively by Gérard Duprat, Révolution et autogestion rurale en Algérie (Paris, 1 9 7 3 ) , in regional and national political contexts. Useful policy studies in Morocco include A n d r é Tiano, La Politique économique etfinancièredu Maroc indépendant (Paris, 1 9 6 3 ) , and William I. Zartman, Morocco: problems of new power (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 4 ) . Cultural trends and policies since independence constituted the focal theme of the Annuaire, 1 9 7 3 , vol. 1 2 , and Jean Dejeux has provided an exhaustive guide and bibliography o f Littérature maghrébine de langue française (Ottawa, 1 9 7 3 ) . Abdelkebir Khatibi, as perhaps befits a writer w h o is also a sociologist, limits his analysis to novels in Le Roman maghrébin (Paris, 1968), but has the advantage of including Arabic as well as French sources. Issues of Arabisation and cultural development have perhaps been discussed most extensively in Algeria, and Abdallah Mazouni, Culture et enseignement en Algérie et au Maghreb (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) , presents balanced views, as in a more historical perspective does Mostefa Lacheraf, Algérie: nation et société (Paris, 883

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1 9 6 5 ) . Contemporary Arabic thought may increasingly be shaped by Maghriban intellectuals such as Abdallah Laroui and Hichem Djaït, whose most mature works to date are, respectively, La Crise des intellectuels arabes (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) and La Personalité et le devenir arabo-islamiques (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) , just as discourse about Islam benefited from an earlier w o r k by the late Malek Bennabi, Vocation de rIslam (Paris, 1 9 5 4 ) .

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This is a brief selection of the numerous documents, books and articles o f the 1 4 countries o f francophone Africa. The early ones, written during o r immediately after the colonial period, discuss the countries as a block - o r frequently as t w o , A O F and A E F . General sources are few in the period after independence, as the countries themselves drew apart and built relations with neighbouring territories according to new social, economic and political imperatives, which had n o reference to their former connexions in one of the t w o colonial federations. After the mid-1960s, bibliographic material tends to refer to individual countries, and to concentrate on but a few, ignoring others. From 1 9 4 0 to i 9 6 0 , a number of sources provide useful information on French colonial policy and early political movements o f the entire area, o r one o f the t w o federations. A m o n g the classics on colonial policy are the books written by former colonial officials such as Lord Hailey and his French counterpart, Robert Delà vignette (see Lord Hailey, An African survey (London, 1 9 5 7 ) and Robert Delà vignette, Paysannerie et prolétariat (Paris, 1 9 4 8 ) o r Freedom and authority in French West Africa (Oxford, 1 9 5 0 ) . In the same vein, Henri Brunschwig, La Colonisation française (Paris, 1 9 4 9 ) and Henri Labouret, Colonisation, colonialisme, décolonisation (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) are also valuable sources of information on French colonial practices. Documentation Française (Paris) periodically issued studies, in its Notes et études documentaires, such as La République de Guinée (no. 3202, 1 9 6 5 ) ; La République de Haute Volta (no. 2 6 9 6 , i 9 6 0 ) ; La République du Mali (no. 2 7 3 9 , 1 9 6 1 ) ; and La République du Niger (no. 2638, i 9 6 0 ) . Background information on French policy, including geographic and economic data, may be found in Jacques Richard Molard, Afrique Occidentale Française (Paris, 884

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1 9 5 6 ) . Books by French scholars represent different political orientations and therefore have different interpretations of events and policies; such as Jean Suret-Canale, Afrique Noire, occidentale et centrale (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) , Gil Dugué, Vers les États-Unis dAfrique (Dakar, i 9 6 0 ) , Ernest Milcent, L'AOF entre en scène (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) , Hubert Deschamps, U Éveil politique africain (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) and André Blanchet, L'Itinéraire des partis africains depuis Bamako (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) . Kenneth Robinson, 'Constitutional reform in French Tropical Africa', Political Studies, 1 9 5 8 , v o l . 6, gave a valuable, although brief, perspective on the changing post-war institutions of the French colonies. Later sources with the advantages of more time to consider the content and impact of French colonial policy in this period provide invaluable material - see, for example, Michael Crowder, Colonial West Africa: collected essays (London, 1 9 7 8 ) ; Catherine Coquéry-Vidrovitch, 'Mutations de l'impérialisme colonial français dans les années 3 0 ' , African Economie History, 1 9 7 7 , vol. 4 ; A . S. Kanya-Forstner, The conquest of the Western Sudan (Cambridge, 1 9 6 9 ) ; Amidu Magasa, Papacommandant a jeté un grandfiletdevant nous: les exploités des rives du Niger 1900-1962 (Paris, 1 9 7 8 ) ; and J . R. de Benoist, La Balkanisation de l'Afrique occidentale française (Dakar, 1 9 7 8 ) and Lansiné Kaba's Wahabiyja: Islamic reform and politics in French West Africa (Evanston, 1 9 7 4 ) . The most detailed analysis in English on political movements in French-speaking West Africa (which also includes analysis of French colonial policy), is Ruth Schachter Morgenthau's Political parties in French-speaking West Africa (Oxford, 1 9 6 4 ) . Another book which gives sketches of political movements and specific political events in the A E F in the immediate pre-independence period is by Virginia Thompson and her husband Richard Adloff, The emerging states of French Equatorial Africa (Stanford, i 9 6 0 ) . Debates among scholars, particularly those writing in English, over the organisation and impact o f early African political movements, were sparked off by the w o r k s of Thomas Hodgkin, and Thomas Hodgkin and Ruth Schachter ; see Hodgkin, Nationalism in colonial Africa (London, 1 9 5 6 ) , African political parties (London, 1 9 6 1 ) , and Hodgkin and Schachter, 'French-speaking West Africa in transition', International Conciliation (May, i 9 6 0 ) . Politics in French-speaking Africa were also described using a development paradigm by James S. Coleman in ' T h e politics o f 885

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sub-Saharan Africa', in Gabriel A . Almond and James S. Coleman (eds.), The politics of developing areas (Princeton, i 9 6 0 ) . Many other writers provide valuable insights on late pre- (and early post-) independence politics. A m o n g these are Kenneth Robinson and W . J . M. Mackenzie, Five elections in tropical Africa (Oxford, i 9 6 0 ) , William J . Foltz, From French West Africa to the Mali Federation (New Haven, 1 9 6 5 ) . Writers on the economic problems of the area in the immediate post-colonial period include Elliot Berg, w h o wrote ' The econ­ omic basis of political choice in French West Africa', The American Political Sciences Review, June i 9 6 0 , and 'French West Africa' in Walter Galenson (ed.), Labor and economic development (New Y o r k , 1 9 5 9 ) . Economic information, as well as social and demographic data, was available from the Annuaires statistiques, published for the A O F and the A E F intermittently between the t w o world wars and in the pre-independence period. All countries published their o w n Annuaires statistiques in the post-independence period - not surprisingly countries with more administrative resources, including foreign assistance, produced statistics more regularly and reliably than their poorer neighbours. Thus, Senegal and the Ivory Coast offer considerable data, while Chad or Upper Volta d o not. A general source on economic developments in the region is A . G . Hopkins, An economic history of West Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) . C. Meillassoux wrote and edited useful anthropo­ logical studies, including UEsclavage en Afrique pré-coloniale (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) and Femmes, greniers et capitaux (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) . A decade after independence, scholars produced a variety of economic studies including country studies at the W o r l d Bank and general ones, such as Accelerated development in sub-Saharan Africa (Washington, 1 9 8 1 ) , and the annual World development report (Washington, DC). I. Ouedrago, M. D . Newman and D. W . Norman produced The farmer in the semi-arid tropics of West Africa: partially annotated bibliography (ICRISAT, Patancheru, India, 1 9 8 2 ) . Elliot Berg's 'Reforming grain marketing systems in West Africa' is one of the interesting economic studies in Proceedings of the International Workshop on Socio-economic Constraints to Development in Semi-arid Tropical Agriculture (ICRISAT, Patan­ cheru, India, 1980). Scholars with varying approaches to economic issues are increasingly focussing on specific sectors or regions. For example, some interesting recent studies are S. B. Baier's An 886

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economic history of Central Niger (Oxford, 1 9 8 0 ) ; Jane Guyer's * The food economy and French colonial rule in central Cameroun', Journal of African History, 1 9 7 8 , vol. 1 9 ; and J . M. Watts, ' A silent revolution: the nature of famine and the changing character of food production in Nigerian Hausaland', Ph.D. thesis, University of Michigan (Ann A r b o r , 1 9 7 9 ) . Data on the export sectors of the various national economies is available; for example, on the effects of the Lomé Convention, see Paule Bouvier, L'Europe et la coopération au développement (Brussels, 1980). Other post-independence w o r k s focus increasingly on specific countries. L'Afrique Noire politique et économique (Ediafrique, La Documentation Africaine, Paris, 1 9 7 7 ) gives basic data. Analysis can be found in James S. Coleman and Carl G. Rosberg (eds.), Political parties and national integration in tropical Africa (Berkeley, 1964) ; or the series of three volumes edited by Gwendolen Carter, African one-party states (Ithaca, 1 9 6 2 ) , Five African states: responses to diversity (Ithaca, 1 9 6 3 ) , National unity and regionalism in eight African states (Ithaca, 1 9 6 6 ) . A l s o relevant are: Peter Gutkind and Immanuel Wallerstein, The political economy of contemporary Africa (Beverly Hills, 1 9 7 6 ) ; Michael Lofchie, The state of the nations, constraints on development in independent Africa (Berkeley, 1 9 7 1 ) ; and J o h n Dunn (ed.), West African states, failure and promise (Cambridge, 1 9 7 8 ) . Turning to each of the 1 4 countries, the material available is uneven, and often by journalists recounting political crises, appearing in such sources as Le Mois en Afrique, Africa Report, Jeune Afrique, Présence Africaine and Marchés Tropicaux. Articles can also be found in the Journal of Modern African Studies and other scholarly journals. Jeune Afrique puts out a useful yearbook (Paris); so does Colin Legum (ed.), African contemporary record (New Y o r k ) and Africa south of the Sahara (London). Literature is substantial on the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroun. In regard to the I v o r y Coast, there are few studies on the pre-colonial and early colonial period; an exception is the study by F. J . A m o n d'Aby La Côte d'Ivoire dans la cité africaine (Paris, 1 9 5 1 ) . Claude Meillassoux's Anthropologie économique des Gouro de Côte d'Ivoire (Paris, 1 9 6 4 ) and T. Weiskel's French colonial rule and the Baule peoples (Oxford, 1980), are excellent additions to the literature. A thorough study of politics in the post-independence period was written by Aristide Zolberg, One-party government in the Ivory Coast 887

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(Princeton, 1 9 6 4 ) . This book analysed one-party democracy as practised in the Ivory Coast and illustrated major shifts in the role of the political party after independence. Zolberg later co-edited, with Philip Foster, another volume including in-depth political analyses of the Ivory Coast and its neighbour Ghana, Ghana and the Ivory Coast (Chicago, 1 9 7 1 ) . A n o t h e r interesting comparison between the impact of colonialism in an English colony and in a French one can be found in David Guyer, Ghana and the Ivory Coast: the impact of colonialism in an African setting (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) . More controversial is the critical study by Samir Amin, Le Développement du capitalisme en Côte d'Ivoire (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ) . Michael Cohen published a serious analysis of the growth of urbanisation in the Ivory Coast, Urban policy andpolitical conflict in Africa: a study of the Ivory Coast (Chicago, 1 9 7 4 ) . Jean-Louis Fyot, Méthode de planification: L'expérience de la Côte d'Ivoire (Paris, 1 9 7 2 ) , took an early look at planning there. Bastiaan den Tuinden published an economic study for the W o r l d Bank, Ivory Coast, the challenge of success (Baltimore, 1 9 7 8 ) . There is a wealth of sources on the pre-independence period in Senegal. Access to Senegal has been easy for scholars, particu­ larly for English-speakers venturing into francophone Africa. Because it is the oldest colony with a special political history, it has attracted analysts and historians of all nationalities. The following books are only a selected few of those available. V. Monteil's books and articles on Senegal, based on his long years in the country at the Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (IFAN) provide interesting material on politics and social change with a special emphasis on religion; see Monteil, Esquisses sénégalaises (Dakar, 1 9 6 6 ) . Several authors focussed on the Muslim brotherhoods which are powerful economically and politically in Senegal. A m o n g these are Cheikh Tidiane Sy, La Confrérie sénégalaise des Mourides (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) , Lucy Creevey (Behrman), Muslim Brotherhoods and politics in Senegal (Cambridge, 1 9 7 0 ) and Donal Cruise O'Brien, Saints and politicians (Cambridge, 1 9 7 5 ) . There have been a number of political histories of Senegal, among them one by Michael Crowder, Senegal: a study in French assimilation policy (London, 1 9 6 2 ) and more recent political studies such as François Zuccarelli, Un Parti politique africain: l'Union progressiste Sénégalaise (Paris, 1 9 7 0 ) , Pierre Gonidec, La République de Sénégal (Paris, 1 9 6 8 ) , and Edward J . Schumacher, Politics, bureaucracy and

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rural development in Senegal (Berkeley, 1 9 7 5 ) . A l l political studies analyse the strength of the rural areas, particularly the dominant groundnut zone. Thus the particular rural concentration by Schumacher, a political scientist, is also the focus o f works by V. Diarassouba, UÉvolution des structures agricoles du Sénégal (Paris, 1968) and J . L. Balans et al., Autonomie locale et intégration nationale au Sénégal (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) . The political philosophy of Leopold Sédar Senghor, négritude, has also received considerable attention, for example, by Irving Leonard Marko witz in Leopold Sédar Senghor and the politics of négritude (New Y o r k , 1969). W . A . E. Skurnik has written a study of foreign policy in Senegal, The foreign policy of Senegal (Evanston, 1 9 7 2 ) , concentrating on the conservative socialism of Senghor. Samir Amin wrote for Senegal, as he did for the Ivory Coast, a critical analysis from a radical perspective, see Le Monde des affaires sénégalais (Paris, 1 9 6 4 ) , and his Trois expériences africaines de développement : le Mali, la Guinée et le Ghana (Paris, 1 9 6 5 ) . Cameroun has numerous published sources including Richard Joseph, Radical nationalism in Cameroun (Oxford, 1 9 7 7 ) , David Gardinier, Cameroon: United Nations challenge to French policy (Oxford, 1 9 6 3 ) , Edwin and Shirley Ardener, Plantation and village in the Cameroons (London, i 9 6 0 ) , C. K . Meek, Land tenure and land administration in Nigeria and the Cameroons (London, 1 9 5 7 ) . Victor Azarya, Dominance and change in North Cameroon : the Fulbe aristocracy (Beverly Hills, 1 9 7 6 ) , R. Clignet, The Africanization of the Labor Market: Educational and Occupational Segmentation in the Cameroon (Berkeley, 1 9 7 6 ) , Willard Johnson, The Cameroon Federation: political integration in a fragmentary society (Princeton, 1 9 7 0 ) , David Kom, Le Cameroun: essai d'analyse économique et politique (Paris, 1 9 7 1 ) , Victor T. Le Vine, The Cameroon Federal Republic (Ithaca, 1 9 7 1 ) , Adamou Ndam Ngoya, Le Cameroun dans les relations internationales (Paris, 1 9 7 6 ) , Michel Prouzet, Le Cameroun (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) , Neville Rubin, Cameroon: An African Federation (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 1 ) ; and Nid va Kofele-Kale (ed.), An African experiment in nation building: the bilingual Cameroon Republic since reunification (Boulder, Colorado, 1980). Bénin and Togo, like Niger, Upper Volta and Mauritania, and the four former Equatorial African States, are less well studied. Sources on these countries include Robert Cornevin, Le Dahomey (Paris, 1 9 7 0 ) ; A. Akindélé and C. Aguessy, Dahomey (Paris, 1 9 5 5 ) ; 889

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D o v Ronin, Dahomey : between tradition and modernity (Ithaca, 1975); Maurice A . Glélé, Naissance d'un état noir, l'évolution politique et constitutionelle du Dahomey de la colonisation à nos jours (Paris, 1969); I. A . Akinjogbin, Dahomey and its neighbours (Cambridge, 1967); and Jacques Lombard, Un système politique traditionnel de type féodal: les Bariba du Nord-Dahomey (Paris, 1965). Niger sources include Pierre Bonardi, La République du Niger: naissance d'un état (Paris, i960); Edmond Séré de Rivières, Le Niger (Paris, 1952), Pierre Donaint et François Lancrenon, Le Niger (Paris, 1972); Richard Higgott's 'Structural dependence and decolonisation in a West African land-locked state: Niger', Review of African Political Economy, J a n - A p r i l 1980, 4 3 - 5 8 , gives a different point of view. R. Higgott and F. Fugelstad discuss ' T h e 1974 coup d'état in Niger' in the Journal of Modern African Studies, September 1975, vol. 13. On Upper Volta, see Elliott Skinner's The Mossi of Upper Volta (Stanford, 1964) and African urban life: the transformation of Ouagadougou (Princeton, 1974), as well as the essays edited by J o h n Caldwell et al., Upper Volta (New Y o r k , 1975). Sources on Mauritania include Christine Gamier and Philippe Ermont, Désert fertile : un nouvel état, la Mauritanie (Paris, 1960) ; Alfred G. Gerteiny, Mauritania (London, 1967); Richard M. Westebbe, The economy of Mauritania (New Y o r k , 1971) and Marcel Piquemol-Pastré, La République Islamique de Mauritanie (Paris, 1969); G . DésiréVuillemin, Contribution à l'histoire de la Mauritanie de 1900 à 1934 (Dakar, 1962), and C. Moore, 'One-partyism in Mauritania', Journal of Modem African Studies, 1965, vol. 3. On Togo, see James Coleman, Togoland (New Y o r k , 1956), and Robert Cornevin, Le Togo (Paris, 1973). Mali and Guinea received special attention for their proud independence and for their radical political language; numerous studies were carried out as a result. Recent material has been difficult to find on Guinea. A partial list includes Fernand Gigon, Guinée, état-pilote (Paris, 1959); Jean Suret-Canale, La République de Guinée (Paris, 1970); Maurice Houis, Guinée française (Paris, 1953); Ladipo Adamolekun, Sékou Touré's Guinea: an experiment in nation building (London, 1976), which includes a good bibliography; Claude Rivière, Mutations sociales en Guinée (Paris, 1 9 7 1 ) ; Sékou Touré's Oeuvres complètes (Paris, n.d.) gives his interpretation of events. Lansiné Kaba gives another in his articles in the Journal of Modern African Studies: 'Cultural revolution, artistic creativity, 890

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and freedom of expression in Guinea', June 1 9 7 6 , vol. 1 4 and 'Guinean politics: a critical historical o v e r v i e w ' , March 1 9 7 7 , vol. 1 5 . For Mali, G. Snyder, One-party government in Mali (New Haven, 1 9 6 5 ) , K. Ernst, Tradition and progress in the African village: the non-capitalist transformation of rural communities in Mali (London, 1 9 7 6 ) ; William I. Jones, Planning and economic policy: socialist Mali and her neighbors (Washington, 1 9 7 6 ) , Edmond J o u v e , La Republique du Mali (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) ; Horeya T. Megahed, Socialism and nationbuilding in Africa: the case of Mali, 1960-1y 68 (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 0 ) ; and Nicholas S. Hopkins, Popular government in an African town (Chicago, 1 9 7 2 ) . The four countries which formed the A E F have been relatively little studied in depth. W o r k s include Jacqueline Bouquerel, Le Gabon (Paris, 1 9 7 0 ) ; Brian Weinstein's Gabon (Cambridge, Mass., 1 9 6 6 ) ; J . Cabot and C. Bouquet, Le Tchad (Paris, 1 9 7 3 ) ; Georges Diguimboye, L'Essor du Tchad (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) ; Richard Westebbe et al. y Chad: development, potential and constraints (Washington, 1 9 7 4 ) ; John W o r k s , Pilgrims in a strange land: Hausa communities in Chad (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 6 ) ; the bibliography by Philippe Frémeaux, La Rébellion tchadienne (Paris, 1 9 7 3 ) ; Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff's Conflict in Tchad(Berkeley, 1 9 8 2 ) ; Samuel Decalo, ' Regionalism, political decay and civil strife in Chad ', Journal of Modern African Studies, 1 9 8 0 , vol. 1 8 . Other useful works are Marcel Soret's Histoire du Congo, capitale Brazzaville (Paris, 1 9 7 8 ) and Pierre Kalck, Central African Republic, a failure in decolonization (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . 13.

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The most noteworthy works on the period by Malagasy writers are R. W . Rabemananjara's Madagascar, histoire de la nation malgache (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) , E. RvAaimhoitra's Histoire de Madagascar (T&n&native, 1 9 6 5 ) , and R. Rajemisa-Raolison's Dictionnaire géographique et hist­ orique de Madagascar (Fianarantsoa, 1 9 6 6 ) . All three should be used in conjunction with H. Deschamps' Histoire de Madagascar (Paris, 1 9 7 2 ) and A. Spacensky's Cinquante ans de vie politique de Ralamongo à Tsiranana (Paris, 1 9 7 0 ) . Other French works of a general nature are M. de Coppet's Madagascar et Réunion (Paris, 1 9 4 7 ) , R. Pascal's La République malgache (Paris, 196 5 ), and C. Cadoux's La République malgache (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) . Pierre Boiteau, a French Communist and 891

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M D R M sympathiser, wrote Contribution à l'histoire de la nation malgache (Paris, 195 8) in which he makes the M D R M appear more nationalist than extremist, thereby playing down the role of P A N A M A and J I N A . In English the most valuable works are R. Adloff and V . Thompson's The Malagasy Republic (Stanford, 1 9 6 5 ) and N. Heseltine's Madagascar (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . There are also several valuable periodicals, the Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache, the Bulletin de Madagascar, the Revue de Madagascar, and Notes Reconnaissances et Explorations. For the English-speaking world the 'Madagascar' section in Africa Contemporary Record (London) is an invaluable source of information on Malagasy affairs. On the political side A. L. Annet reflects the Vichyite viewpoint in Aux heures troublées de l'Afrique française, 19)9-1942 (Paris, 1 9 5 2 ) , while in the post-war period one of the earliest protests against colonial rule came from J . Rabemananjara, author first of Un malgache vous parle (Paris, 1 9 4 6 ) and then later of Témoignage malgache et colonialisme (Paris, 1 9 5 6 ) and Nationalisme et problèmes malgaches (Paris, 1 9 5 8 ) . When used in conjunction with R. Rabemananjara's Madagascar sous la rénovation malgache (Paris, 1 9 5 3 ) they give a clear picture of Malagasy grievances and aspirations prior to i 9 6 0 . A good overview of political events is found in Spacensky's 'L'Evolution politique malgache, 1 9 4 5 — 1 9 6 6 ' , in La Revue Française de Science Politique ( 1 9 6 7 ) and R. Darsac's 'Contradictions et partis malgaches' in the Revue d'Action Populaire ( 1 9 5 8 ) . Explanations as to w h y the rebellion took place are few. B. C Daniel's typescript, 'Les Événements de Madagascar' appeared at the École Nationale de la France d'Outre M e r ( 1 9 4 8 - 9 ) but it is merely descriptive and not analytical. O. Mannoni attempted to explain the rebellion in terms o f psychological dependency in his Psychologie de la colonisation (Paris, 1 9 5 0 ) , but the first scholarly w o r k was J . Tronchon's L'Insurrection malgache de 1947 (Paris, 1 9 7 4 ) . G . Althabe's earlier w o r k , Oppression et libération dans l'imaginaire ( 1 9 6 8 ) , is also w o r t h consulting, mainly because it influenced some o f the people involved in the events of May 1 9 7 2 . Lastly there is P. Stibbe's Justice pour les Malgaches (Paris, 1 9 5 4 ) , a detailed account o f the trial o f the three deputies written by their left-wing lawyer. For the years after i 9 6 0 , studies on Malagasy politics are both highly legalistic in approach and careful in their treatment of Tsiranana. Spacensky's Cinquante ans... is rich, well-researched, and compulsory reading. R. Archer's Madagascar depuis 1972 — la 892 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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marche d'une révolution (Paris, 1 9 7 6 ) , a clearly written synthesis of events since 1 9 7 2 , contains important material on the President and the bourgeoisie. Malagasy political parties are dealt with in a series of articles in the Revue Française d'Études Politiques Africaines, 1 9 6 9 to 1 9 7 5 . Foreign policy before 1 9 7 2 is explored by G. Cognac and G . Feuer in Les Conventions de co-operation entre la République malgache et la République française (Tananarive, 1 9 6 3 ) , while Madagascar's relations with the rest o f the world are outlined by J . Maestre, author of La République malgache et les organisations africaines (Tananarive, 1 9 6 8 ) , and P. Decraene in his article ' L a Diplomatie malgache à la recherche de nouveaux partenaires ', which appeared in Le Monde Diplomatique ( 1 9 6 9 ) . The best overview o f foreign policy after 1 9 7 2 is found in Africa Contemporary Record. Material on local government can be gleaned from C. Cadoux's monograph on the subject, La Commune malgache (Mantasoa, 1 9 6 7 ) and his article in L'Actualité Juridique ( 1 9 6 5 ) , 'Les Nouveaux Aspects de l'organisation locale à Madagascar'. Finally the trade union movement is dealt with in P. Delval's ' Le syndicalisme à Madagascar', Pénant, 1 9 6 5 . There are no serious studies of any of the pressure groups. The social and cultural life o f Madagascar has not received as much attention as it deserves : see, however, H. Berthier's Notes et impressions sur les moeurs et coutumes du peuple malgache (Tananarive, 1 9 3 3 ) , J . Faublée's Ethnographie de Madagascar (Paris, 1 9 4 6 ) , and R. Dandouau and G. Chapus's Histoire des populations de Madagascar ( 1 9 5 2 ) . O. Mannoni's Psychologie de la colonisation (Paris, 1 9 5 0 ) contains useful material and should be read in conjunction with R. Ralibera's Vatçaha et Malgaches en dialogue (Tananarive, 1 9 6 6 ) . T w o important studies are P. Colin's Aspects de l'âme malgache ( 1 9 5 9 ) and R. Andriamanjato's Le Tsiny and le Tody dans la pensée malgache (Paris, 1 9 5 7 ) , while a less scholarly w o r k is D. Ramandriavohona's Le Malgache: sa langue, sa religion (Paris, 1 9 5 9 ) . Social change during the 1950s is discussed in O. Hatzfeld's article 'Evolution actuelle de la société malgache', which appeared in Monde non Chrétien ( 1 9 5 3 ) , and in the 1960s by J . Lapierre in 'Problèmes socio-culturels de la nation malagache', Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie ( 1 9 6 6 ) . The latter's conclusions are especially interesting when compared with those published by the Malagasy government's research bureau under the title L'Enquête démographique - Madagascar, 1966 ( 1 9 6 7 ) . No study of Malagasy life would be complete without a consideration of the fokonolonas. No 893 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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definitive study exists, but valuable information is found in C. Ranaivo's 'Les Expériences de fokonolona à Madagascar', which appeared in Monde non Chrétien ( 1 9 4 9 ) , F. Arbousset's he Fokonolona à Madagascar (Paris, 1 9 5 0 ) , and G. Condaminas's Fokonolona et communautés rurales en Imerina (Paris, i 9 6 0 ) . These titles are complemented by R. Dumont's Évolution des campagnes malgaches (Tananarive, 1 9 5 9 ) , a study on rural life. The role of women is considered by E. Radaody-Ralarosy in ' L a Femme malgache dans la cité', which was published in the Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache ( i 9 6 0 ) , while the Annales de l'Université de Madagascar ( 1 9 6 7 ) printed ' L a Femme, la société, et la droit malgache'. Several authors have written on the foreign elements in the island ; G. Gayet produced 'Immigrations asiatiques à Madagascar' for Civilisations ( 1 9 5 5 ) , and J . Ratsima published 'Les Congrégations chinoises de Madagascar ' in a 1 9 6 0 issue of the Revue de Madagascar. D. Bardonnet wrote a similar article for the Annuaire Française de Droit International ( 1 9 6 4 ) entitled, 'Les Minorités asiatiques à Madagascar' and which contains some useful material. The standard w o r k on Christianity is H. Vidal's La Séparation des Églises et de l'État à Madagascar, 1861-1962 (Paris, 1 9 6 9 ) , but of greater value is Père P. Lupo's Église et décolonisation à Madagascar (Fianarantsoa, 1 9 7 3 ) . A s for the press, all that exists is R. LTtalien's unpublished thesis from the École des Hautes Études, 'Madagascar, 1 9 5 0 - 1 9 6 0 : une étape vers la décolonisation' ( 1 9 7 5 ) . The various issues of the Revue Économique de Madagascar and the Travaux du Centre d'Etudes Rurales carry useful articles on the economic life o f the island. General studies worth consulting are M. Rudloff's Économie du tiers monde, v o l . I (Tananarive, 1 9 6 1 ) , G, Bastion's Madagascar, étude géographique et économique (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ) , and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's substantial Economy of the Malagasy Republic ( 1 9 6 8 ) . French aid to Madagascar was outlined by R. Hoffer in his Co-opération économique franco-africaine (Paris, 1 9 5 7 ) . Other useful works were M. Gaud's Ees Premieres Expériences de planification en Afrique noire (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ) , and a book by R. Gendarme which revealed the stranglehold the large French companies had on Madagascar, UÉconomie de Madagascar (Tananarive, i 9 6 0 ) . Gendarme's study had an enormous impact on some Malagasy nationalists. Another helpful w o r k by P. Ottino, Ees Économies paysannes malgaches du Bas-Mangoky (Paris, 1 9 6 3 ) , provides a 894

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scholarly analysis of the economic structure of the south-west part of the island. Material on the economic functions of the communes is located in t w o books, one by M. Surbiguet entitled Les Sociétés d'économie mixte à Madagascar (Tananarive, 1 9 6 6 ) , and the other by A. Bergeret, Les Sociétés d'aménagement agricole à Madagascar (Tananarive, 1 9 6 7 ) . The most analytical study o f economic life in the rural areas was Y. Prats's w o r k , Le Développement communautaire à Madagascar (Paris, 1 9 7 2 ) .

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Abundant bibliographie and documentary sources are available for the study of contemporary Zairean, Rwandan, and Burundi history. Useful select but reasonably comprehensive biblio­ graphies, covering the social and economic as well as political spheres, may be found in René Lemarchand, Rwanda and Burundi (London, 1 9 7 0 ) , and Crawford Young, Politics in the Congo (Princeton, 1 9 6 5 ) . For the colonial period, T. Heyse, assisted by J . Berlage, regularly produced the exhaustive Bibliographie du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi, appearing in Cahiers Belges et Congolais, nos. 4 - 2 2 (Brussels, 195 3). The Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale has provided annual ethnographie bibliographies. For the ' Congo crisis Dominique Ryelandt compiled a virtually complete listing, published as a supplement to Études Congolaises in 1 9 6 3 . The most recent period, for Zaire, is best covered by Edouard Bustin, in Cahiers du CEDAF (Brussels, nos. 3 and 4 , 1 9 7 1 ) (which also covers earlier periods). Major Belgian documentary sources include the Rapports Annuels sur 1' Administration du Congo Belge, présentés aux Chambres Législatives, and the analogous document for Ruanda-Urundi ; the proceedings of the Conseil Colonial, which was required to debate all legislative enactments for the Belgian colonies ; the records o f the Conseil du Gouvernement and its provincial counterparts. The annual opening address of the governor-general to the Conseil du Gouvernement constitutes the most authoritative statement of official policy. Pierre Piron and J . Devos in their compilation o f the Codes et lois du Congo Belge (last colonial edition 1 9 5 9 , with a 1 9 7 0 post-independence update for Zaire), provide not only the legal texts, but also legislative histories and com­ mentaries, which illuminate their intent and background. 895

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The involvement of the United Nations with Rwanda and Burundi as a result of its Trust status, and Zaire as a consequence of its operation there from i 9 6 0 to 1 9 6 4 leaves in its wake an important documentary deposit. F o r Rwanda and Burundi, the reports o f the triennial Visiting Missions ( 1 9 4 8 , 1 9 5 1 , 1 9 5 4 , 1 9 5 7 , i 9 6 0 ) , plus the several ad hoc commissions dispatched from 1 9 6 0 - 1 9 6 4 , are an important source. For Zaire, in addition to the various reports of the secretary-general on the UN operation, several of the key participants have provided their personal accounts; these include H. T. Alexander, African tightrope (London, 1 9 6 6 ) , Rajashwan Dayal, Mission for Hammarskjold (Princeton, 1 9 7 6 ) , Conor Cruise O'Brien, To Katanga and back (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 2 ) , and Carl v o n Horn, Soldiering for peace (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 7 ) . The major UN documents are conveniently assembled by the Chronique de Politique Étrangère, v o l . X V , nos. 4 - 6 (1962). For the post-independence period, government documents are abundant but of uneven value. For Zaire, government positions are diffused through the daily bulletins of Agence Zairoise de Presse (earlier Agence Congolaise de Presse). Proceedings of the national parliament and, for the First Republic, its provincial counterparts, provide some glimpses of what was happening, but the irregularity of the sessions, plus the narrow range o f subjects considered during the Second Republic, limit their utility. The most valuable Zairean government document is the Rapport Annuel of the Banque du Zaire, issued since 1 9 6 7 . Current economic data is provided in Conjonctures Économiques, issued by the Département d'Économie Nationale. Comparable bulletins of economic statistics are published by the Rwanda Ministère de la Coopération Internationale et du Plan, and the Institut Rundi des Statistiques. A number o f serials devoted to contemporary developments in the former Belgian colonies deserve mention. For the preindependence period, these include Zaire (Louvain), Problèmes d'Afrique Centrale (Antwerp), Problèmes Sociaux Congolais (Lubumbashi, earlier Bulletin de CEPSI). F o r the i 9 6 0 to 1 9 7 5 period in Zaire, the most important are Études Zaïroises (Kinshasa, earlier Études Congolaises), Zaire-Afrique (Kinshasa, earlier Congo-Afrique), Cahiers Économiques et Sociaux (publication of the important Institut de Recherches Économiques et Sociaux at the Kinshasa campus of the Université Nationale du Zaire), Courrier Africain 896

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and Travaux Africains of the Centre de Recherche et d'Information Socio-Politiques (CRISP), from 1 9 5 9 to 1 9 7 1 , then reorganised as Cahiers du CEDAF from 1 9 7 1 (Brussels, Centre d'Études et de Documentation Africaine). Major reference works include the Encyclopédie du Congo Belge, 3 vols. (Brussels, 1 9 5 3 ) , and the handbooks on each country prepared by the American University: US Army area handbook for the Republic of the Congo {Léopoldvillé) (Washington, 1 9 6 2 , revised edition, 1 9 7 9 ) ; G o r d o n C. McDonald et al., Area handbook for Burundi (Washington, 1 9 6 9 ) ; Richard F. Nyrop et al., Area hand­ book for Rwanda (Washington, 1 9 6 9 ) . F o r Burundi, invaluable political information is found in Warren Weinstein, Historical dictionary of Burundi (Metuchen, 1 9 7 6 ) . Documents pertaining to the Rwanda revolution are found in the CRISP publication, Rwanda Politique ipjS-ip6o (Brussels, 1 9 6 1 ) . A magnificent record of Zairean current history is provided in the annual CRISP yearbooks, Congo 19jp and successors, published from 1 9 5 9 to 1 9 6 7 . In addition, special documentary histories were published by CRISP o f t w o major political parties, the Parti Solidaire Africain and the A B A K O , as well as the Katanga secession and the 1 9 6 4 rebellions. The melodramatic events o f 1 9 5 5 - 6 5 in Zaire have generated such a vast literature that only a few of the most important can be mentioned here; conversely, serious treatments of the predecolonisation phase, o r the New Regime since 1 9 6 5 , are far fewer. On the terminal colonial period, special note may be made of Roger Anstey, King Leopold's legacy (London, 1 9 6 6 ) , and Jean Stengers, ' L a Belgique et le Congo', in Histoire de la Belgique contemporaine (Brussels, 1 9 7 5 ) , as well as Y o u n g ( 1 9 6 5 ) . Decolon­ isation and the crisis is given most authoritative analysis and documentation in the annual CRISP volumes noted above. F o r the international aspects, Cathryn Hoskyns remains the best source, The Congo since independence (London, 1 9 6 5 ) . The Belgian dimension is well represented in Ganshof van der Meersch, Fin de la souveraineté belge au Congo (The Hague, 1 9 6 3 ) , and in an interesting public debate by many o f those most closely involved, edited by Pierre de V o s , La Décolonisation (Brussels, 1 9 7 5 ) . On the dynamics of Zairean nationalism and political parties, especially useful are Herbert Weiss, Political protest in the Congo (Princeton, 1 9 6 7 ) , and René Lemarchand, Political awakening in the Congo 897

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(Berkeley, 1964). From a Zairean perspective, Thomas Kanza provides an autobiographical analysis in Conflict in the Congo (Baltimore, 1 9 7 2 ) . Biographies have appeared o f three o f the major leaders: Ian Colvin, The rise and fall of Moise Tshombe (London, 1968), Charles-André Gilis, Kasavubu au coeur du drame congolais (Brussels, 1 9 6 4 ) ; Francis Monheim, Mobutu, l'homme seul (Brussels, 1 9 6 2 ) . On Lumumba, see René Lemarchand in Walter Skurnik (ed.), African political thought: Lumumba, Nkrumah and Touré, and Jean van Lierde (ed.), La Pensée politique de Patrice Lumumba. O n the rebellions, in addition to the CRISP study, useful monographs have been contributed by Renée Fox, W , de Craemer, and J . M. Ribeaucourt in Études Congolaises, vol. 8 (January-February 1 9 6 5 ) , and Young, in Ali Mazrui and Robert Rotberg (eds.), Power and protest in Black Africa (London, 1 9 7 0 ) . On the early years of the Mobutu regime, the best study is Jean-Claude Williame, Patrimonialism and political change in the Congo (Stanford, 1 9 7 1 ) . Especially important for later Mobutu years are Michael G . Schatzberg, Politics and class in Zaire (New Y o r k , 1980) and G u y Gran (ed.), Zaire: the political economy of underdevelopment (New Y o r k , 1980). A n overview of the first t w o decades of independence is provided in J . Vanderlinden (ed.), Du Congo au Zaire 1960-1980 (Brussels, 1 9 8 1 ) . A leading politician and intellectual, Kamitatu Massamba (Cléophas), has published t w o sharply critical studies, La Grande Mystification du Congo-Kinshasa (Paris, 1 9 7 1 ) , and Le Pouvoir au portée du peuple (Paris, 1 9 7 7 ) . The crucial process of urbanisation is treated in several monographs : Valdo Pons, Stanleyville (London, 1969) ; Jean La Fontaine, City politics (Cambridge, 1 9 7 0 ) , and Paul Raymaekers, L'Organisation des spnes de squatting (Brussels, 1 9 6 4 ) , on Kinshasa; F. Grévisse, Le Centre extra-coutumier d'Elisabethville (Brussels, 1 9 5 1 ) ; and the 1 9 7 5 doctoral dissertation of Nzongola Ntalaja, 'Urban administration in Katanga'. In the ethnographic domain, Jan Vansina provides an invaluable reference work, in Introduction à l'ethnographie du Congo (Brussels, 1966). Major recent works providing an overview of the impact of colonial administration on particular societies are Wyatt McGaffey, Custom and government in the Lower Congo (Berkeley, 1 9 7 0 ) , and Edouard Bustin, Lunda under Belgian Rule (Cambridge, 1 9 7 5 ) . Economic change is remarkably well covered. For the preindependence situation, the best study is Fernand Bézy, Problèmes structurels de l'économie congolaise (Louvain and Paris, 1 9 5 7 ) . The 898 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

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outstanding team of economists gathered at Lovanium in the 1960s jointly produced Independence, inflation et développement (Paris, 1968), a comprehensive treatment of the political economy of the early independence years. Also important are Fernand Bézy, Jean-Philippe Peemans and Jean-Marie Wautelet, Accumulation et sous-développement au Zaire 1960-1980 (Louvain-la-Neuve, 1981); Jean-Louis Lacroix, Industrialisation au Congo (Paris, 1967), and Christian Coméliau, Conditions de la planification et du développement: l'exemple du Congo (Paris, 1969). On the urban economy, viewed at the household level, Joseph Houyoux, Budgets ménagers : nutrition et mode de vie à Kinshasa (Kinshasa, 1973) is excellent. The best analysis of agricultural history is provided in the 1975 Brussels dissertation of Mulambu Mvuluya, 'Le régime des cultures obligatoires et le radicalisme rural au Zaire ( 1 9 1 7 - 1 9 6 0 ) ' . JeanPhilippe Peemans has recently offered, in a series of contributions, an insightful overview of economic history, including the best treatment of the political economy of the Mobutu period; particularly valuable are The political economy of Zaire in the seventies (Louvain, 1974), and his chapter in Peter Duignan and L. H. Gann, The economics of colonialism (London, 1975). Rwanda and Burundi have received far less attention, and have long suffered a tendency to generalise findings in a particular portion of one kingdom to all of both; especially the royalist model of ethnic caste relations derived from central Rwanda. The classic statement of this view is Jacques Maquet, The premise of inequality in Rwanda (Oxford, 1961), whose structural-functional model of Tutsi hegemony has been widely challenged (for example, in Helen Codere, The biography of an African society, Rwanda 1900-1960, Marcel d'Hertefelt, Les clans du Rwanda ancien (Tervuren, 1970), and Catharine Newbury's 1975 Wisconsin dissertation 'The cohesion of oppression: a century of clientship in Kinyaga, Rwanda'. By far the most valuable overall political history is Lemarchand, Rwanda and Burundi, which focusses upon the decolonisation process and the tumultuous first half-decade of independence. For the 1972 Burundi tragedy, the best available analysis is Warren Weinstein and Robert Schrire, Political conflict and ethnic strategies: a case study of Burundi. Rural development issues are well analysed in Philippe Leurquin, Le Niveau de vie des populations rurales du Ruanda-Urundi (Louvain, i960).

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On the Portuguese side, all administrative archives in Lisbon remained closed to inspection for the whole period under review, and what may be regarded as primary official sources are largely limited to the publications of such bodies as the Instituto Nacional de Estatistica and the Junta de I n v e s t i g a t e s do Ultramar, some of which are usefully factual but others not. Angola is generally better off than its companion territories in this respect as in others, thanks not least (for the most recent years) to the publications of the Missáo de Inquéritos Agricolos at Luanda under the leadership of E. Cruz de Carvalho and J . Vieira da Silva; among these, attention may be drawn to an investigation into rural education conducted by F.-W. Heimer, Educando e sociedade nas areas rurdis de Angola (Luanda, 1972). On the other hand, there is a very large quantity of Portuguese books and ephemera, though of greatly varying interest. Some of these are officially sponsored surveys which, if invariably careful to offer no criticism, still contain valuable information. Among these may be mentioned a series of volumes sponsored by the Agencia Geral do Ultramar, and compiled for the most part by H. Galváo and C. Selvagem, Imperio ultramarino portugués; for instance, Angola, vol. I l l (Lisbon, 1952), and Mozambique (with India etc.), vol. IV (195 3). The census returns of 1940 and 1950 are usefully considered by A. Moreira, As élites das provincias portuguesas de indígenato (Guiñé, Angola, Mozambique) (Lisbon, 1956). Useful commentaries will also be found in C. F. Spence, Mozambique (London, 1963). Many memoirs, commentaries and controversies were also written or written about. A guide to much of all this is in two good bibliographies: G. J . Bender et aL, Portugal in Africa (Los Angeles, 1972), a catalogue of the extensive collection of Portuguese colonial materials assembled in the library of the University of California at Los Angeles; and G. J . Bender and A. Isaacman,' The changing historiography of Angola and Mozambique', in C. Fyfe (ed.), African studies since 194J (London, 1976), a survey and listing of principal works. Aside from the constitutional texts of the Estado N o v o and from Salazar's rare but interesting speeches on African questions (see, for instance, a speech to the National Assembly of 30 Nov. i960, which I myself have managed to read only in a Spanish 900

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version: Portugal y la campaña anticolonialista (Santiago, Chile)), several commentaries on the regime's theory and practice may be singled out as being of especial value. One such is J . M. da Silva Cunha, O sistema portugués de política indígena (Coimbra, 1 9 5 3 ) , where this veteran of the Estado N o v o discusses the gap between intentions and achievements; another, notable for its lapidary identification of the regime's objectives, is M. Caetano, Os nativos na economía Africana (Coimbra, 1 9 5 4 ) . These are representative of a small group of authoritative texts produced for no propagandist purpose, and may be compared with statements made urbi et orbi, all merely polemical, such as A. Moreira, Portugal's stand in Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 2 ) , and F. Nogueira, The United Nations and Portugal (London, 1 9 6 3 ) , or The Third World (London, 1 9 6 7 ) . Against these may be set a number of critical studies from within the regime or its dissident periphery, notably the writings of H. Galváo in 1 9 4 7 and after. This author's excoriating internal report to a closed session of the National Assembly, made in 1 9 4 7 while he was still inspector-general of colonies but moving into strong dissidence, was published clandestinely in Portugal and reproduced in part in English in B. Davidson, The African awakening (London, 1 9 5 5 ) , and in extenso by Galváo himself in his Santa Maria (London, 1 9 6 1 ) . W o r t h reading in the same context is a memoir by the veteran Norton de Matos, written at the age of 86 from a position generally critical of the Estado Novo's policies: Africa nossa (Lisbon, 1 9 5 3 ) . A m o n g immediate post-coup studies, outstanding is E. de Sousa Ferreira, Aspectos do colonialismo Portugués (Lisbon, 1 9 7 4 ) . Compared with studies of Angola or Mozambique, Guiñé, Cape Verde and Sao Tomé fare poorly throughout the period. For Guiñé there is A . Teixeira da Mota, Guiñé Portuguesa, 2 vols. (Lisbon, 1 9 5 4 ) ; but this should be compared with the ecological survey of the later nationalist leader, Amilcar Cabral, while still in Portuguese government employment, in Boletim cultural da Guiñé Portuguesa (Bissau, 1 9 5 4 - 6 ) , and reproduced in part in A. Cabral (ed. M. de Andrade), Unite et lutte, vol. I (Paris, 1 9 7 5 ) . Da Mota's book has a bibliography listing 387 titles. Cape Verdean sources are notably defective, but something may be got from A. Mendes Correia, Ultramar Portugués, vol. II (Lisbon, 1 9 5 4 ) , and a little from H. de Oliveira, Cabo Verde: Quinto ano de seca (Lisbon, 1 9 7 3 ) , while the works of A. Carreira, writing 901

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between 1966 and 1 9 7 7 , are continuously useful. Notable among the last is his Migrates ñas llhas de Cabo Verde (Lisbon, 1 9 7 7 ) which, apart from useful historical notes on the period here in question, offers the first serious published analysis of Cape Verdean emigration and its various motives; usefully, this book is also available in English. A first general bibliography of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, incomplete but valuable, is J . M. McCarthy: Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands: a comprehensive bibliography (New Y o r k and London, 1 9 7 7 ) . Sao Tomé is the subject of a pioneering geographical and sociological survey by F. Tenreiro, A Ilha de Sao Tomé (Lisbon, 1 9 6 1 ) . A m o n g overall social studies for all territories, generally useful for its statistics and analyses, is E. de Sousa Ferreira on the cultural and educational aspects of the system, Portuguese colonialism in Africa (UNESCO, 1 9 7 4 ) . Cultural and economic issues are also discussed helpfully in some of the chapters in D. M. Abshire and M. A . Samuels (eds.), Portuguese Africa: a handbook (London, 1 9 6 9 ) ; and, for Angola, see also W . Marques, Problemas do desenvolvimento de Angola, 2 vols. (Lisbon, 1 9 6 5 ) . A general historical survey of Angola in this period, strong on the Portuguese side but weak on the African, is in parts of D. L. Wheeler and R. Pelissier, Angola (London, 1 9 7 1 ) . This may be contrasted with a history written from the African side, Historia de Angola (Porto, 1 9 7 4 ) , and with B. Davidson, In the eye of the storm: Angola's people (London, 1 9 7 2 ) . The P A I G C has also produced a history from the nationalist side: Historia: a Guiñé e as llhas de Cabo Verde (Bissau, UNESCO, 1 9 7 4 ) . Generally, for the period of the liberation wars, the Portuguese bibliography dries to a trickle of descriptive or defensive works. The most useful among these, for Angola, is H. E. Felgas, Guerra em Angola (Lisbon, 1 9 6 1 ) , to which may be added journalistic reportages such as P. da Costa, Urn mésde terrorismo (Lisbon, 1969). Of continuing value for these years is the long series o f reports made by the relevant special committee to the General Assembly of the United Nations, covering all territories with detail from all available sources; while the research and records section of the UN Department of Political Affairs also published a valuable series of summaries of major developments, and these, though made for internal use, may no doubt be n o w generally available for study. T o these should be added a book written by Salazar's 902

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exiled successor, M. Caetano, Depoimento (Rio and Sao Paulo, 1 9 7 4 ) , and General Spinola's revealing interview with A . J . Venter in the latter's Portugal's war in Guiné-Bissau (Pasadena, 1 9 7 3 ) . A notable study of the regime's military and administrative effort in wartime Angola, with an extensive bibliography, is G. J . Bender, Angola under the Portuguese: the myth and the reality (London, 1 9 7 8 ) . For the period of the wars on the African side, by contrast, the bibliography of primary sources in ephemera, movement documents, and published (or unpublished) writings by nationalist leaders, is comparatively copious, while from 1 9 6 6 onward there is a wide range of books, articles and papers by many foreign observers. A s to the ephemera, a partial but useful collection is housed by the University of London, while a large collection going up to 1965 is at the Hoover Institute at Stanford; the latter is catalogued in R. H. Chilcote, Emerging nationalism in Portuguese Africa (Stanford, 1 9 6 9 ) , while the same author, in another publication under the same title (Stanford, 1 9 7 2 ) , has reproduced some of the more important documents in this collection. Essential writings by Amflcar Cabrai are in his Unité et lutte, while a few of such writings appeared in A. Cabrai, Revolution in Guinea (London, 1 9 6 9 ) , and about two-thirds, including most of the important items, in Unity and struggle (tr. M. Wolfers, London, 1 9 7 9 ) ; by Eduardo Mondlane in his The struggle for Mozambique (London, 1 9 6 9 ) ; by Samora Machel in a booklet, Mozambique: sowing the seeds of revolution (London, 1 9 7 4 ) ; while, for Angola, see Documentos da independência (Department of Information, Luanda, 1 9 7 5 ) . Agostinho Neto's programmatic and other statements had yet to be collected, but see, for a small collection covering 1 9 6 7 - 7 3 , A. Neto, Pensamento politico (Luanda, 1 9 7 6 ) . These sources are indispensable to an understanding of the development of nationalist theory and practice. For the period after independence, nationalist newspapers such as Vitoria Certa and Jornal de Angola (Luanda), No Pintcha (Bissau), and Tempo (Maputo) have much valuble material, while Nô Pintcha has also published a very long run of extracts from Cabral's writings, some of them for the first time. By 1 9 8 0 , the whole bibliography was in rapid expansion. External studies of the nationalist movements, often with the reproduction of interviews and documents, include : for Guinea, G. Chaliand, Lutte armée en Afrique (Paris, 1 9 6 7 ; Armed struggle 903

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in Africa, New Y o r k , 1 9 6 9 ) ; B. Davidson, The liberation of Guiné, with a foreword by Amflcar Cabrai (London, 1 9 6 9 ) ; R. Ledda, Una rivoluzione Africana (Bari, 1 9 7 0 ) ; and L. Rudebeck, GuineaBissau (Uppsala, 1 9 7 4 ) . For Angola: R. Davezies, La Guerre en Angola (Bordeaux, 1 9 6 8 ) ; J . Marcum, The Angolan revolution, I: The anatomy of an explosion 19/0-62 (Cambridge, Mass., 1969) and B. Davidson, In the eye of the storm. For Mozambique : L. Passerini (ed.), Colonialismo Portoghese e lotta di liberazione nel Mozambico (Turin, 1 9 7 0 ; chiefly documents); B. Davidson, ' L a Guerrilla africaine', in Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris, Nov. 1 9 6 8 ) ; J . S. Saul, ' F R E L I M O and the Mozambique Revolution ', in G. Arrighi and J . S. Saul, Essays on the political economy of Africa (New Y o r k , 1 9 7 3 ) ; S. Correa and E. Homem, Mozambique :primieras machambas (Rio de Janeiro, 1 9 7 7 ) ; B. Munslow, 'The liberation struggle in Mozambique and the origins of post-independence policy', in University of Edinburgh (ed.), collected conference papers, Mozambique, Edinburgh, 1 9 7 9 ; and the same author, Mozambique : the revolution and its origins (London, 1983). Although merely introductory save in respect o f basic national­ ist writings, this brief list will at least serve to point the reader in useful directions, beyond which individual bibliographies in many of the studies cited, as well as the more general bibliographies mentioned above, will indicate the further scope of materials available by the early 1980s.

E Q U A T O R I A L

G U I N E A

The historical sketch of this territory is based chiefly on A . de Unzueta y Yoste, Guinea continental espanola (Madrid, 1 9 4 4 ) , and Islas del Golfo de Guinea (Madrid, 1 9 4 5 ) ; L. B. Corella, Manuales del Africa espanola (Madrid, 1 9 5 0 ) ; documentation supplied for the purposes of the General Assembly (e.g. A / 5 0 7 8 / A d d . 3 of 26 March 1 9 6 2 ) ; Documentation Française, Notes et études documen­ taires, les territoires espagnols d'Afrique (Paris, 1 9 6 3 ) ; and R. Pelissier, ' La Guinée espagnole ', in Revue Française de Science Politique, Paris, Sept. 1 9 6 3 , v o l . 1 3 , 3 ; as well as on a variety of ephemera. Information from the nationalist side is scanty, above all for the years after 1 9 7 0 , while Spanish official archives have not been inspected.

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Blair, D. S. Post-independence literature in French. Cambridge, 1976. Brandel-Syrier, M. Reef town élite. London, 1971. Breese, G. ed. The city in newly developing countries. Englewood Cliffs, 1969. Caldwell, J. C. African rural-urban migration. Canberra, 1969. Charsley, S. R. 'The formation of ethnic groups', in Cohen A. ed. Urban ethnicity. London, 1974. Cliffe, L. 'The policy of Ujamaa Vijijini and the class struggle in Tanzania', in Cliffe, L. and Saul, J. S. eds. Socialism in Tanzania. Nairobi, 1972. Clignet, R. and Foster, P. 'Potential elites in Ghana and the Ivory Coast', American Journal of Sociology, 1964, 70, 349-62. The fortunate few. Evanston, 1966. Cohen, A. 'Politics of the Kola trade', Africa, i960, 36, 18-36. Custom and politics in urban Africa. Manchester, 1969.

'Cultural strategies in the organization of trading diasporas', in Meillasoux, C. ed. Development of indigenous trade and markets in West Africa. London, 1971, 266-81.

ed. Urban ethnicity. London, 1974. Cohen, R. Labour and politics in Nigeria 194J-1971. London, 1974. Coleman, J. S. Nigeria: background to nationalism. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1958.

Coleman, J. S. and Rosberg, C. G. eds. Political parties and national integration in tropical Africa. Berkeley, 1964. Colonna, Fanny. 'Le Systeme d'enseignement de l'Algerie coloniale', Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 1972, 13, 195-222.

Colson, Elizabeth. ' The impact of the colonial period on the definition of land rights', in Turner, V. W. ed. Profiles of change: African society and colonial rule (Colonialism in Africa, vol. III). Cambridge, 1971. Deniel, R. Croyances religieuses et vie quotidienne à Ouagadougou. Etudes Voltai'ques, 1970.

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Serfs, peasants and socialists: a former serf village in the Republic of 1973. Dorè, R. P. The diploma disease. London, 1976. Dunn, J. and Robertson, A. F. Dependence and opportunity: political change in Ahafo. Cambridge, 1973. Dupire, M. Planteurs autochthones et étrangers en basse Cote d'lvoire (Etudes Éburnéennes, 8). Abidjan, i960. Guinea.

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Duvignaud, J. 'Classe et conscience de classe dans un pays du Maghreb: la Tunisie', Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, 1965, 185-200. Epstein, A. L. Politics in an urban African community. Manchester, 1958. Fallers, L. A. 'Are African cultivators to be called "peasants"?' Current Anthropology, 1961, 2, 108-10. Inequality: social stratification reconsidered. Chicago, 1973. Fantoure, A. Ee Cercle des tropiques. Paris, 1973.

Fashole-Luke, E., Gray, J. R., Hastings, A. and Tasie, G. eds. Christianity in independent Africa. London, 1978. Feldman, D. ' The economics of ideology : some problems of achieving rural socialism in Tanzania', in Leys, C. T. ed. Politics and change in developing countries. Cambridge, 1969, 8 5 - 1 1 1 . 916

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Geertz, C. The interpretation of culture. New York, 1973. Gellner, E. and Micaud, C. eds. Arabs and Berbers. London, 1973. Gluckman, M. Politics, law and ritual in tribal societies. Oxford, 1965. Goddard, A. D. ' Population movements and land shortage in the Sokoto close-settled zone', in Amin, S. Modern migrations in western Africa. London, 1974. Goody, J. Production and reproduction. Cambridge, 1977. Grillo, R. D. 'The tribal factor in an East African trade union', in Gulliver, P. H. ed. Tradition and transition in East Africa. London, 1969. Gulliver, P. H. ed. Tradition and transition in East Africa. London, 1969. Gutkind, P. C. W. ' The view from below : political consciousness of the urban poor in Ibadan', Cahiers a"Etudes Africaines, 1974, 15, 5—35. Hance, W. A. Population, migration and urbanisation in Africa. New York, 1970. Hanna, J. L. and Hanna, W. J. Urban dynamics in Black Africa. Chicago, 1971. Halpern, M. 'Egypt and the new middle class: reaffirmations and new explorations', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1969, 1 1 , 97-108. Harrell-Bond, B. E. Modern marriage in Sierra Leone: a study of the professional group. The Hague, 1974. Heisler, H. Urbanisation and the government of migration. London, 1974. Hermassi, E. 'Political traditions of the Maghrib', Daedalus, Winter 1973, 207-24.

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'On the rationality of conversion', Africa, 1975, 45, 219-35, 373-99. Hunter, G. The new societies of tropical Africa. London, 1966, 2 3 7 - 7 1 . Kaufman, R. Millénarisme et acculturation. Brussels, 1964. Kilson, M. 'Nationalism and social classes in British West Africa', Journal

of Politics, 1958, 20, 368-87. Political change in a West African state : a study of the modernisation process in Sierra Leone. Cambridge, Mass., 1966. Koll, M. Crafts and co-operation in Western Nigeria. Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1969. Kuper, H. ed. Urbanisation and migration in West Africa. Berkeley, 1965. Kuper, L. A black bourgeoisie: race, class and politics in South Africa. New Haven, 1965.

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La Fontaine, J. S. 'Tribalism among the Gisu', in Gulliver, P. H. ed. Tradition and transition in East Africa. London, 1969. City politics: a study of Léopoldville. Cambridge, 1970. Lamb, G. Peasant politics. Lewes, 1974. Leonard, D. K. 'Bureaucracy, class and inequality in Kenya and Tanzania'. Paper presented to the Conference on Inequality in Africa, New York, October, 1976. Levine, D.N. Wax and gold: tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture. Chicago, 1965.

Le Vine, R. A. Dreams and deeds : achievement motivation in Nigeria. Chicago, 1966. Lewis, I. M. Islam in tropical Africa. 2nd ed. Oxford, 1980. 'Nationalism and particularism in Somalia', in Gulliver, P. H. ed. Tradition and transition in East Africa. London, 1969. Leys, C. Underdevelopment in Kenya: the political economy of neo-cofonialism. London, 1974.

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Long, N. Social change and the individual. Manchester, 1968. Lonsdale, J. M. ' Some origins of nationalism in East Africa ', Journal of

African History, 1968, 9, 119-46. Low, D. A. Buganda in modern history. London, 1971. Luckham, R. The Nigerian military: 1960-196-/. Cambridge, 1971. McGaffey, W. Custom and government in the lower Congo. Berkeley, 1970. Maguire, A . D . Towards 'Uhuru' in Tanzania: the politics of participation.

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Melson, R. and Wölpe, H. eds. Nigeria: the politics of communalism. East Lansing, 1971.

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Mitchell, J. Clyde. The Kalela dance. (Rhodes-Livingstone Paper, no. 27.) Manchester, 1956. ed. Social networks in urban situations. Manchester, 1969. ' Race, class and status in South Central Africa ', in Tuden, A. and Plotnicov, L. eds. Social stratification in Africa. New York, 1970. 918

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Cambridge, 1975. Oppong, C. Marriage among a matrilineal élite. Cambridge, 1974. Ousmane, S. Les Bouts de bois de Dieu. Paris, 1976. Owusu, M. Uses and abuses of political power. Chicago, 1970. Paden, J.N. Religion and political culture in Kano. Berkeley, 1973. Parkin, D. J. Neighbours and nationals in an African city ward. London, 1964. Palms, wine and witnesses. London, 1972. ed. Town and country in Central and Eastern Africa. London, 1975. Peace, A. J. 'The Lagos proletariat: labour aristocrats or populist militants', in Sandbrook, R. and Cohen, R. The development of an African working class. London, 1975. 'Prestige, power and legitimacy in a modern Nigerian town'. Canadian Journal of African Studies, 1979, 13, 25-52.

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African perspectives, papers on the history, politics and economics of Africa, presented to Thomas Hodgkin. Cambridge, 1970.

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Economic independence in Africa. Nairobi, 1973. The Association agreement between the European Economic Community and the partner states of the East African Community. (Council for the Development

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Haines, C. G. Africa today. Baltimore, 1955. Hance, W. A. African economic development. New York, 1958. Hansberry, W. L. Africa: the world's richest continent, 1963. Harris, R. ed. The political economy of Africa: underdevelopment or revolution. New York, 1975. Harvey, C. Macroeconomics for Africa: the elementary theory of the working of present-day African economies. London, 1977. Harvey, C. et al. Rural employment and administration in the Third World: development methods and alternative strategies. Farnborough, 1979. Hazlewood, A. The economy of Africa. London, 1961. ed. African integration and disintegration: case studies in economic andpolitical union.

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London, 1970. Hunter, G. The best of both worlds? A challenge on development policies in Africa. London, 1967. Hunter, W. A. Decision in Africa: sources of current conflict. New York, i960. Iskenderov, A. Africa, politics, economy, ideology. Moscow, 1972. Jain, S. C. Agricultural development of African nations, vol. I. Bombay, 1965. Jolly, R. Planning education for African development. Nairobi, 1969. Jones, W. O. Economic man in Africa. Stanford, i960. July, R. W. Precolonial Africa: an economic and social history. New York, 1975. Kamarck, A. M. The economics of African development. New York, 1967. Komorowski, S. M. The impact of the choice of techniques on development in Africa, a preliminary study. Addis Ababa, 1 9 7 1 - 2 . de Kun, N. The mineral resources of Africa. Amsterdam, 1965. Lawson, R. M. The agricultural entrepreneurship of upper-income Africans. Hull, 1977-

Legum, Colin, Zartman, I. W., Langdon, S. and Mytelka, L. K. Africa in the 1980s: a continent in crisis. New York, 1979. Leistner, G. M. E. Problems and patterns of economic development in Africa. Pretoria, 1965. Lewis, W. A. Some aspects of economic development. Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg memorial lectures, 1968. Accra, 1969. Leys, C. and Robson, P. eds. Federation in East Africa: opportunities andproblems. Nairobi, 1965. Lozoya, J. and Cuadra, H. eds. The Middle East and the new international economic order. New York, 1980. Makings, S. M. Agricultural problems of developing countries in Africa. Lusaka, 1967.

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Menon, B. P. Bridges across the South: technical cooperation among developing countries. New York, 1980. MIT Fellows in Africa Programme. Managing economic development in Africa... Cambridge, Mass., 1963. Munro, J. Forbes. Africa and the international economy 1800-1960: an introduction to the modern economic history of Africa south of the Sahara. London, 1976. Mutharika, B. W. T. Toward multinational economic cooperation in Africa. New York, 1972. Ndegwa, P. The Common Market and development in East Africa. 2nd ed. (Makerere Institute of Social Research, Kampala. East African studies, no. 22.) Nairobi, 1968. Nellis, J. R. A model of developmental ideology in Africa: structure and implications. Beverly Hills, 1970. Niculescu, B. Colonial planning: a comparative study. London, 1958. Nielsen, W. A. The great powers and Africa. London, 1969. Obone, A. E. Economics: its principles and practice in developing Africa. London, 1977-

Ochola, S. A. Minerals in African underdevelopment. London, 1975. Okwuosa, E. A. New direction for economic development in Africa. London, 1976. Organization of African Unity. Lagos Plan of Action for the economic development of Africa, 1980-2000. Geneva, 1981. Paden, J. N. and Soja, E. W. eds. The African experience. Evanston, 1970. Pearson, S. H , Pearson, A. R. and Cownie, J. Commodity exports and African economic development. Lexington, Mass., 1974. Plessz, N. G. Problems and prospects of economic integration in West Africa. Montreal, 1968. Postel, A. W. The mineral resources of Africa. Philadelphia, 1943. Rivkin, A. The African presence in world affairs: national development and its role in foreign policy. New York, 1963. Robana, A. The prospects for an economic community in North Africa: managing economic integration in the Maghreb states. New York, 1973. Robson, P. and Lury, D. A. eds. The economies of Africa. London, 1969. Rothchild, D. and Curry, R. L. Scarcity, choice and public policy in Middle Africa. Berkeley, 1978. Schatz, Sayre P. South of the Sahara: development in African economies. London, 1972.

SchifTmann, C. The developing countries and the enlargement of the European Economic Community. Brussels, 1971. Seidman, A. Planning for development in sub-Saharan Africa. New York, 1974. Sewell, D. U. Industrial development in tropical Africa. Wellington, 1971. Singh, V. B. Studies in African economic development. New Delhi, 1972. Singleton, F. S. Africa in perspective. New York, 1967. Stallings, B. Economic dependency in Africa and Latin America. Beverly Hills, 1972. Todaro, M. P. Economic development in the Third World. 2nd ed. New York, 1981. Turner, P. H. The commerce of new Africa. London, 1969. UN Department of Economic Affairs, Bureau of Economic Affairs. Structure and growth of selected African economies. New York, 1958. 924

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Department of Economic Affairs, Division of Economic Stability and Development. Enlargement of the exchange economy in tropical Africa. N e w York, 1954.

U N Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Scope and structure of money economies in tropical Africa. N e w Y o r k , 1955. Economic survey of Africa since r?jo. N e w York, 1959. U N Economic Commission for Africa. Report of the EC A mission on economic cooperation in Central Africa. N e w Y o r k , 1966. Intra-African economic cooperation and Africa's relations with the European Economic Community. Report by team led by K . Philip. Addis Ababa, 1972. Attack on absolute poverty in Africa: the role of the United Nations Development Advisory Teams, UND ATS. N e w Y o r k , 1974. U N E S C O . Survey of the natural resources of the African continent. Paris, 1963. U N Food and Agriculture Organisation. Food and agricultural developments in Africa south of the Sahara. Rome, 1958. Uppal, J. S. and Salkever, L. R. eds. Africa : problems in economic development. N e w York, 1972. Vilakazi, A . L . , Fall, I. and Vilakazi, H. W. Africa's rough road : problems of change and development. Washington, D C , 1979. Whetham, E. H. and Currie, J. I. eds. Readings in the applied economics of Africa, 2 vols. Cambridge, 1967. The economics of African countries. Cambridge, 1969. Zartman, I. W. The politics of trade negotiations between Africa and the European Economic Community: the weak confront the strong. Princeton, 1971.

6. S O U T H E R N

AFRICA

Suggestions for further reading in addition to titles mentioned in the bibliographical essay and in footnotes; asterisks indicate English editions of books originally published in another South African language. Abrahams, P. Mine boy. London, 1946. Ashton, H. The Basuto. London, 1952. Ballinger, M . From union to apartheid. Cape T o w n , 1969. Barber, J. P. South Africa's foreign policy 194J—1970. London, 1973. Barker, A . The man next to me. London, 1962. Bloom, H. Episode. London, 1956. *Brink, A . Dry white season. London, 1980. Benson, M . The African patriots. London, 1963. Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland. Report of an economic survey mission (Chairman C. Morse). London, i960. Brandel-Syrier, M . Black women in search of God. London, 1962. Brookes, E . H. Apartheid - a documentary study of modern South Africa. London, 1968. Brown, A . C. ed. A history of scientific endeavour in South Africa. Cape T o w n , 1977. Brutus, D . Letters to Martha and other poemsfrom a South African prison. London, 1968.

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