1. African History
SS7H1
How did nationalism lead to
independence in Kenya,
Nigeria, and South Africa?

2. Nationalism in Kenya
• controlled by Great Britain
• Started the Mau Mau- a Kenyan secret
society created to fight for rights and
independence against the British.
• Thousands were killed during the fighting
between the British and the Mau Mau,
causing the British to grant Kenya
independence
• Kenyans were given independence and
elected their first President Jomo Kenyatta in
1963

3. Problems after independence of
Kenya
• President Kenyatta leader of the
Kenyan African National Union, did not
allow people who disagreed with him to
be involved in government
• Drought struck in the 1970s
• Daniel arap Moi elected president in
1978
• He often fixed elections and mistreated
Kenyans

4. Nationalism in Nigeria
• Controlled by the British
• Made into two colonies a north and south,
that separated ethnic groups
• British spent more money (building schools
and roads) in the south than the north part of
Nigeria causing an uproar
• Nigerian student groups and politicians
struggled nonviolently with the British until
independence was given in 1960

5. Problems after independence of
Nigeria
• Ethnic groups (Igbo and Yoruba) fought
often due to northerners being Muslim
and southerners being non-Muslim
(Christian)
• Nigeria’s military took control in 1960,
killing many citizens
• Nigeria’s oil reserves were valuable but
it caused corruption and an unstable
government so few benefitted while
others remained poor

6. Colonization of South Africa
• First colonized by the Netherlands
(Dutch) also called the Boers.
• When the British took over South
Africa, the Dutch settlers moved North
and they were fought by the African
tribe called Zulus.
• Gold and diamonds were discovered in
South Africa after the British took
control

7. Nationalism in South Africa
• Non-white South Africans formed the
African National Congress (ANC) to
work for equal treatment and fight
apartheid
• Many countries set up an embargo
against South African until they lifted
apartheid
• Nelson Mandela was elected President
in 1994 and was South Africa’s first
black president