Rise Of Nationalism

Back to: O level history east africa notes uganda syllabus

  • Rise Of Nationalism. Nationalism is the desire by a given group to achieve political, economic and social independence.
  • It’s also defined as the increased love for one’s nation.
  • Nationalism was characterized by formation of political parties and mass political awareness.

Factors that contributed to the rise of Nationalism in East Africa

  • World War II led to the rise of nationalism in East Africa because it encouraged Africans to form nationalistic movements like Mau-Mau in Kenya.
  • The high levels of unemployment and poverty made Africans form mass political movements like Mau-Mau to demand for better conditions.
  • The influence of Christian missionaries who always stressed equality of all men before God also encouraged Africans to rise up and fight for their rights.
  • Missionary education produced elites like Jomo Kenyatta, Apollo Milton Obote and Julius Nyerere who led the independence struggles.
  • The emergence of an educated class of Africans also speeded up the independence struggles because these educated Africans provided the leadership e.g. Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere.
  • The granting of independence to Asian countries like India and Pakistan in 1947 aroused nationalistic feelings among the East Africans since they also felt that they should be independent.
  • The development of national languages like Swahili for Tanganyika and English for Uganda and Kenya created unity among Africans and it solved the language problem.
  • The spread of socialism and communism by USSR and China also led to the rise of nationalism in East Africa because these countries were supporters of anti-colonialism.
  • The emergence of new superpowers like USA and Russia after World War 1 also led to the rise of nationalism because they always stressed decolonization of African countries.
  • The growth of Pan Africanism also led to the rise of nationalism e.g. they brought the notion of ‘Africa for Africans’ which created unity amongst the Africans.
  • The 1941 Atlantic Charter published by President Roosevelt (USA) and Premier Churchill of Britain called for people to form their own governments under which to live.
  • The formation of cooperative movements also led to the rise of nationalism. They became a platform for people to air out their grievances against the colonial government.
  • Colonialism had its own evils like forced labour, heavy taxation and land grabbing by the Europeans and these forced Africans to rise up against European rule.
  • The independence of Ghana in 1957 also gave morale to other countries to fight for their independence.
  • Increased urbanization forced many people to migrate from villages to towns which exposed these people to new ideas of liberty, and equality which forced to form political parties.
  • Support from Africans in Diaspora (blacks who were living abroad) in USA, England. These gave support to fellow Africans at home to rise against European rule.
  • The Influence of the 1952 Egyptian revolution; this revolution was spearheaded by Colonel Nasser and he influenced nationalists by giving support to movements like Mau-Mau.
  • The formation of the United Nations in 1945 also led to the rise of Nationalism in East Africa. The organization had an anti-imperialism policy and encouraged Africans to rise against European rule.

Problems faced by early Nationalists

  • Tribal differences greatly affected the independence struggles. E.g. in Uganda, the Baganda didn’t want to unite with other tribes while in Kenya, KANU was accused of being a Kikuyu tribal grouping
  • Differences in political ideologies also affected the work of early nationalists. E.g. in Kenya, KANU favoured a unitary gov’t while KADU wanted a federal government.
  • Differences on how to achieve independence also affected the work of early Nationalists. E.g in Kenya, the Mau-Mau people preferred violence and others peaceful means.
  • Lack of a uniform language also affected the work of early nationalists e.g. in Uganda, other people hated Luganda because of the already elevated position of Buganda.
  • The death of leaders of Nationalistic movements e.g. General China in Kenya. This created a lot of fear among the local people and it created a leadership vacuum.
  • Religious differences also affected the nationalist struggles. These were created by the missionaries and they made it hard for people to unite.
  • The inferiority complex among Africans also affected them i.e. many of them underrated themselves and thought that they couldn’t defeat the white man.
  • Lack of funds also hampered the work of the nationalists e.g. they could not have all the supplies needed like guns and ammunitions.
  • Some Africans collaborated with the colonialists and these weakened the nationalists i.e. they saw no need of fighting the whites.
  • There was a problem of foreign interference e.g. in Kenya, the Mau-Mau was crushed by a force flown in from Britain.
  • The high levels of illiteracy among the East Africans made it difficult for the nationalists to explain to them the need for independence.
  • The poor transport and communication networks in East Africa also proved a problem to the nationalists e.g. it was not easy to communicate with people in the villages.
  • The nationalists in Kenya and Uganda mainly concentrated in urban areas and denied themselves support from the majority rural population.
  • The British policy of divide and rule also undermined the work of the nationalists. It created tribal thinking among tribes and this affected the unity.
  • There were also clashes between the different leaders of the various nationalistic movements and these wrangles reduced on their effectiveness.
  • Lack of proper organization and planning also affected the work of nationalists e.g. the Mau-Mau didn’t have a clear plan of attack against the British.