Is there something peculiar about Africa that delayed its drive for independence? (Begin with a specific African country, and argue your case.)

Answer 1

That's your assignment.

What's your question about your assignment?

Answer 2

PS. If you haven't read any of Chinua Achebe's books, you should do so. The first one to read is Things Fall Apart. Then there are others, but not in an actual series.

Achebe wrote fiction, but clearly based on reality. If the only one you read is the one named above, you will understand.

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtaWxzdGVkZ3Ntc3R8Z3g6MWQzNjkyNWY3ZTA0ZmE2ZA

Answer 3

That's a question I've never encountered before (not that I have studied the African independence movements in any depth). I question the premise that they were late in seeking independence, though. While colonies in the Americas sought and won independence earlier, African and Asian colonies won independence, largely, in the 20th century, after World War I. India did not gain independence until 1946, for example. One thing you might want to explore, if possible, is the fact that Africans had been organized on a tribal basis, not as cohesive colonies or nation states. The various tribes did not get along with each other, so to find enough unity to form a nation-state may have taken longer (and, in some places remains tenuous to this day). A Bing search comes up with little on the topic (another search on other search engines such as Google might yield different results), but might lead to other references.

Keep in mind that the boundaries of many nations were established by international agreements with little or no consultation with local people. The European colonizers, more or less, divided up the continent of Africa according to their own interests and the boundaries did not take into account the local self-identities of the people affected. So, even after independence we have seen many civil wars in the former colonies, most recently in Rwanda, Congo, and Mali (among others over the years) as the various tribes and local groups seek influence and dominance.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Why+were+African+colonies+late+to+seek+independence%3F&FORM=EDGNCT