World War II impacted a rise and fall of colonialism in Africa.

by mschworer23 (student)

GCSE History

Morgan Schworer

May 13, 2011

American History

2nd hour

Word Count: 1,177

Africa progressed on their journey to independence with the help of the events that occurred during World War II

Wars are a way to solve organized conflicts in order to alter equality between countries. European colonialism was an ongoing conflict in Africa and by the help of world war two it greatly progressed into independence later on. The war was a time of justice and bravery for Americans in the war. It was the first total war in history and we wanted to attack with full force. The U.S. and the Soviet Union became the two main super-powers at the end of the war and were very much opposed to the idea of colonialism. Therefore, the United States played a key role in the decolonization. Since the beginning of World War 1, all of Africa except Libera and Ethiopia had been colonized. Ending the colonialism later on gave them tons of possibilities and freedom. World War II impacted a rise and fall of colonialism in Africa. They had helped Africa to build cities, towns and industries however they were suffering economic despair, lack of resources, destruction of land and suprisingly still not having that independence that they greatly desired.

In 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss their ideas for the post war world. One of the things that came out of their discussion is the Atlantic Charter. It was an agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain that enacted the vision that Roosevelt had for the post-World War II world. However, when the Charter was signed on August 14, 1941, the United States was not even a part of the war at that moment. In spite of it though, Roosevelt’s vision was so strong that he felt that he should put forth his agreement. The Atlantic Charter concise into eight degrees. First, they agreed to seek no territorial gains at the end of the war. Second, wishes would be made with the affected people in the conquered colonies. Third, everyone has the right to self-determination. Fourth, make an effort to lower trade barriers. Fifth, importance would be recognized in the advancement of social welfare and global economic cooperation. Sixth, establish freedom from fear and want would be a striking act. Seventh, the seas important need of freedom was necessary. Eighth, they would work toward post-war disarmament of aggressor nations. (“The United States and the Post WWII Decolonization of West Africa: Senegal and Gambia”) Part Six stated that they would establish freedom from fear and want. It then seemed logical to incorporate this into Africa’s struggle for independence because the colonies “want” to be free of colonial rule.

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After the war, we put pressure on Britain to support our terms of the Atlantic Charter. Although we managed to get it passed, the British still considered Africa colonies as “children”. They were still trying to introduce democratic government but only at local levels. Then came the power of African leaders who were struggling to get independence for their colonies. The Atlantic Charter was their key to gain Africa independence. They held the allies to their promises in the Charter. Africa could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We saw the spread of concentrated power in leaders of different colonies of Africa who took over and knew what they wanted in the future. There was more authoritarism in Africa than democratic governments. (“African Independence - the End of Colonialism and the Struggle for Nationhood”)

In the midst of the war, the North African Campaign took place from 1940 to 1943. The West Desert Campaign (also known as the Desert War), Operation Torch, and the Tunisia campaign were all included and fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts. The operations were fought between the Allies and Axis powers. The U.S. entered on the allies’ side in 1941 and began military assistance in North Africa in 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war in 1940. Battles spread out throughout North Africa for the control of Libya and parts of Egypt. In the West Desert Campaign, Germany declared war upon France and the United Kingdom. First became a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya. For a while after other countries kept on trying to defeat the Italians out of Africa by following them to their next positions and invading them. (“North African Campaign Summary”, Book Rags) Operation Torch started in 1942 and only lasted for two days. In order to claw the German and Italian forces, Allied forces invaded French North Africa. Resistance by the French later resulted as an inconvenience to the allies. However, that did not stop them from getting to their three key targets. Which happened to be Oran, Casablanca, and Algiers. Two days later they captured the cities and stopped the French with little ally casualties. (“History Learning site, World War Two, Operation Torch”)

Because of the war operations in North Africa. Africa suffered bigger losses. They suffered from the destruction of land from huge bombing raids, destroyed towns and the loss of resources. Many countries coming into the war in Africa had little supplies so they relied on the resources of Africa. This means that they searched everywhere to find supplies that would help them defeat the enemy.

Japan’s accomplishments with owning the Far East was empowering. Later on it caused a shortage of raw materials such as rubber and various minerals. Therefore, Africa had to abide to their need of this shortage. But, they greatly benefited from it. (“African Independence-the End of Colonialism and the Struggle for Nationhood”) When the U-boats in the Atlantic were causing barriers for the Europeans they had to do something about it. That’s because it was also causing a shortage of raw materials. The boats blockaded the chances for Europe to get any supplies to their allies in the war. This influenced the creation of local industries in Africa.

This in turn, helped with towns and existing towns doubled in size. The urban community and industries were growing rapidly. Africa could now see the light to independence. The leaders of the colonies stood up and made the people stand by their side to their fight to the end of colonialism.

As you can clearly see, if you look back in time he wars not only made our history but also is still making our history today. The wars of our generations will forever describe who we are as Americans. We are forever strong, fearful, and prosperous for the future ahead. World War II single-handedly influenced one piece of our miraculous history. That was the rise and fall of colonialism in Africa and Asia. For Africa not being as strong as a nation as it is today, it was hard not having someone to help them progress. However, with the help of the Atlantic Charter and WWII’s need of supplies and land it let them do just that. However, Africa and Asia also encountered problems in their journey to an accomplished unconquered nation. With the need of supplies, came their fewer amounts of resources for their people. Also with their immaculate need of land, came their less ability to build their own cities and towns. Therefore, in any journey to freedom there is going to be your hardships and prosperous events. The end of colonialism in Africa, cannot be described in words, how they even felt to lose all the weight of those aggressor nations on them.