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The struggle for independence

“Vade Retro domum” - “Nolo Relinquere”

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In other territories conflicts among African societies hindered the effectiveness of their

resistance. In the 1880s, for example, in what is today Zimbabwe, the British used
existing disputes between the Ndebele and neighboring communities to foment a

conflict in which the British would have to intervene and would ultimately gain a position
to claim control over Ndebele land.

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Not all resistance during the early years of European colonial rule took the form of
pragmatic violence. Most was more subtle and directed toward local issues of political

and economic autonomy. Particularly in British territories, Africans commonly used local
movements to resist European colonial policies or practices by the colonial
administrations' African proxies. The 1929 Aba Women's Revolt, or Igbo Women's War, in

southeastern Nigeria reflects this trend. What is unique about the movement that
produced the revolt is that its leadership was composed entirely of rural women. It is

also unique because it was the only mass protest to take place in Nigeria prior to the
years leading to independence in 1960.

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After World War II, most African leaders engaged the colonial state through formally
organized political parties and trade unions. Between 1950 and 1963, many of these

parties ushered in the transition to independence and became the ruling parties of
independent Africa. As such, they had little alternative but to cooperate with the outgoing
colonial powers. Yet there were parties and politicians that refused to compromise and

sought to define their nation's transition to independence on their own terms.

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The discussion of pragmatic resistance in Africa comes full circle with the former
Portuguese colonies, South Africa, and Kenya. In these territories, violent resistance
brought colonial rule to a close. It was guerrilla warfare in the case of the Mau Mau

Uprising in Kenya (1952–60) and Zimbabwe's war of independence (1965–79); it was all-
out war in the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde and Guinea-

Bissau (1961–74), and the South African colony of South West Africa (Namibia). “

"African Resistance to Colonial Rule," 91
Benjamin Talton–Temple University

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