The Decolonization of Africa by David Birmingham is a detailed account of the struggle between African and European countries to decolonize. As many African countries began to come together, they decided that they were more fit to govern their own people than any outside controllers. However, in this essay I will argue that it was Ghana that created an African revolution and led to more countries becoming decolonized; but it was a long and difficult road for all countries and many things were sacrificed to achieve the ultimate goal of independence.
The Decolonization of Africa created a timeline of the decolonization of many African colonies. While some countries began the move to being independent prior to World War II, many countries did …show more content…
Also, Ghana made the initiative to have a meeting with the colonies of Africa. David Birmingham talked about this when he wrote, “The seven leaders had few common objectives and so Nkrumah next summoned a conference of “African peoples” attended by politicians from colonies that were not yet free and whose leaders were inspired by a personal visit to 22 The decolonization of Africa Ghana, the showcase of decolonization,” (Birmingham 1996, 21-22). This encouraged those who were not decolonized to take steps towards independence. Also, personal accounts of how it was possible was inspiring and encouraging to those who wanted to make the change. Each of the colonized colonies provided ideas and methods as to how it was possible for others to decolonize. Each colony took different paths to reach independence and decolonization. For example, Algeria faced the issue of created a stable government that would better serve their people. Birmingham discussed this when he wrote, “However, decolonization …show more content…
Ghana experienced many hardships on the road to decolonization. Birmingham wrote, “The British decision to initiate a policy of decolonization in Ghana was not intended to unravel the whole British empire, let alone to trigger off independence movements in all the other empires in Africa,” (Birmingham 1996, 20) . Ghana was supposed to be a test run for how African colonies could handle themselves without foreign control. But, the main concern of the European forces was their reliance on their economic profits that stemmed from Africa. If control was handed over to the colonies, then there was potential for them to cut off their ties in order to make financial transactions with other parts of the world. So, it was important that the European countries established the importance of their economic relations before they let them decolonize. One way that they did this is trying to force colonies to sign treaties that guarantees their financial stability. However, this did not go over well with many of the colonies because they wanted complete independence. Ghana encouraged the idea that colonies could do it on their own and they did not need the help of the European powers. This led to a message of rebellion and that created tension throughout the colonies. As this occurred Birmingham acknowledged the difficulties when he
The Decolonization of Africa created a timeline of the decolonization of many African colonies. While some countries began the move to being independent prior to World War II, many countries did …show more content…
Also, Ghana made the initiative to have a meeting with the colonies of Africa. David Birmingham talked about this when he wrote, “The seven leaders had few common objectives and so Nkrumah next summoned a conference of “African peoples” attended by politicians from colonies that were not yet free and whose leaders were inspired by a personal visit to 22 The decolonization of Africa Ghana, the showcase of decolonization,” (Birmingham 1996, 21-22). This encouraged those who were not decolonized to take steps towards independence. Also, personal accounts of how it was possible was inspiring and encouraging to those who wanted to make the change. Each of the colonized colonies provided ideas and methods as to how it was possible for others to decolonize. Each colony took different paths to reach independence and decolonization. For example, Algeria faced the issue of created a stable government that would better serve their people. Birmingham discussed this when he wrote, “However, decolonization …show more content…
Ghana experienced many hardships on the road to decolonization. Birmingham wrote, “The British decision to initiate a policy of decolonization in Ghana was not intended to unravel the whole British empire, let alone to trigger off independence movements in all the other empires in Africa,” (Birmingham 1996, 20) . Ghana was supposed to be a test run for how African colonies could handle themselves without foreign control. But, the main concern of the European forces was their reliance on their economic profits that stemmed from Africa. If control was handed over to the colonies, then there was potential for them to cut off their ties in order to make financial transactions with other parts of the world. So, it was important that the European countries established the importance of their economic relations before they let them decolonize. One way that they did this is trying to force colonies to sign treaties that guarantees their financial stability. However, this did not go over well with many of the colonies because they wanted complete independence. Ghana encouraged the idea that colonies could do it on their own and they did not need the help of the European powers. This led to a message of rebellion and that created tension throughout the colonies. As this occurred Birmingham acknowledged the difficulties when he