Deck 50: Africa's Decolonization and Independence

Question 1

Which of the following countries was not a pawn between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War?

A) Somalia
B) Angola
C) South Africa
D) Mozambique
E) Ethiopia

Answer 1

South Africa

Question 2

From 1975 until recently,the general trend of government in Africa has been toward

A) one-party dictatorships.
B) monarchies.
C) socialist states.
D) parliamentary democracies.
E) democratically elected presidencies.

Answer 2

one-party dictatorships.

Question 3

The Organization of African Unity

A) has succeeded in bringing needed business to Africa.
B) became a club of autocrats who protect each other at all costs.
C) was founded in the 1980s in response to indifference from the countries of the world.
D) has managed to obtain major funding for Africa from the World Bank.
E) is increasingly taking on the role of peacekeeper for the African continent.

Answer 3

is increasingly taking on the role of peacekeeper for the African continent.

Question 4

During the years 1950 to 1965,about how many African countries came into existence?

A) 15
B) 25
C) 40
D) 20
E) 35

Question 5

Migratory labor developed in Africa during the last of the colonial era because

A) the Europeans took the only jobs within their own colonies.
B) work was almost impossible to find except in cities, in mines, and on plantations.
C) Europe had introduced a cash economy, and Africans had to go where the paying jobs were.
D) Both A and B are correct.
E) Both B and C are correct.

Question 6

Elaborate on the key social issues in Africa since independence.

Question 7

What economic and political problems do the diverse people of Africa still face?

Question 8

Which of these was never tried in post-colonial Africa?

A) Parliamentary constitution
B) Military dictatorship
C) Rule by consensus
D) Absolute monarchy
E) Democratic elections

Question 9

Nationalism in Africa after World War II included a desire for

A) modernization.
B) equality with whites.
C) cultural unity.
D) "Africa for Africans."
E) all Europeans to leave.

Question 10

The infant mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa is about ____ per 1,000 live births.

A) 25
B) 50
C) 75
D) 100
E) 200

Question 11

Somewhat surprisingly,the newly freed African nations

A) allowed Europeans who wanted to, to remain in the country.
B) did not change the European-imposed borders, even though these were problematic.
C) made no effort to reestablish the tribal kingdoms that had been in place when the Europeans arrived.
D) usually chose leaders who had never lived in Africa during the colonial era.
E) tried to hold on to the multiparty, democratic systems inherited from the Europeans.

Question 12

Within a few years of independence,every new nation had a

A) bank.
B) university.
C) railroad.
D) new currency.
E) drug problem.

Question 13

What affect has population numbers had on African history since independence?

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true concerning AIDS in Africa?

A) African authorities have in recent years spent a great deal of money in the fight against AIDS.
B) It is estimated that in tropical Africa about half the population is infected with HIV.
C) The AIDS epidemic was brought to Africa by foreigners, and it has devastated the entire continent.
D) Many African governments count on international health authorities to find a solution to AIDS.
E) More people died from AIDS in Africa last year than in all other years combined.

Question 15

Compare and contrast different nations in Africa in their experience with independence.

Question 16

Nelson Mandela is associated with

A) the ouster of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
B) wildlife sanctuaries in Kenya.
C) the overthrow of the government in Zaire.
D) the presidency of South Africa.
E) civil war in Ethiopia.

Question 17

Explain and expound on the initial momentum toward independence in post-colonial Africa including both external and internal factors.

Question 18

For Africa,the Green Revolution has been

A) extremely successful.
B) mildly successful.
C) a major disappointment.
D) a means of joining the world in trade and commerce.
E) an ecological disaster.

Question 19

The future looked promising in the 1970s until

A) foreign aid stopped completely.
B) military dictatorships began to proliferate.
C) the Mau Mau rebellion brought reprisals from European residents.
D) the first democratic government was overthrown.
E) the OPEC oil boycott caused oil prices to quadruple.

Question 20

Discuss the African economy.What specific challenges do the various nations face and how successfully have they responded?

Question 21

Which of the following has not contributed to African economic missteps since independence?

A) Misguided notions of establishing national prestige.
B) Desire for personal enrichment.
C) Desire to spread the benefits to as many citizens as possible.
D) Frequent use of bribery.
E) The misuse and/or theft of much foreign aid money.

Question 22

____________________ labor,which developed under colonialism,is one of the main ways of making a living today.

Question 23

The white settler colonies such as Rhodesia and Kenya

A) threw Europeans out of their lands and regained control as soon as decolonizing began.
B) had to fight the Europeans for several years before the colonizers gave up and left.
C) witnessed black against black fighting freedom as freedom fighters took up arms against those they labeled "collaborators."
D) did not gain their independence until the late 1980s.
E) found it necessary to go to Britain and address Parliament to get people to listen to their complaints.

Question 24

"____________________" is an intellectually-based movement stressing a return to uniquely African ideals and culture.

Question 25

All of the following influenced the decolonization process EXCEPT

A) discussion prior to 1945 by Western nations about self-determination.
B) the formation of the United Nations.
C) Nationalist movements among leaders in colonized areas.
D) Western educated individuals from colonized areas.
E) the moral condemnation of the Catholic Church of colonialism.

Question 26

In Kenya,the path to independence was

A) violent.
B) peaceful.
C) quick.
D) easy.
E) Both B and C are correct.

Question 27

In post-independence Africa,breakdowns of parliamentary rule often meant the setting up of ____________________.

Question 28

In the first years of independence,most African countries had leaders who

A) attempted to return their countries to a more familiar tribal government.
B) had collaborated with the colonial powers.
C) believed it was necessary to implement a dictatorship in the short term in order to have democracy later.
D) had been educated in Europe and believed that only they were capable of ruling effectively in the new states.
E) came from the minority tribes in their countries, and wanted to ensure that tribalism did not prevail again.

Question 29

In agriculture,the colonial rulers strongly encouraged ____________________ in agriculture.

Question 30

Which of these occurred during the 1980s?

A) Prolonged droughts in Somalia and Sudan.
B) Civil wars in Egypt and Nigeria.
C) Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa.
D) The independence of Eritrea.
E) Founding of the Organization for African Unity.

Question 31

Which of these does not contribute to Africa's frequent droughts?

A) Much farming is done on "marginal" lands subject to frequent droughts.
B) Only about 10 per cent of Africa's land is arable.
C) Overpopulation is a continent-wide problem.
D) The Sahara Desert is extending southward because natural vegetation has been affected by droughts.
E) Leaders have recently been concentrating on the development of family farms.

Question 32

Pan-Africanism

A) began in the US and Caribbean.
B) influenced the decolonization process.
C) encouraged a sense of racial unity and strength.
D) All of the options are correct.
E) None of the options are correct.

Question 33

In gaining their independence from European colonizers,

A) South Africa broke free in the early 1980s.
B) France held its colonies until the late 1960s.
C) Kenya won its independence first, in 1957.
D) Britain tried to hold its colonies, but finally gave in and let even the white settlers colonies go.
E) French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa achieved independence in 1958.

Question 34

The new leaders that emerged in African after World War II came from

A) universities.
B) union leadership.
C) soldiers who fought in the war.
D) All of the options are correct.
E) Both A and B are correct.

Question 35

In terms of the Green Revolution,Africa

A) benefited more than other places in increasing its food supply.
B) benefited less than elsewhere.
C) grew no crops that could have benefited from the revolution.
D) experienced practically no effect because of the nomadic lifestyle of many inhabitants.
E) chose not to participate in experiments with new food crops.

Question 36

The year 1960 has been termed "miraculous" for Africa because

A) Kwame Nkrumah became president of the first free African nation, Ghana.
B) over half of the continent gained its independence.
C) French President Charles de Gaulle fully released all French colonies in Africa.
D) Nelson Mandela became the first African president of South Africa.
E) the World Bank made its first loans to the new African countries.

Question 37

Small farmers and herdsmen who comprise the majority in tropical African countries

A) suffered most from the price collapse of the 1970s.
B) have been able to prosper in recent years.
C) have seen absolutely no increase in their yields despite the Green Revolution.
D) have found it necessary to take jobs in the cities.
E) have had to start guarding their fields because so many people are wandering through the countryside filled with hunger.

Question 38

Highly touted Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs)have turned out to be

A) used by dictatorial leaders to divert much needed funds to their own use.
B) not very helpful, because most recipients take the money associated with the loan and never carry out the reforms they are supposed to make.
C) one means of getting rid of power-hungry individuals in a few places.
D) helpful in countries that want to implement major reforms.
E) most useful to women who need startup money for new businesses.

Question 39

One significant occupation many African nations lack an adequate supply of are

A) merchants.
B) military leaders.
C) union leaders.
D) physicians.
E) unskilled labor.

Question 40

For Nigeria,oil reserves have been

A) successfully tapped to help all of the people.
B) mishandled by the government, causing hardships.
C) exploited by outsiders.
D) a problem for the government, because they are not easily accessible and Nigeria has little money for needed equipment.
E) a positive aspect of the economy since the 1970s.

Question 41

The first president of the first country freed in Africa was ____________________; the state was ____________________,and the year was ____________________.

Question 42

Conditions set by international lenders to compel ____________________ reforms by African governments in return for loans are termed SAPs.

Question 43

Robert Mugabe has established a virtual dictatorship in ____________________ in recent years.

Question 44

The ____________________ of ____________________ was founded in 1963 for mutual aid.

Question 45

In Kenya,the Land and Freedom Army were know as the ____________________ by the British.

Question 46

Most African governments seem to be relying on ____________________ health authorities to find a solution to ____________________ and bring it to Africa.