"The rise of African nationalism was due to the global situation of 1945" Justify this statement.

 African Nationalism 

African nationalism means the struggle or the fight by African people to become free from colonial rule and achieve self-rule or independence during the 1960s.
This struggle started before the Second World War and became strong and more evident after the Second World War in 1945.
Now, the global situation of 1945 was the Second World War. It's called a global situation because it affected, touched, and changed every sector in the world, varying from economic, social, and political spheres.
Therefore, here you are required to show the:

Factors/reasons/causes of African mass nationalism that are related to or drew their origin from the Second World War:



1. The return of ex-soldiers/war veterans from the Second World War like Dedan Kimathi and Waruhiu Itote (General China) in Kenya.
Ex-soldiers means former or retired soldiers. These were people who fought in the WWII to support their colonial masters. For example, Kenyans fought the war in support of Britain, while Senegal fought in support of France.
 
 
The colonial masters promised to provide the soldiers with land and exclusive social services after the end of the war as a token of appreciation, but contrary to the agreement, they were given nothing, making them agitated and furious.
It should be remembered that these war veterans acquired advanced skills of combat and experience from the war. Their fighting experience, plus the upset from betrayal by Europeans, made these men organize nationalist fighting like the Mau Mau in Kenya to demand freedom and self-rule.



2. Intensive exploitation and oppression in the colonies.
The WWII brought economic downfall in Europe, making them turn their eyes to the colonies to revive their economies.
They increased taxes to raise revenue, grabbed more land from Africans for growing more cash crops in order to maximize raw materials, reduced wages, and forced Africans to grow cash crops.
All these oppressive measures made Africans feel the pain of being under foreign rule and start to fight back for freedom in countries like Mozambique and Angola.



3. The role played by the UNO (1945).
This is an international organization that was formed by all independent countries in the world after the WWII in the year 1945 to maintain world peace and ensure the sovereignty of its member countries.
UNO pressed for the freedom of African countries in order to let them join as independent countries.
The Trusteeship Committee under the UNO also helped to prepare the former German colonies like Tanganyika and Namibia to be free from colonialism by providing moral and material support, such as sanctions to colonialists and forums for discussion to freedom fighters.



4. The Manchester Conference (1945).
The Manchester Congress brought together a number of intellectuals and activists who would go on to become influential leaders in various African nationalist movements and the American civil rights movement, including the Kenyan nationalist leader Jomo Kenyatta, American academic W. E. B. Du Bois, and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who became President of independent Ghana.
From 14 to 22 October, there was a wide range of discussions with many resolutions passed, including one calling for racial discrimination to be made a criminal offence.
Blacks made it clear that: “We are determined to be free. We want education. We want the right to earn a good living, the right to express our thoughts and emotions.”
The debate awakened many Africans, leading to the active struggle for independence in Africa.



5. The rise of the USA as the leading capitalist power in the world after WWII.
The triumph of the USA as the western economic giant was due to partial involvement in both world wars because they did not affect much of her land and people.
But becoming a superpower was not enough, because the USA had no external sources of markets and raw materials. Henceforth, she came up with the Open Door Policy that required European countries to let African countries free in order to open the doors for investments.
Also, the USA wanted to spread capitalism into free countries in Africa to prevent socialism from reaching Africa, something that would limit her economic interests.
This forced Europeans to grant freedom to African countries because of USA's influence.


6. The contribution of the USSR as the giant socialist power in the world after WWII.
After the Second World War, the world was divided into two: the socialist bloc and the capitalist bloc.
The socialist side wanted to eradicate oppression and exploitation of man by man, done by the capitalists in the world.
Therefore, they helped African countries like Angola, Mozambique, and Tanganyika by providing them with military training to freedom fighters and the supply of weapons to remove the capitalists in Africa and spread socialism, an ideology that aimed at creating a society free from exploitation.
 
Conclusion:

The global situation of 1945 brought various changes in Africa, both positive and negative.
Africans lost vital manpower and resources in the war that had nothing to do with them, shedding blood for foreigners who constantly oppressed and brutally treated Blacks.
But at one point, the war marked the beginning of revolutionary movements that liberated the continent.

 Related topics:

African Nationalism and Decolonization.
https://historyforumtz.blogspot.com/2020/05/nationalism-and-decolonization-process.html