National liberation movements and decolonization in Africa south of the Sahara

Abstract

The last twenty five years saw the rapid decay of the colonial system. Generous ideas were advanced in England and France as regards the evolution of over seas territories during the atmosphere of reforms in the period immediately after the war. But the period between 1945 and 1955 was a difficult phase of trial and error. The declarations of intent we r e hardly followed or were not followed by concrete realizations. The cautious evolution towards self government when it took place made the elites impatient and was for the latte r only an occasion to accelerate the movement. The colonial authorities were not anxious t o translate their intentions into facts and the result was a feeling of dis trust and disillusion: the Africans doubted the good faith of a policy designed to maintain white domination and made radical claims within the form of mass organizations.