Monthly Archives: October 2014

When the Portuguese landed on the East African coastline in the late 1400s, they began building docks and trading posts. Centuries later, they established small colonies throughout the region that helped watch over the mining industry. Gold became very profitable for Portugal and as the profits increased, so did their influence in the region. By the 19^th century, Portugal was fully invested in the region of East Africa. The people of the region were paid little, kept to manual labor jobs, and taxed heavily by the ruling Portuguese. This long reign of power over Mozambique created the strong nationalist movements that would ultimately lead Mozambique to its freedom.

In an act to gain freedom, a group of people met in Dar es Salaam and formed the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO. The conference involved exiled political figures from different nationalist groups. One of the members was Samora Machel.

The effect of the Portuguese on Machel was first felt while he was training to be a nurse. His farming village from when he was a kid was employed by white workers to build infrastructures. Many locals sought jobs in South Africa working in mines. Shortly after, Machel’s brother was killed in a mining accident.

Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique

Machel started his anti-colonialism efforts while protesting the fact that black nurses were paid less than white nurse. He later left Lourenco Marques, the town the hospital was in, when he was informed by a hospital employee that he was being watched by the local Portuguese police. This led Machel to slip out of the country to join FRELIMO. On his way there, he jumped on a plane to from Batswana to Tanzania. The plane was carrying recruits for the African National Congress of South Africa and the senior official liked Machel so much he kicked a recruit off to make room for him.

At the FRELIMO conference, Machel volounteered to join the military service and was trained in guerilla warfare in Algeria. After completing his training, he became in charge of the FRELIMO camp in Tanzania. Machel quickly grew in the ranks with his success in gruella warfare and grueling conditions. He became first commander after the one before him was killed.

When the founder of FRELIMO, Eduardo Mondlane, was murdered, Machel, along with Rev Uria Samingo and poet Marcelino dos Santos all lead together.

Portugal increased their military force in the area to help stop any more rebellious acts. While they destroyed guerilla bases, little was actually destroyed since the bases were mostly huts. Machel shifted their attack to Cahora Bassa where the Portueguese were building a dam. The commander of the Portuguese army planned for this and set 3 outposts around the dam. Being the military genious that Machel had become,  he attacked other parts of the Tete provinve and continued to move south and destroy railways. The people of the surrounding cities were upset that the military wasn’t doing enough to protect them.

Finally, a military uprising occurred in Portugal because of the anger of the spending and deaths occurring in their provinces. With almost no bloodshed, the government was overthrown. FRELIMO and the Portuguese military force in Mozambique worked out a deal that would lead to their freedom.

Samora Machel used the knowledge he gained when training in guerilla warfare to rise the ranks in FRELIMO to outfight and outsmart the Portuguese government. After they gained their freedom, Machel was named the first president of the country of Mozambique

Ali Anouzia is a Moroccan independent journalist. He became famous in Morocco due to his articles criticizing the King of Morocco, King Mohammed VI’s rule. Anouzia has been the editor-in-chief of the online media platform Lakome since December 2010. Lakome is a website that became very famous and notable for the revelation of the king’s scandal in the Daniel scandal in which King Mohammed VI was found to have pardoned, as a gesture “demonstrating good relations between him and King Juan Carlos of Spain” a Spanish serial child rapist sentenced to thirty years in Morocco but he only spent a short time of a year and a half.

King Mohammed VI is the current King of Morocco. He inherits the throne after his father, King Hassan II, passed away in July of 1999. The royal family of Morocco involves in many scandals and topics that make the citizen build up skeptical feeling toward the royal family. Main income in Morocco comes from tourism and business, which these two shouldn’t be controlled by the government however, royal family does involve in business and it becomes famous topic in Morocco. Although royal involvement in business is a major topic in society, discussing the topic in public is very sensitive in Morocco and the people have to be careful about doing so. Nevertheless its sensitiveness of discussion, the US embassy in Rabat, Morocco reported to Washington that corruption is frequently and more like typical thing to be found in all levels of Moroccan society. Corruption, by all accounts, reaches the highest levels in Morocco, where the business interests of Mohammed VI and some of his advisors influence almost every huge housing project in Morocco.

The involvement of the king and his relatives reduces people’s trust in the monarchy system and brings up many up rising against the King’s rule. Ali Anouzla uses his writing skill for gaining his support for criticizing the king. He published an editorial named “the cost of the monarchy.” The Cost of The Monarchy talks about the budget of Morocco’s palace, arguing about how huge and extravagant it is comparing to other places in richer countries in Europe such as Britain, France, and Spain. Furthermore Anouzla’s attack to the king, Anouzla also points out the periodically absence of the king. He suggests that King Mohammed VI frequently takes long vacations and always uses lots of money for each vacation. The long absence of the king leads to the country of Morocco facing the political instability for several months. Other than the editorial “The Cost of The Monarchy,” Anouzla also published an article on Lakome.com about a video entitled “Morocco, the kingdom of corruption and despotism.” This video directly attack against the king and soon after the release of the video, Ali Anouzla was arrested. Many people believe that the real reason behind the arrest of Anouzla was revenge.

The king’s untrustworthy actions, Anouzla’s publishes and also influences of other Arab countries’ uprisings lead the people of Morocco to start an uprising against the king, demanding him to change. These protests were organized and supported by the 20 February Movement struggling and asking the king for freedom, democracy, human rights and the end of corruption and povery in Morocco.

The Anticolonial movements in Africa was a result of European imperialism on the continent in the late 19^th and the 20^th century. There were varied forms to resist the colonialism from the European countries. For instance some of the nonviolent forms of anticolonial included indigenous press, trade union, organized religion, associations, literary and art forms. In 1935, the Italian community in Ethiopia was small for only 200 Italians lived in Ethiopia; however, by 1940 there were nearly 40,000 italians resident. In 1936, the Italians attempted to colonize Ethiopia for 5 years. In 1869, the battle of Adwa took place in which the Italian and the Ethiopian Empire fought near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia. This was an important battle of the first Italo-Ethiopian War concerning the security of the Ethiopian sovereignty from the Italy.

The emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, is celebrated for defeating Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. He was the king of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death, and throughout his reign, and he continuously struggled for various claimants to the Imperial throne. In 1880, Menelik II signed a treaty at Wuchale in Wollo in which acknowledged the establishment of the new Italian colony of Eritrea with Asmara. This colony was previously part of northern Tigrean terriotires, which the Ras Mangasha generally supported. In the end, however, the Italian colony weaked the Ras. Despite the treaty, it was soon found out that the Italian and the Ethiopian version of the treaty articles were different. For instance, on one the treaty of articles found in Italy, it indicated that the Ethiopian empire was under the Italian domination. However such statement was not written on the Ethiopian version of the treaty. Hence, Menelik denounced such act and tried numerous negotiations, but failed. Nevertheless this led Italy to declare war and to invade from Eritrea.

The War of Edema was a tool to advocate Ethiopia’s resistance against the Italian power. The Italian army was comprised of approximately 17,000 men while the Ethiopian army comprised of 73,000 and 120,000 men. The Italian general Baratien planned to surprise the Ethiopian force in the morning, when they were asleep. However, the Ethiopians woke up early for Church services and Menelik released his reserve of 25,000 men, destroying the Italian brigade. The victory of the war resulted from not only the large number of forces, but also Menelik’s strategic acumen. While the Italians occupied the city of Adigat for over a year before Menelik confronted them, he used that delay to import European weapons that outclassed to those of Italians. Accordingly, Menelilk is shown to be a complex, engaging historical figure as well as a crafty politician. Menelik furthermore had to navigate, and receive support from his wife Empress Taytu, linking the marriage from southern Shoa (Menelik) and northern Tigray (Taytu) regions of Ethiopia.

In the end, it was only Ethiopia who was able to decisively resist the European power, and to maintain its independence. Menelik secured the Treaty of Addis Ababa in which outlined the borders of Eritrea and enforced Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia.

Eritrea was colonized by Italy in 1890 and was converted into and Italian state. They reigned for decades until the British came and threw out the Italians. The British then ruled for 10 years until relinquishing the territory due to a UN mandate. Consequently this gave Ethiopia the power to annex Eritrea. This created a turbulent environment for the bordering countries and later led to a 30-year war. This was resulted in Eritrea’s independence. This fight for independence wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of many leaders and commanders of the Eritrean independence movement. Hamid Idris Awate and Isais Afwerki were two influential figures that made this movement possible.

Hamid Idris Awate served in the Italian Colonial Army before coming back to Eritrea and fighting against the British forces. He created an armed campaign to combat the British. Awate’s faction then came to a truce with the British. After the British relinquished the state, a group of Eritrean exiles founded the Eritrean Liberation Movement under Awate’s leadership. Awate’s group of rebels wreaked havoc for the Ethiopians in power and were the greatest nationalist threat at the time. Ethiopians came at Awate many times but failed time and time again. It was then in 1962 did Awate die from battle wounds. He was one of the driving forces in the struggle for independence and is considered a hero among the people. The government of Eritrea erected a statue of him in 1994.

Isais Afwerki became apart of the struggle for independence in 1966. He was studying Engineering in Addis Ababa before leaving for Kassala, Sudan to join the Eritrean Liberation Front in exile. They were then sent to China for military training. They also spent 2 years studying political ideology and guerrilla warfare. When Ajwerki returned to Eritrea, he was appointed political commissar of the Eritrean Liberation Front. The Eritrean Liberation Front then divided into 3 different factions. Afwerki joined a new faction called the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front. Afwerki worked with a team to create a manifesto titled “Our Struggle and its Goals”. This manifesto keyed in on big social topics, asking the people to overcome ethnic and religious differences. It also called on the people to launch a revolutionary struggle for independence. Afwerki then became a military chairman for the committee in 1975. He was then elected vice secretary-general in 1977 and finally elected secretary general 10 years later. In 1991, under Afwerki’s leadership, Eritrea was declared an independent state. He was able to unite all of Eritrea and bring order to the state, ending the 30-year struggle for independence. He was then declared the first head of state in 1993. He restructured Eritrea’s entire government top to bottom making it an efficient democracy.

Both these men did great, unforgettable things for the country of Eritrea. Awate was a true rebel and started the initial push for independence until his death in 1962. He will remain prevalent in the history of Eritrea. Afwerki was a true diplomat and had the vision of a unified Eritrea. His work during the struggle for independence and his work in the new government define him as one of the great Eritrean leaders in their history.

In this blog I would like to talk about a key political figure in the 2011 Libyan revolution. His name is Mustafa Abdul Jalil and he served as the Justice Minister for the Gaddafi regime. In February 2011, he was dispatched by the regime to deal with the beginnings of the uprising in Benghazi. There he witnessed excessive violence against unarmed protesters by the Gaddafi regime. Because of this, he became the first member of Gaddafi’s cabinet to resign and within days of his resignation he became chairman of the NTC (National Transitional Council) – an organization set up to transition the country to democracy after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.

Mr. Abdul Jalil was born in the eastern city of Bayda and studied law and Shariah (Islamic Law) at the University of Libya. After graduating, Mr. Abdul Jalil worked as a lawyer for a public prosecutor’s office before becoming a judge in 1978. In 2002, he became President of the Court of Appeal and then a few years later he became President of the Court of Bayda. In 2007, Mr. Abdul Jalil was appointed Justice Minister of the Gaddafi regime and would stay there until the beginning of the revolution.

Even as a judge, Mr. Abdul Jalil was known to rule against the government. People knew of his capacity to turn against Gaddafi rule. When he was called to negotiate peace in Benghazi during the uprising, he found his chance to turn against the regime. He publically resigned as Justice Minister on television saying he could not cope with the difficulties facing the judicial sector of the state. This was a dramatic move because Gaddafi refused his resignation. It is unsure why Gaddafi refused his resignation but nonetheless it should have given him quite a shock. After his resignation, Mr. Abdul Jalil began his work as chairman of the NTC.

Mr. Abdul Jalil first major move for the NTC was to call for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. He asked other nations to aid Libya in overthrowing Gaddafi rule by restricting Libya’s airspace, however, he made sure to stress that he did not want foreign ground troops for support. This restricted Gaddafi’s use of military planes and helped reduce the number of casualties during the uprising. Next, Mr. Abdul Jalil held a meeting in Bayda to discuss the formation of an interim government that could help Libya after Gaddafi’s rule had ended. Positions for the temporary government were decided as well as ground work for a formal democratic government. Mr. Abdul Jalil wanted Libya to have democratic elections and this temporary government would stabilize the country until elections could begin.

In October 2011, the NTC announced that Libya had been liberated. The country began the process of forming a new government and holding democratic elections. In July 2012, Libya held elections to form a committee charged with drafting a new constitution. There is no doubt that Mr. Abdul Jalil was a very influential leader during Libya’s revolution. In my opinion, I see him as they guy who got the ball rolling. He was the first member of the cabinet to publically defy Gaddafi. His belief in human rights won the support of more than 30 foreign government as well as the imposition of a no-fly zone. But most of all, he was not afraid to speak about his views even, if they defied the most powerful man in his country.

When people talk about revolutionary figures, they always talk about politicians and social activists. It’s true that politicians and social activists always bring a revolution. They establish new government, fight for democracy and freedom and they call for attentions on human rights. However, there are a huge number of people, who have different careers, are significant to the development of a country. They contribute and effect their countries in their own ways. In Ivory Coast, this “Mr. Significant” is Didier Drogba.

Born in March, 11th in 1978, Drogba is a world-famous soccer player from Ivory Coast. When Drogba turned 5, he moved to France because of the civil war in Ivory Coast. In France, he started to learn how to play soccer with his uncle, who played for the national team of Ivory Coast in the past. At the beginning, Drogba missed his hometown and parents terribly so that he came back to Abidjan after his third year in France.

However,bad situation in Ivory Coast made his parent lose their jobs. Drogba then had to return to France to live with his uncle. Several years later, his parents moved to France and lived in suburbs of Paris. He then returned to his parents and started to play team soccer. He was passionate and talent. When Drogba turned 19, he started his career in a French club: Le Mans.

Drogba went through a hard time in training and competing since his experience of moving a lot makes him not as good as his French teammates. His career was twisted at the beginning. However, five years later, he joined Guingamp, a club played in Ligue 1, which is the Championnat de France de football Ligue 1. His career became prosperous since then. Drogba’s outstanding performance in Guingamp made him a famous player in France. He then played for several famous French club. Drogba’s turning point in his career life appeared in 2004. He transfered to the world-famous soccer club: Chelsea in England. His talent and incredible performance gradually made him world famous player.

When Drogba became famous, the whole world started to notice this incredible soccer player and his hometown: Ivory Coast. Drogba became the captain of Ivory Coast national team and he led his team successfully in several important games. They made Ivory Coast a famous soccer country in Africa. When people talk about fantastic soccer teams, they started to talk about Ivory Coast. For Drogba himself, he has been named “African Footballer of the year” twice and he was the first winner of that title in Ivory Coast.

Drogba’s success in soccer started to effect beyond soccer world. Almost every little kid in Ivory Coast likes Drogba and every kid wants to become a man like Drogba. People started to play soccer all over the country. They gradually forgot the pain of wars in their country because of the happiness soccer brought them. There were much more posters of Drogba in the country than the posters of their president. Drogba was like a shinning star in Ivory Coast. He arose exactly the time when Ivory Coast needed a hero. Wars and conflicts have made Ivory Coast exhausted. The exist of Drogba was kind of a new hope to the country. People gathered to play soccer and cheered for their national team. They enjoyed the happiness of sports and they were proud of being a citizens of Ivory Coast. In 2006, the civil war in Ivory Coast was sever. At that time, Drogba returned to his homeland. His speeches and mediations finally brought peace to this country. For the first time, he proved that he was not just a soccer player. Drogba’s power was magic for Ivory Coast. His influence on Ivory Coast was so deep that he was absolutely a revolutionary figure in Ivory Coast.

Chad gained its independence in the August of 1960 and ceased being a colony under control of France.  One of the major figures in this decolonization of Chad was a man by the name of Gabriel Lisette.  Gabriel Lisette was born in Panama, in a port city called Portobelo, on April 2, 1919.  Gabriel Lisette, not being a naturally born Chadian, came to become a politician there after he became a Colonial administrator for France.  In taking this role, he was brought to Chad and posted there in 1946.  Gabriel Lisette quickly moved his way up the ladder of French colonial rule.  In the November of 1946, the same year he was brought in to be a colonial administrator, Gabriel Lisette was elected to be a deputy of the French National Assembly.  It would be in the February of the following year, however, that Gabriel Lisette would make moves towards Chadian independence from the country he was brought in to work for.

Gabriel Lisette in the February of 1947 established Chad’s very first African political party.  The political party that he founded was called the Chadian Progressive Party, or PPT for short.  The Chadian Progressive Party, when it was first established, attracted the countries non-Muslim population, particularly those who were considered to be intellectuals.  The Chadian Progressive Party was a branch of African Democratic Rally, an integral entity in the decolonization of French Colonies in Africa.  It was a radical political party that promoted nationalism, and whose radical views was exemplified by its motto “Enough with cotton! Enough with taxes!  Enough with chiefs”.  This radical approach and bias towards the non-Muslim population, which largely inhabited the southern part of the country, spurred the creation of the largely Muslim political party:  Chadian Democratic Union, or UDT for short.

The Chadian Democratic Union had gained more power initially than then Chadian Progressive Party did.  The French colonial administration boycotted the radical Chadian Progressive Party, supporting the Chadian Democratic Union instead.  However, the Chadian Democratic Union would lose much of their power once reforms to the electoral system allowed for a larger voter pool, benefiting the Gabriel Lisette lead Chadian Progressive Party, as it allowed much of the non-Muslim population to the south that could not vote before be able to vote.  In 1957 Gabriel Lisette was voted in as Vice-President of the Government Council, quickly moving up to President a little over a year later.

This move to president was a major step to independence, but it was not smooth sailing for Gabriel Lisette after that.  Shortly after his election, Gabriel Lisette was kicked out of his position when a motion of no confidence was put against him.  This brought in a new leader, Ahmed Koulamallah, who Gabriel Lisette had to quickly overthrow his rule, along with another government led by Gontchome Sahoulba.  Once the Chadian Progressive Party regained power, Gabriel Lisette stepped down, letting a native Chadian, Francois Tombalbaye, lead the party.  Just as Chad was about to gain independence, Francois Tombalbaye, who would become the countries dictator exiled Gabriel Lisette from Chad, ending Gabriel’s political career and securing his rule over Chad for years to come.  After everything Gabriel Lisette had done for Chad and for their fight for independence, he was exiled by the very man he chose to replace him.

Bibliography:

“Gabriel Lisette.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

“Chadian Progressive Party.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

I have search online for the anti-colonialism revolutionary icon, there were not many famous people shown in the result for my country Tunisia. However,Habib Bourguiba is the only one that contributes to the anti colonialism in the Tunisia history. He leads a party called Destour, which demands complete Tunisian control of the government and administration of the country and full citizenship rights for both Tunisians and Frenchmen.

As we know that French controlled over Tunisia, achieved in 1881, brings to an end several decades of diplomatic jockeying between three colonials’ powers, France, Britain, and Italy. All three are officially involved in the region from 1869. The local dynasty of Beys has in recent decades spent lavishly to modernize their country, using funds borrowed in Europe. The program, accompanied by necessary attempts to increase taxes, creates profound local resentment. By 1869 it is clear that the province is bankrupt. France, Britain and Italy are placed jointly, by international agreement, in control of Tunisian finances. By 1878 France and Britain come to a quiet agreement that the British will allow Tunisia to be a French sphere of influence in return for French acceptance of the recently established British presence in Cyprus. The 1881 treaty of Bardo guarantees French protection for the bey’s territory and dynasty, but it also limits his authority to internal affairs. In 1907, The young Tunisian Party was created and it started Tunisia’s steps towards independence. They were consisted of nationalist and educate people. Habib Bourguiba later turned the Party into the Neo Destour.

Habib Bourguiba played a major role in Tunisia’s fight for independence. He recruited people to join in on the fight for independence. The French, of course, banned Neo Destour and sent Habib to a French prison. Bourguiba, spends about ten of the next twenty years in French prisons. But thanks to his organizational skills the French never come near to suppressing the movement itself. As members of the party executive are discovered and arrested, others are always trained and ready to take their place.World War II impinges in an improbable way on the Tunisian struggle for independence. Bourguiba, held in a prison in Vichy France and then moved by the Germans to captivity in Rome, comes under great pressure from both Germany and Italy to align the Tunisian independence movement with the cause of the Axis powers. He resolutely refuses to do so, but is nevertheless allowed to return in March 1943 to German-occupied Tunisia. Two months later the allies successfully conclude the North Africa campaign, converging on Tunisia from east and west to clear out the Germans. Bourguiba is now able to make direct contact with the Free French, the faction likely to become the colonial power after the war.He puts to them a plan for Tunisia’s gradual progress towards autonomy (gradualism, also known to Tunisians as ‘Bourguibism’, is a consistent characteristic of his political approach). But his proposals are given scant attention. The next ten years therefore see an escalation in the campaign for independence. There is another spell in prison for Bourguiba , during which his followers increasingly turn to terrorism. In June 1954 a socialist premier, Pierre Mendès-France, comes to power in Paris and introduces a new policy of partial French withdrawal from two of the nation’s most troubled colonies, Tunisia and Indochina. The result, in April 1955, is an agreement for Tunisia’s internal autonomy with only foreign affairs and defense remaining in French hands (in effect a return to the situation in 1881). Bourguiba makes a triumphal return to Tunisia and a Neo-Destour government is formed. Bourguiba refuses to accept his natural place at the head of the new Tunisian government until full independence is achieved. But in keeping with his policy of gradualism, he continues to negotiate the next stage with the French government. In this he is greatly helped by the onset of a more serious French crisis in Algeria and by French acceptance, in November 1955, of independence for Morocco. The same is achieved for Tunisia in March 1956. Bourguiba now becomes prime minister of the new nation, which in spirit is more inclined to republicanism than monarchy. In July 1957 the constitutional role of the bey is abolished. Bourguiba becomes head of state, as president, in addition to his role as premier.

Reference: The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Ali Bash Hamba (Tunisian Leader).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/15275/Ali-Bash-Hamba>.

“HISTORY OF TUNISIA.” HISTORY OF TUNISIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac93>.

“Independence/Important People.” Tunisian Imperialism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. <http://tunisianimperialism.weebly.com/independenceimportant-people.html>.