Analysis of the decolonization process in Sub-Saharan Africa, more specifically in Kenya and Algeria.

1. Isabela F. Karam
DECOLONIZATION:
ALGERIA AND KENYA

2. CONTEXT
COUNTRY ALGERIA KENYA
COLONIZER France Britain
WHO CRUA (Revolutionary Committee of Unity
and Action)
FLN (National Liberation Front)
ALN (National Liberation Army)
the French (paratroopers, citizens living
in Algeria)
Home guard (Kikuyu)
Mau Mau leaders (Kikuyu)
the British (living in White Highlands)
WHAT War for independence from French
colonizers
Process for independence from British
colonizers
WHEN 1940s – 3 July 1962 1940s - 12 December 1963
WHERE Algeria , North West Africa
• Rural vs. Urban setting
Kenya, Midwest

3. TIMELINE- ALGERIA
• 1830: Algeria occupied by France, “freed” Algerians from Ottoman Empire
after over 300 years of rule
• 1848: Algeria is recognized as an integral part of France
• November: European settlers allowed to migrate permanently to Algeria
• March 1937: foundation of the PPA (Algerian People’s Party)
• October 1946: PPA replaced by MTLD (Movement for the Triumph of
Democratic Liberties)
• 20 September 1947: institution of new Algerian constitution, allowed for
Algerians to be recognized as French citizens if they left behind their
traditional customs
• 1954: foundation of CRUA

4. TIMELINE- ALGERIA
• 1 November 1954: first guerilla attack, CRUA becomes FLN
• Resistance fighters encouraged by French loss at Dien Bien Phu
• February 1955: ALN targets Muslim collaborators
• 18-24 April 1955: FLN attends Bandung Conference  1st step towards creation
of Non-Aligned Movement
• August 1955: FLN begins targeting French civilians; insight wrath of French
pied-noir (vigilante committees)
• 30 September 1956: beginning of the Battle of Algiers, FLN wishes to get
international attention  plant bombs in civilian sites
• 24 September 1957: end of the Battle of Algiers, French victory
• 1 July 1957: John F. Kennedy supports Algerian independence in a speech
• May 1958: De Gaulle is made governor-general of Algiers  France’s desperate
attempt to contain the FLN

5. TIMELINE- ALGERIA
• September 1959: De Gaulle realizes that Algeria is unattainable, declares that
self-determination is necessary
• March 1961: first round of negotiations between FLN and French government at
Evian  no progress
• March 1962: second round of negotiations at Evian, subsequent declaration of a
ceasefire
• By June: FLN and OAS (Organization of the Secret Army) conclude a truce
• 1 July 1962: referendum is held to approve the Evian Agreements (
• Called for an Algérie algérienne, an Algerian Algeria
• 6 million Algerians cast their votes  supported independence
• 3 July 1962: declaration of Algerian independence

6. TIMELINE- KENYA
• 1895: British create the East Africa Protectorate
• Bound the region between the East coast of Africa and Uganda = territory of
Kenya
• 1901: completion of the railroad connecting Uganda to the Indian Ocean
• Connected Lake Victoria to Mombasa
• Extraction of goods (tea, coffee) from the land for trade
• British government encouraged Brits to live in the colony to encourage
further extension of the railroad
• 1920: East African Protectorate becomes crown colony of Kenya  administer
by UK
• 1944: formation of the Kenyan African Union (KAU)  campaigned for
independence
• 1947: Jomo Kenyatta becomes KAU leader

7. TIMELINE- KENYA
• August 1952: Mau Mau (Kikuyu guerilla fighters) meet secretly and begin
violent campaigns against white settlers
• 21 October 1952: Kenyan government declares state of emergency due to
escalating Mau Mau violence and possible confrontation with the arriving British
army
• 18 November 1952: Kenyatta arrested, accused of “managing and being a
member” of the Mau Mau
• 18 January 1953: governor-general Sir Evelyn Baring imposes death sentence
on all those who take the Mau Mau oath
• 8 April 1953: Kenyatta charged with management of Mau Mau and sentenced to
4 years in jail
• 1954: Mau Mau rebellion but down by the British military + Home Guard
(Kikuyu’s loyal to the government)

8. TIMELINE- KENYA
• 1959: Kenyatta released from jailed, placed under house arrest
• 1960: end of state of emergency
• British announce plans for majority African rule in government
• Foundation of Kenyan African National Union (KANU)
• 1961: Kenyatta freed, assumes presidency of KANU
• 12 December 1963: independence of Kenya with Jomo Kenyatta as prime
minister

9. RESISTANCE GROUPS- ALGERIA, FLN/ALN
• Who: Algerian Muslims and Berbers
• What: Algerian revolution for self-determination
• FLN: political direction
• ALN: military direction
• When: November 1954 – present
• 1954: CRUA becomes FLN + ALN
• Currently an Algerian political party
• Where: mostly urban Algeria, region of Algiers  conducted attacks against
French civilians, government officials, French army, uncooperative French
subjects
• Goal: Algerian independence

11. RESISTANCE GROUPS- KENYA, MAU MAU
• Who: Kikuyu nationalists
• What: Militant African nationalist movement
• When: August 1951 – March 1954
• 1951:holding of the first secret meeting, creation of the Mau Mau Oath 
drive the white men out of Kenya
• 1954: arrest of General China  last Mau Mau general
• Where: rural Kenya conducted attacks against British government, Home
Guard, Kenyans refusing to take the oath/demoralizing the Mau Mau cause
• Goal: Kenyan independence

13. ASSIMILATION VS. SEGREGATION
ALGERIA- Assimilation KENYA- Segregation
• 1830s: informal legal segregation
• Algerians = second-class citizens,
“subjects”
• French in Algeria = first-class citizens
• 1920s: institution of process of assimilation
• Monitored Islamic schools
• Limited pilgrimages to Mecca
• Labeled Arabic a foreign language
• Nonetheless, could become citizens if:
• Renounced their Arab past
• Let go of Muslim traditions
• Adopted French language
• Followed French customs
• Late 1800s: formal segregation
• British were granted most of the available
fertile land
• Kenyans relocated to “reserves” + forced to
work for British
• Political + economic privileges based on
race
• Segregated public + housing facilities
• Reserves:
• Lacked adequate water supplies
• Could not support all the livestock/people
sent
• Control of highlands (fertile grounds)
• 1903: settlers claimed 2 k ha
• 1938: settlers claimed 2 mi ha
• 86% of claimed ground lay unused

14. ASSIMILATION SEGREGATION

15. URBAN VS. RURAL TACTICS
ALGERIA- Battle of Algiers KENYA- Mau Mau Rebellion
• Who: FLN/ALN vs. French Algerian authorities
• Tactic: urban guerilla warfare
• When:1956- 57
• Where: Algiers
• Casbah + French neighborhoods
• Why: FLN’s attempt at forcing the French out of
Algeria
• Wished to draw UN’s attention  gain
international support
• Leaders:
• FLN: Ali la Pointe, Larbi Ben M’hidi, Saadi
Yacef
• French: Jacques Massu, Marcel Bigeard
• Result: French victory, suppressed FLN’s terrorist
attacks
• Who: Mau Mau vs. Home Guard + British army
• Tactic: conventional guerilla warfare
• When: 1952- late 1950s
• Where: Kenya, White Highlands, Anti-Mau Mau
villages
• Why: Kikuyu’s attempt at achieving
independence by force
• UK had let go of other colonies, Kenya
should not be an exception
• Leaders:
• Mau Mau: Dedan Kimathi, Stanley
Mathenge, Jomo Kenyatta
• British: Evelyn Baring, George Erskine
• Results: British victory, suppressed spread of
Mau Mau ideology

16. ALGERIA KENYA

17. JOMO KENYATTA ALI LA POINTE

18. POST-COLONIALISM- ALGERIA
• Inherited colonial governmental structure
• 3rd world nation  developing country
• Stagnated economically: used to be the greatest wheat exporter to Europe,
currently produce little to no wheat
• Literacy rates have dropped over 17% since 1962
• Discrimination between “Algerians” (20% of population) and Arabs (80%)
• Religious minorities severely oppressed by Muslim government
• However, economically, its GDP has been growing due to its oil and natural gas
industry
• Neocolonialism: 5/6 of its agricultural trade (37% of economy) is with France
• Duty-free products circulate between the two nations since 1835 and
continued after Algerian independence

19. POST-COLONIALISM- KENYA
• Inherited colonial governmental structure
• 3rd world country  developing nation
• Constitution promises free health care and primary education, but this is yet
to be achieved
• Freedom of worship + political alignment
• Neocolonialism: continued to hold close colonial ties with Britain
• Trade partners, international policy allies (especially within the UN)
• However, 60-70% of Kenyan industry is owned from abroad  consequence
of fraudulent asset transfers by colonial Britain in the early 1960s
• Is what caused the country to spiral into poverty, though it was risen above
its Sub-Saharan neighbors
• 2013: British government agreed to pay compensation for those tortured during
this time period

20. OVERARCHING THEMES- EXPLANATIONS
EXPLANATION ALGERIA KENYA
NATIONALIST
“Anti-colonial nationalism
was the primary factor in
inducing an imperial
power to disengage from
formal control of a
colony” (Springhall 5)
FLN/ALN guerilla tactics were
catalysts for making the French
realize that it was time they let go
of the Algerian Colony.
• Repudiated direct French rule
Mau Mau people demonstrated to the British
the general population’s discontent with how
they were being treated and catalyzed their
independence movement as Kenya was
undeclared a “state of emergency” and
officially decolonized.
• Repudiated indirect British rule

21. OVERARCHING THEMES- EXPLANATIONS
EXPLANATION ALGERIA KENYA
INTERNATIONALIST
“The breakup of colonial
empires [was] merely an
inevitable outcome of the
great transformation in
international politics (…)
[as] the new
superpowers were
avowedly anti-colonial”
(Springhall 9).
1945: end of World War II
• Algerians compared Fascism to
Imperialism  both should be
terminated
• UN Charter: concept of self-
determination  FLN wished
for Algéria algérienne
1954: French defeat at Dien Bien
Phu
• Algerians made use of their
military fragility to too demand
their independence
1945: end of World War II
• Britain did not appear to follow the same
footsteps as the Axis Powers, who
wished to expand their empires  let go
of Kenya, but continued to maintain
close economic bonds

22. OVERARCHING THEMES- EXPLANATIONS
EXPLANATION ALGERIA KENYA
METROPOLITAN
Decolonization was
contingent upon, “a
political choice taken by
postwar European
governments under the
pressure of domestic
(often economic)
constraints and
calculations of national
interest” (Springhall 13).
Assimilation: failed attempts to
assimilate the Arab population (only
2.5 k /4.5 mi)
• Created atmosphere of intense
nationalism
• France received a massive
wave of Algerian immigrants
after 1958  citizens pleaded
that colony be made
independent to prevent t=more
waves
Cold War strains: as the UK sided with US
and capitalism, its people required that the
government abided with its due policies =
should let go of colonialism
• Neocolonialism: still maintain close
economic + industrial relationship with
Kenya

23. OVERARCHING THEMES
HISTORIAN ALGERIA KENYA
A. G. HOPKINS
“Decolonization is a
process of globalization”
The outbreak of the Cold War and the
intensification of the process of
decolonization gave the Algerians power
to fight their colonizers as France had just
law the First Indo-China War and Fascism
was being compared to Imperialism.
• Spring of revolution: uprisings in
Tunisia and Morocco  subsequent
Algeria
In Kenya too the Cold War served
as an intensifier for decolonization,
though here what influenced most
decolonization was the UK’s fear
that its public image would be
harmed if it kept its colonies.
• Axis power were Imperialists
• US was against colonialism
GAYATRI SPIVAK
“The subaltern has no
voice”
The Muslim subaltern began to have a
voice after independence, though the
Algerian minority (20% of population)
remain repressed.
• Minority = Berbers, Jews, Saharawi
Kenyans began to develop a voice
as they joined the international
scenario as one of Africa’s most
economically prominent nations.

24. HISTORIAN ALGERIA KENYA
BENEDICT ANDERSON
“Imagined communities”
FLN attempted to divide Algerians
from the French through nationalism.
• Cultural divisions between Muslims
vs. non-Muslims
Mau Mau attempted to join all Kikuyu’s
under their oath to overthrow
colonialism.
• Murdered all Kikuyus that refused
to take the oath / spoke against
independence
MARTHA CRENSHAW
“Unconventional warfare,
urban terrorism”
FLN/ALN employed guerilla tactics +
urban terrorism
• Booby traps, women bombers,
suicide bombers, ambushes
Mau Mau Kikuyus used first
spears/fire, then fire arms to get their
point across to the government
• Guerilla tactics against Home
Guard + British military
FRANZ FANON
“Nationalism is paradoxical
to liberation”
Theory proved wrong as nationalist
movements were what drove the
country towards independence.
Theory proved wrong as nationalist
movements were what drove the
country towards independence.
OVERARCHING THEMES

25. WALLERSTEIN’S WORLD SYSTEM THEORY

26. WALLERSTEIN’S WORLD SYSTEM THEORY
Core Semi-Periphery Periphery

27. PREMISES
• The processes of decolonization in Kenya and Algeria illustrate how nationalist
movements adjusted their guerilla tactics to their target’s location and the status
of colonizer peoples.
• Although both terrorist and semi-conventional guerilla tactics were employed by
the FLN/ALN and the Mau Mau, respectively, in neither Algeria nor Kenya did the
revolutionary conflicts directly result in independence, but rather served as
catalysts for the end of decolonization.
• Despite how both Kenya and Algeria were settler colonies, while the British
attempted to segregated the Kenyans from the English, the French attempted to
assimilate them within the French culture.
• There is a direct relation between colonizing countries are current developed
nations and prior colonies as developing nations.

28. ARE COLONIZATION AND DECOLONIZATION DIRECT
LINKS TO A COUNTRY’S WELL BEING?