Changes

European national boundaries were a new concept for much of Africa which was accustomed to small tribal or village living and didn't understand how many such tribes and villages, which often warred with each other, could be put together under one national banner.  This forced nationhood apart from African cultural groups and village life has continued to be a source of strife in African nations to this day.

European national boundaries were a new concept for much of Africa which was accustomed to small tribal or village living and didn't understand how many such tribes and villages, which often warred with each other, could be put together under one national banner.  This forced nationhood apart from African cultural groups and village life has continued to be a source of strife in African nations to this day.

===1900-1960===

===1900-1960===

In 1900 Africa comprised many rural societies with a few towns and little infrastructure. From 1900 to 1960 Africa underwent a sustained period of unprecedented modernization, almost revolutionary in its medium and long-term effects. Urbanization created cities, as it led to mass migration and slow, if patchy, industrialization. Throughout the continent, towns expanded swiftly and new urban centers grew in the half-century following the imposition of colonial rule in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century. Towns in key locations such as [[Abidjan]], [[Port Harcourt]], [[Lusaka]] and [[Nairobi]] grew to be cities, typically founded as ports, harbors, administrative and mining centers, and/or as transport—especially railway—focal points. For example, in the colonial Gold Coast ([[Ghana]]) the western town of Takoradi became the colony's chief railway town. Farther down the coast, the growth of the capital city, [[Accra]], was swift: its population increased from about 18,000 in 1901 to 135,000 in 1951.

In 1900 Africa comprised many rural societies with a few towns and little infrastructure. From 1900 to 1960 Africa underwent a sustained period of unprecedented modernization, almost revolutionary in its medium and long-term effects. Urbanization created cities, as it led to mass migration and slow, if patchy, industrialization. Throughout the continent, towns expanded swiftly and new urban centers grew in the half century following the imposition of colonial rule in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century. Towns in key locations such as [[Abidjan]], [[Port Harcourt]], [[Lusaka]] and [[Nairobi]] grew to be cities, typically founded as ports, harbors, administrative and mining centers, and/or as transport—especially railway—focal points. For example, in the colonial Gold Coast ([[Ghana]]) the western town of Takoradi became the colony's chief railway town. Farther down the coast, the growth of the capital city, [[Accra]], was swift: its population increased from about 18,000 in 1901 to 135,000 in 1951.

Urbanization and the development of transport infrastructures were accompanied by rapid population growth. Due in part to improvements in health care and to the progressive conquest by medical science of illnesses such as bubonic plague, yellow fever and yaws, Africa's population grew by almost 40% between 1900 and 1960. Migrants flooded into the urban centers, while traditional communities were disrupted and consequently changed as a result of their gradual insertion into the modern world economy and the effects of an increasingly centralized political environment.  Power was in the capital cities. The result of population growth, urbanization, increased educational and employment opportunities, the introduction and development of cash crops for sale on the world market, and the virtual end  of slavery was a new social order. The colonial system emphasized achievement rather than family name alone. While it would be an exaggeration to claim that a purely meritocratic system developed, but it was certainly the case that for many Africans upward social mobility was for the first time something that could be earned rather than bestowed by the circumstances of birth. The army, for example, trained and equipped by the colonial powers, was a popular route. Across Africa the urban-rural divide grew wider. By the 1930s, rural dwellers were separated from urbanites by wide differences in employment, access to health care, housing standards, and educational opportunity. After World War II, further subdivisions of class, ethnicity and occupation also became sharper, with old clan loyalties trumping meritocracy when they conflicted.  Taken together these developments had the effect of stimulating many Africans, especially the educated elite, to question European rule and demand independence.  The colonial powers had done little to prepare for the day, but almost overnight in the 1960s most colonies became independent nations. In the case of the French Empire, Paris kept tight controls.  Britain gave the new nations a free hand, and most set up strong-man governments. In the case of the Portuguese and Belgian colonies, total chaos and civil wars resulted.

Urbanization and the development of transport infrastructures were accompanied by rapid population growth. Due in part to improvements in health care and to the progressive conquest by medical science of illnesses such as bubonic plague, yellow fever and yaws, Africa's population grew by almost 40% between 1900 and 1960. Migrants flooded into the urban centers, while traditional communities were disrupted and consequently changed as a result of their gradual insertion into the modern world economy and the effects of an increasingly centralized political environment.  Power was in the capital cities. The result of population growth, urbanization, increased educational and employment opportunities, the introduction and development of cash crops for sale on the world market, and the virtual end  of slavery was a new social order. The colonial system emphasized achievement rather than family name alone. While it would be an exaggeration to claim that a purely meritocratic system developed, but it was certainly the case that for many Africans upward social mobility was for the first time something that could be earned rather than bestowed by the circumstances of birth. The army, for example, trained and equipped by the colonial powers, was a popular route. Across Africa the urban-rural divide grew wider. By the 1930s, rural dwellers were separated from urbanites by wide differences in employment, access to health care, housing standards, and educational opportunity. After World War II, further subdivisions of class, ethnicity and occupation also became sharper, with old clan loyalties trumping meritocracy when they conflicted.  Taken together these developments had the effect of stimulating many Africans, especially the educated elite, to question European rule and demand independence.  The colonial powers had done little to prepare for the day, but almost overnight in the 1960s most colonies became independent nations. In the case of the French Empire, Paris kept tight controls.  Britain gave the new nations a free hand, and most set up strong-man governments. In the case of the Portuguese and Belgian colonies, total chaos and civil wars resulted.