PDP2- All-African People's Conference: Resolution on Imperialism and Colonialism, Accra, December 5-13, 1958
Author Bio: The author of this article is not listed, since it is essentially a summary of the All-African People’s Conference. The summary goes over the agreements that were reached by the many representatives that attended it, including leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and the United Arab Republic. There were also delegates from 28 African countries and colonies. The chairman was Tom Mboya.
Author Bio: The author of this article is not listed, since it is essentially a summary of the All-African People’s Conference. The summary goes over the agreements that were reached by the many representatives that attended it, including leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and the United Arab Republic. There were also delegates from 28 African countries and colonies. The chairman was Tom Mboya.
Date/Context: The first part of the conference was preceded by a preparatory committee that was composed of representatives from the eight independent African states. This was where the eight countries began to plan out the conference and what would be discussed in it. During this period most of the African nations were still under colonial rule by the European powers.
Summary: One of the most important discussions and points made during this conference was over the legitimacy and desirability of using violence against the colonial powers. They reached the agreement that in some cases it would necessary to use violence against the colonial powers in order to gain independence. In Algeria, full support was provided to the recently proclaimed Provision Republican government, which was part of the liberation campaign for Algeria. In Cameroon, the conference decided to support the fight for the UPC maquis or the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, which was a pro liberation group for Cameroon. These groups demanded full amnesty and elections in the country that would be sponsored by the UN. Some of the key strategies that the conference agreed upon were unity and solidarity. The fight against colonialism and economic domination required that the countries create Africa-wide organizations that would allow the countries to create their own economies and retake their countries through economic prowess, this included trade unions, and a Bureau of Liberatory Movements. It was also during this conference that it was decided to establish a permanent secretariat at Accra. The first secretary general of this time, George Padmore, lived in Ghana. Then in the following year he died and was replaced by Guinea’s resident minister in Ghana, Abdoulaye Diallo. This conference was political in the struggle for full African independence, because it was one of the first instances in which many African nationalist leaders came into contact with one another, these leaders being the ones that had already gained independence for their countries. Thus, they would be able to help another country gain their own independence. All in all, the conference established that although it may be difficult the fight for independence sometimes requires violence, and not only attempting to overtake the country through economic or political conquest. Also, at the time coming to conclusions on situations that exist in some countries but the situation is more of a grey area.
Key Quotation: “Whereas the great bulk of the African continent has been carved out arbitrarily to the detriment of the indigenous African…”
Identifying Characteristics: This article can be distinguished due to several characteristics it has. The first one is that it is an overview of a conference involving the leaders of multiple independent African states. Not only were the heads of Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Moroccoo, Tunisia and the U.A.R, but representatives from many others African states and colonies were in attendance. The second characteristic was written in 1958. Around that time, many African countries were gaining their independence from their colonial powers, which meant that they would begin to govern themselves. The third characteristic was that the focus on fighting against colonialism. This conference was one of the first instances where many African nationalist leaders met with one another to help one another to either free their countries, or create a stable economy.
ReplyDeleteConstructive Feedback: The summary contains all essential information included in the article. There are many examples of how African nations were becoming independent states and how they became unified to help one another. On the contrary, I believe that some information included in the summary is unnecessary, although it is still somewhat on topic. For example, I believe the sentences that were written about the permanent secretaries in Accra did not have to be included in the summary for it to be complete.