African nationalism is the nationalist political movement for one unified Africa, or the less significant objective of the acknowledgment of African tribes by instituting their own states, as well as the safeguarding of their indigenous customs. Establishments which championed the cause included the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society in the Gold Coast (founded 1897), the African National Congress in South Africa (1912) and the National Congress of West Africa (1920).
Africa is a vast continent, amounting to nearly 30,000,000 square kilometres; indeed, it is as large as the USA, Europe, India and China all put together. Its diverse population is fast closing in on 1,000,000,000, with Berbers and other traditionally nomadic peoples, Arabs (who live in the North) and Bantu in the central and southern regions not to mention some smaller groups, helping to make up this massive number. There are about 8,000,000 Europeans and Asians. Ninety per cent of the population lives off agriculture – although there are a few areas that have been industrialized, most obviously in South Africa, which may be said to be the only properly industrialized African state.
Africa's boundaries enclose hundreds of tribes, most of which have different languages, religions, traditions, economies, clothing, hut-construction, farming methods and means of livelihood (settled, nomadic, pastoral or agricultural). In Nigeria, there are some 100 tribes, and individual economies. There is no doubt that one of Africa's most patent characteristics is its diversity—which accounts for its extreme volatility.
Not too long ago, Africa was known as the "Dark Continent". This was because of its size, its deserts, its tropical climate, it unnavigable rivers, its lack of harbours and the hue of its people. There was also the problem of tropical illnesses such as malaria, yellow fever and sleeping sicknesses, all of which acted as deterrents to European exploration. It definitely lived up well to its other title, the "Terra incognita".
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, German, French, and British explorers made their respective ways deep into the previously-undiscovered interior, where they discovered Central African lakes the Niger, Nile and Congo. The memoirs of great explorers such as Stanley and Livingstone gradually brought Africa into the spotlight.
When the liberated slaves and other progenies of the African-American populace commenced their homecoming to the African continent, principally in the western part, many overseas-directed churches were deserted by a large amount of Africans, and, in their stead, self-sufficient and self-governing churches of the Africans’ own were set up. These often involved themselves in the battle against colonialism.
Between World War I and World War II, a strident howl for self-determination resonated deafeningly from the gorges of numerous mutinous groups in a growing number of African countries. By the time of World War II, almost every nation in Africa had his own pro-autonomy factions, and there were even a number of organizations which spread their weight over whole expanses of the continent. The National Congress of British West Africa was one such organization. The Atlantic Charter, from 1941, and the critical approach to colonialism by the USSR and USA served only to fortify the expanding dogma.
In the years following World War II, African nationalism found itself significantly stirred by men like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
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