AHC: Create a more stable a peacful modern Africa

I’d agree with the statement that African problems today are not the direct result of imperialism, but their internal problems caused by the post-colonial states poor policies and reforms. Lack of universal education, economies based on specialized agricultural production, land reforms eliminating profitable businesses, administrational reforms not taking into account tribal/ethnic differences, massive corruption, lack of a “state loyal” rather than “leader loyal” police/army/paramilitary law enforcement units – all these problems would have to be addressed.

I wonder why it is that the African states gained independence with these features?
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Like it says in the time. This will more than likely require a pre-1900 POD so that's why I'm putting this hear.

Since you want more, which is a pretty easy standard.

1) Have Europe have a not divide ethnic groups (tribes and language groups when possible). If writing a TL, I would have some important philosopher/theorist write a widely accepted theory that colonies worked better when ethnic groups are not split between powers. So Nigeria may still have a 1000 tribes, but it will have 100% of the population of these tribes.

2) Avoid putting together of North and South Nigeria. Budget issue, easy POD.

3) Avoid Dafar being a part of Sudan. Accident of WW1.

4) Have bigger and fewer colonies. Germany gets one area. France another. Hopefully some of these larger colonies, that are only educated in one language from Europe, will have an easier time developing a national identity. French West Africa, German West Equitorial Africa, Greater South Africa, Greater South Africa, Portuguese East Africa for example.

I don't see some miracle cure, but there is a POD for most of the individual problems.
 
A rather disturbingly common response in AH.com.

Because black people need a European's guiding hand to help themselves up.

Oh wait, no, the Europeans are part of the reason Africa is so messed up to start with.

Great empires like those of the British kept themselves together by playing the natives against each other, Britain deserves no small amount of the blame for partition in India and the Nigerian Civil War.
 
Nice map! However, would the Great Kongo League have really been that large? I would've figured that the Khoisan people would have the south, instead of being merely a protectorate?

Khoisan people wouldn't have a state, because they're hunter-gatherers and pastoral nomads. State-level society is not their ambition. Also, the agriculturally-inclined Bantu tribes surrounding them have the better land, the larger population, and the most resources.

That said, the Great Kongo League is not likely. I could see the Kongo as a strong regional power around the Atlantic coast of the Congo River Basin, but they wouldn't go that far north or south. You might have a strong Tswana or Sotho state in south-central Africa and the Lunda or Luba as a regional power in the north-central part of the continent.

The Zulu aren't going to be that powerful either - In fact, a lack of European colonization would probably prevent the Zulu from emerging as a notable nation at all amidst all of the other Nguni tribes of southern Africa. I don't understand why the Shona don't have the area around Great Zimbabwe and Khami when those were sites built by Shona peoples, either.
 
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