Winds of Change: An African Decolonization Adventure

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Winds of Change
An African Decolonization Adventure


​
An Introduction to African Etiquette:

1. Please refrain from To:/From: diplomacy. Even if it is a simple letter, it always better than lazy filler.
2. Respect the rules of SV. If you do not know them, then look no further. This game contains subjects of tender context. Be mindful of what you do.
3. This game is run by GM fiat. You can contest something, but odds are it probably won't be changed.
4. This game runs on memes.
5. Enjoy yourselves. Be salty if you want, but at least the rest of us will enjoy the show.

Player List:
Independent Nations
Republic of Liberia: Closed
United Arab Republic: @EmperorCasey
Union of South Africa: @Traveller76
United Arab Republic of Libya: @Orwelans III
Republic of the Sudan: @Dadarian
United Arab Republic of Tunisia: @Terrafirma
Kingdom of Morocco: @SteelWriter77
Republic of Ghana: @baboushreturns
Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea: @Bismarck
Empire of Zaire: @RobespierreLives
Republic of Sierra Leone: Closed
Federation of Nigeria: @DanBaque
Republic of Tanganyika: @Carol
Somalian Republic: @Noco
Republic of Madagascar: Closed
Republic of Djibouti: @Duzzit
People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba: Closed
Republic of Algeria: @Arrow
Republic of Biafra: @naxhi24
People's Republic of Angola: @mcclay
People's Republic of Mozambique: Closed
Central African Federation: @Comrade Jeff
Republic of Kenya: Closed
Republic of Uganda: Closed
Union of Central African Republics: Closed
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: @Fingon888
Iraqi Republic: @HumanityDark
State of Israel: @Sealy

European Colonies
French West Africa: @MaHaL

Link to the OOC thread

Africa in 1960

​
 
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The Times Are a Changing
​
As a new decade arrives, the winds of charge push the struggles of independence and the people who clamor for freedom towards the forefront of human development. European colonies across Africa, the remnants and legacies of imperalism, stand stagnant in the oppressive administration of a people who desire for more. Independence movements spur across the "Dark Continent", and new nations led by new faces spring up regularly. Kwame Nkrumah leads the nativist movement, known as Pan-Africanism, and stands as a paladin of self-determination for the African people, while in the north, Abdul Gamal Nasser strives for Pan-Arabism between his people across the Middle East and North Africa. Even still, there are those that cling to the tethers of colonialism, and wish to remain a part of the old order, such as those that push for closer relations and toeing the line with the British Empire in the Union of South Africa, hoping to curtail their more radical and expansionist brethren from leaving the Commonwealth and further antagonizing the west with their heinous domestic policies towards the native Africans in the settler colony. In the French colonial empire, the two administrations of French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa stand teetering on the edge, trying to hold themselves together on the brink of African nationalist explosion. Time will tell whether or not they can maintain their grip and come to an accommodation with those they ruled over for almost a century. In the British, from the Cape to Cairo, the empire on which the sun never sets is sold piecemeal at a wholesale discount, as the Right Honorable Harold Macmillan releases the British African holdings one by one as a means of austerity to maintain his already loose grip over his government. Even in the face of his lackluster authority in Africa, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland move to further distance themselves in a move of determined independence from the British Empire, breaking the shackles that hold them to an antiquated system of foreign rule. The year of 1960 looks to be a volatile yet inspirational one for the peoples and nations of Africa. The times certainly are a changing, and with them, the archaic maps determined by lines in the sand from foreigners.

@Rolman @Korona @Moonbeam

Your nations feel determined through their leadership for their respective ideological factions. Your ruling governments are serving with high morale, and your subsequent actions will be vindicated justly.

@MaHaL @Harpsichord

You certainly have your work cut out for you. It will be a difficult task to maintain the colonial federations you currently rule, but if you manage to do so successfully, a great victory will be had to maintain the vast swathes of resource-rich land you control for the near future.

@Kerensky

Your determination to stand independent from the British Empire gains your popularity from your domestic supporters. The minority whites within your federation support you whole-heartedly.
​
 
1960 Stats​

Leader(s): Obvious
Ideology: Obvious
Economy: Size/ Future indicator
Status: Stability/ Manpower
Foreign Support: Who supports your nation from outside of Africa
Army: Size/Quality/Equipment
Air Force: Size/Quality/Equipment

Economic size: Pathetic/Small/Medium/Large/Overwhelming
Economic indicator: Collapsing/Depression/Recession/Stagnant/Growing/Booming
Stability: Collapsing/Critical/Troubled/Stable/High/Zen
Manpower: Exhausted/Critical/Low/Medium/High/Endless
Military size: Token/Small/Medium/Large/Huge
Military quality: Awful/Poor/Medium/High/Elite
Military equipment: Obsolete/Dated/Adequate/Modern/Cutting Edge

Independent Nations

Republic of Liberia
Leader(s): William Tubman
Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
Economy: Small/Growing
Status: Stable/Low
Foreign Support: USA
Army: Small/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@RedDragon2000

United Arab Republic
Leader(s): Abdul Gemal Nasser
Ideology: Pan-Arabism
Economy: Large/Growing
Status: Stable/Medium
Foreign Support: USSR
Army: Medium/Medium/Modern
Air Force: Small/Poor/Dated
@Korona

Union of South Africa
Leader(s): H. F. Verwoerd
Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
Economy: Medium/Growing
Status: Stable/Medium
Foreign Support: UK
Army: Small/Medium/Modern
Air Force: Small/Medium/Dated
@Moonbeam

Kingdom of Libya
Leader(s): Idris I
Ideology: Independent
Economy: Small/Stagnant
Status: Troubled/Low
Foreign Support: USA
Army: Small/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@Orwelans III

Republic of the Sudan
Leader(s): Ibrahim Abboud
Ideology: Independent
Economy: Small/Recession
Status: Troubled/Medium
Foreign Support: None
Army: Small/Poor/Obsolete
Air Force: None
@Dadarian

Republic of Tunisia
Leader(s): Habib Bourguiba
Ideology: Independent
Economy: Small/Growing
Status: Troubled/Low
Foreign Support: France, maybe?
Army: Small/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@Sealy

Kingdom of Morocco
Leader(s): Mohammed V
Ideology: Independent
Economy: Medium/Stagnant
Status: Stable/Low
Foreign Support: None
Army: Small/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@SteelWriter77

Republic of Ghana
Leader(s): Kwame Nkrumah
Ideology: Pan-Africanism
Economy: Large/Growing
Status: Stable/High
Foreign Support: None
Army: Medium/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@Rolman

Ethiopian Empire
Leader(s): Halie Selassie
Ideology: Independent
Economy: Medium/Recession
Status: Troubled/Low
Foreign Support: USA
Army: Small/Poor/Dated
Air Force: None
@Bismarck
 
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A LAND OF PROSPERITY AND BEAUTY
​
The Federation of Rhodesia in Nyasaland, so formed in 1953 was a design to unite the resources and pool together the capabilities of twoterritories and quite a prosperous venture for the British Empire in the form of the colony of Southern Rhodesia, which received special status, its own parliament and prime minister in 1923. The federation gave three things to the wider British Empire; crops, copper and tobacco. Premium goods, to be sure. However economics was not the only need behind the unification for these God-given lands.
The fighting men, namely the security forces held a long legacy for Rhodesian service in the Great War and the Second World War, also technically now served over the three territories in a united effort, though the BSAP provided the largest swathe of manpower from Salisbury.

However, with rising tensions between native Rhodesians and the African populace, the question of the Federation's future has become more and more important. Rumors of violent putdowns have trickled to Westminister and the question of P.M Welensky's capacity to lead such a large territory with such a delicate time ahead has raised the question of the future of the constituents of the federation itself. ​

FEDERATION OF RHODESIA AND NYASALAND

Prime Minister Ronald 'Roy' Welensky,


PROTECTORATE OF NYASALAND

Governor Robert P. Armitage


COLONY OF SOUTHERN RHODESIA

Prime Minister Edgar C. F. Whitehead, United Federal Party


(PROTECTORATE OF) NORTHERN RHODESIA

Governor Evelyn E. Hone
​
ON THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE​
Rhodesia has forever, since its founding by Sir Cecil Rhodes as South Zambezia, been a devout ally to the crown of the United Kingdom, and the government of Southern Rhodesia wishes to continue this open relationship with the Home Islands as do our friends in Pretoria. Even now, the Honorable Mr. Prime Minister pursues a policy of friendliness and openness towards the organizations which also seek independence for Rhodesia. It is in the best interests of all peoples living in Salisbury, all the way to the Zambezi, that cooperation and collaboration is to the best interests of all Rhodesians. To this extent, the Prime Minister promises in the 1961 the black population of Rhodesia, with approval from Prime Minister Welensky, three things;​
  1. Abolishing the draconian laws disallowing all men of color to the vote, encouraging them to enroll for the 1962 elections.​
  2. Further representation of black Southern Rhodesians in the parliament.​
  3. New laws promoting economic growth for all peoples of Southern Rhodesia, and the wider Federation.​
To this extent, the government will attempt to cooperate to the best of its abilities with all native populations of Rhodesia, and hopes they will do the same in return.

♫​
 
Winds of Change, 1960
  • Threadmarks

    • Prime Minister Harold Macmillan of the United Kingdom

    The Winds of Change

    "The wind of change is blowing through this continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact." - The Right Honorable Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom addressing the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town on February 3, 1960.
    ​
    Prime Minister Harold Macmillan faced serious turbulence against his administration at home, forcing him to acquiesce even further on his already lenient colonial policies. Scandals threatened to rock the conservative party and his government, and the wind of change that swept across Africa pressured to bring an end to the once vast and impressive British Empire. As was in his character, Macmillan made himself malleable and kowtowed to the tides in Africa, moving to grant independence where it was desired, contrary to their allies across the channel who defiantly stood against these winds under the authority of Charles de Gaulle. However, a new scandal would arise through the discovery of William Vassall as a Soviet Spy, breaking the last straw that kept the Macmillan administration together. During his speech at Cape Town, Macmillan would be forced to acquiesce to South African domestic policy in order to keep the Commonwealth together, but unknowingly would set forth the precedent for the Conservative party to turn a blind eye to Apartheid as a means of doing so.​
    ​
    "As a fellow member of the Commonwealth it is our earnest desire to give South Africa our support and encouragement, and it is through the strength of unity through our cooperation under this Commonwealth that we may all persevere to our political destinies that may differ due to the great distances that separate our territories."

    ​

    President Charles de Gaulle of the Fifth French Republic
    ​
    On the contrary, the newly established Fifth French Republic sees itself facing a different set of obstacles, now from the outside of its government. President Charles de Gaulle, recently elected President of the new republic that he arguably created single-handedly, faces open conflict across the Mediterranean in the Algerian War. The French nation and the politicians that surround him stand divided on the matter, especially when the status of the Pied-Noirs are considered. The Algerian War, which has consistently devolved into a mess of urban conflict and terrorism, reaches what some believe to be its apex of conflict as support for the Pied-Noirs reaches an all-time high, and the formation of the Front Algérie Française by Said Boualam marks the potential for a shift in the political dynamic in Algeria as its numbers reach over 400,000 members
    ​

    Said Boualam, leader of the Front Algérie Française

    ​
    As a means to show his solidarity with the French colonial subjects, President de Gaulle plans a state visit to French Somaliland instead of Algeria due to the fighting there, the former having been cleared by his security staff as state office dispatches report of his "overwhelming popularity" among the local populace. Following their recently concluded plebiscite to stay associated with the French Republic as a colonial entity versus federation with a soon to be independent British Somaliland, this is taken as a sign of a breath of fresh air into what many believe to be a crumbling French Colonial Empire.

    ​



    News From Around the Globe    ​
    • John F. Kennedy wins the Democratic Party primary election, setting up a head-to-head general election between himself and the current Vice President, Richard Nixon. Polls favor Nixon over Kennedy.​
    • The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union grants Kliment Voroshilov's request for retirement and elects Anastas Mikoyan as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council.​
    • The 1960 Winter Olympics are held in California and the 1960 Summer Olympic Games are held in Rome, with Cassius Clay winning the gold medal in light-heavyweight boxing.​
    • President Eisenhower announces that 3,500 soldiers will be sent to Vietnam.​
    • The Civil Rights Act of 1960 is signed into law in the United States.​
    • Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the U-2 reconnaissance plane flights over the Soviet Union, thus aborting the summit meeting scheduled for Paris in 1960. [Tensions rise between the US and the USSR]​
    • An attempt at a coup d'etat in Turkey fails, with former military leaders General Cemal Gürsel and Lt. General Cemal Madanoğlu arrested after Colonel Alparslan Türkeş reported their plot to President Celâl Bayar. The coup was reportedly backed by NATO and US interests due to the funds from the Marshall Plan running out and was meant to preempt Prime Minister Adnan Menderes visit to Moscow. Due to this, the visit was successful, and Turkey now finds itself on a path to alignment with Russia. [Tensions rise between the US and the USSR]​
    • The Mediterranean island of Cyprus receives its independence from the United Kingdom.​
    • The newly named Beatles begin a 48-night residency at the Indra club in Hamburg, West Germany.​

    ​
     
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  • Threadmarks

    • Tanganyika Mandate

    Sir Richard Turnbull, Governor of Tanganyika


    Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Chief Minister of Tanganyika    ​
     


    "What was taken by force, can only be restored by force"
    Gamal Abdel Nasser and the State of Israel
    ​
    Entering into 1960, Gamal Abdel Nasser and the United Arab Republic was on the precipice of war with the vehemently hated State of Israel. Israeli attempts in late 1959 and early 1960 to begin the development of agriculture along the Syrian-Israeli border provoked a harsh reaction from the Syrians, who were now united with Egypt under the auspices of Nasser, pan-Arabism, and in the form of the United Arab Republic. Syrian troops fired upon Israeli tractors attempting to farm within the region, with IDF forces firing upon the Golan Heights in response. Tensions were rising, and Egyptian intelligence believed that Israel was planning to invade Syria on February 22nd, the date of the union between Syria and Egypt. In response, Nasser rushed the elite 4th Armored division into the Sinai Peninsula, and hostilities seemed primed to erupt.

    By 1960, Nasser was the undisputed leader of Egypt, and the threat posed by Israel was at the forefront of every intellectual Arab's mind. The initial defeat of the Arab people by the Israelis was referred to as al-Nakbah, or the disaster, by the Arabs. The Arab states had attempted to rally against a small group of unorganized Jewish settlers and were humiliated. Nasser himself was on the frontline of the 1949 war against Israel, with Nasser being one of the heroes of the Negev Pocket, and one of the few Arab officers who performed competently against the Jews. For Israel, the rise of Nasser was the worst case scenario. The "emergence of a strong and charismatic individual, another Ataturk, who could unite the Arab world for war" terrified Israel, specifically David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion sought to nip Nasser in the bud, and in October of 1956, the War of Tripartite Aggression began.

    The opening salvo was with Israeli paratroopers landing the Mitla Pass, just south of the Suez Canal. The UK and France demanded that Nasser give up the canal, something he adamantly refused, as he saw the Egyptian rule of the canal as critical to ensuring true Egyptian independence. Israeli forces pushed into the Sinai, causing Egyptian General Muhammad 'Abd al-Hakim to retreat, almost guaranteeing an Israeli victory. Although the French and British were forced to pull out of the Sinai by America, a political victory for Egypt, the Sinai remained under Israeli occupation for another four months. Eventually, the United Nations Emergency Force was established, with its intended role being the maintenance of peace in the Sinai, and keeping the Egyptians and Israelis from coming to blows.

    Despite the imposed stalemate, the Arabs possessed incontrovertible proof that the "Zionist entity" was an imperialist tool, aggressive but ideologically weak. This was the second round between the Arabs and the Israelis, and it was significantly more successful than the first. In the eyes of Nasser, he need only wage a third round of war to rectify the humiliation of al-Nakbah.
     
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    How can anyone be mad at that smile?

    General Abboud on the announcement of his state trip to Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom; C.1960.​
     
    Memorandum by Sir Richard Turnbull
    Governor of Tanganyika
    to the Colonial Secretary, 31 August 1960
    ​
    After extensive negotiations with native groups, the 1960 National Assembly election was held. From a total registered vote of 885,000 (of which 121,445 were counted as valid), the results are as stated: 100,581 to the TANU (Tanganyika African National Union); 337 to the ANC (African National Congress); and 20,527 to Independents. In an overwhelming show of support, the TANU have received 70 of the 71 seats in the Assembly. I have called upon Mr. Julius Nyerere to form the national government. I cannot say the results have shocked me too much. The cries for independence and self-determination grow by the day. The TANU, with its adroit leader, have exploited such sentiments to galvanize the majority African electorate. Colonial rule of the Mandate, for all intensive purposes, is ending soon. But, even as the sun sets on British rule, there is still much to do. I expect vibrant discussions with the new Chief Minister in the future. ​
     

    A Tale of Two Somalilands
    And the Birth of the Somali Republic
    ​
    Within the 20th Century and beyond, the modern history of the Somali people has been one of colonial subjugation at the hands of multiple powers and their struggles to be free. From the Dervish Movement - which saw one-third of northern Somalis dead - to the dismantling of the Somali sultanates by the opportunistic Italians, European dominion was firmly cemented. And the concrete territorities resulting from this can be seen in the form of British Somaliland, French Somaliland, and the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration, which is not to mention those Somali territories claimed from other African polities.

    Interestingly, the date of Somali independence would be heavily determined by the failures of the Italians in World War II. Through their imperialist control of Italian Somaliland, Somali territory became of concern after the collapse of the Axis. While the Italians were allowed administration of their territory, it came with conditions of fixed independence in 1960 to curb Italian ambition. And so when the Somalis under Britain agitated for independence as well, it was decided to coincide it with the freedom of their Italian counterparts. Every intention was to facilitate the planned unification of both territories for a true Somali government.

    In pursuit of this, the leadership of both territories convened in Mogadishu in April, wherein it was decided to draft a unitary state with a president and an empowered prime minister answerable to a national assembly of 123 delegates. The Somali Youth League, a well-organized and established political bloc effectively dominated the process, cementing their aims for a free and democratic nation.

    On June 26, British Somaliland secured independence as the State of Somaliland before uniting with the Trust Territory five days later, resulting in the Somali Republic. Aden Adde rose as the Republic's first president, who in turn appointed Abdirashid Shermarke as its first prime minister. Both relied on the SYL and its bloc of mostly northern clan-based minor cliques.

    Somalis celebrated the birth of their nation, yet the future ahead was one of many questions. While united in their desire for a single state, there were major differences between the regions of the Republic as each inherited the legal, political, and social conditions of their past overlords. Especially among the southerners, there was a sense of superiority, for they believed that their experiences gained from the Italians qualified them better for managing the state, while the northerners feared being too tightly bound to Mogadishu. And that is not to mention the exceeding clan-based and often pastoral communities across Somalia.

    Yet still there was enthusiasm, for the Somali Youth League had proven itself an entity which spanned regions and clans, its leadership specifically disallowing clan affiliation and its support binding together northerners and southerners together. It was only a matter of how well this bloc fared in maintaining itself against the winds of change, to bend and not break.
     
    ​

    As the only country in the continent to speak an Austronesian language, Madagascar represents one of Africa's most curious anomalies.
    Originally settled by Bornean settlers around the 9th century CE, their presence would soon be reinforced by an influx of Bantus from Africa shortly afterwards. Relations between the two groups would remain cordial for much of recorded history to the point of intermarriage and linguistic assimilation of the Bantus into the Austronesian component, and by the 18th century the island would come to be divided in a multitude of regional kingdoms.


    Madagascar was united for the first time in its history by King Radama I of the Merina Kingdom - a tribal polity in the mountainous interior of the island - in 1810, realizing the vision of his father King Andrianampoinimerina who brought the Merina Kingdom out of its 77 years-long civil war and began the process of conquest of the island.
    The Merina Kingdom of Madagascar would come to an end less than a century later in 1885, conquered after two French expeditions and the annexation to France as a colony, after two years of protectorate.


    French rule was characterized by several negative factors such as the domination of an introduced caste of French settlers and the widespread use of slavery-like conditions for the exploitation of the colony, though the Malagasys and the highlander ethnic groups in particular were not foreign to the practice either. Resentment in the upper echelons of Malagasy society was also caused by the marginalization of the Merina noble class and their long-time Betsilao allies (the unification of the country under Merina rule owed much to the alliance between the two groups), which eventually fed the rising nationalism of the Malagasy people and an instinctive (opportunistic, even, as in most of the African continent) move to the left of Malagasy and particularly Merina intellectuals who advocated complete separation from France and the creation of a socialist society.
    By 1947, the Malagasy had enough of French rule and an uprising that began in the arid south of the island soon spread to the mountains, mobilizing as much as a fifth of the island who attacked the French with almost nothing but homemade spears.
    Needless to say, the French defeated the uprising, though only after a year of warfare and a hundred thousand dead Malagasys later and with the help of the local PADESM party, a nominally socialdemocratic formation hegemonized by some western coastal elites - once disenfranchised by the Merina conquest and relied upon by the French - who had much to lose from the independence of an Merina-ruled Madagascar.
    The failed uprising decapitated the island of much of its managerial class and left a deep scar in local society, but the message was clear, the French had to go, and all that France could do at that point was to appease at least on as superficial level the demands of the nationalists. On its own terms, of course.


    With much of the nationalist managerial upper class eliminated, the political scene of Madagascar was now dominated by the Socialdemocratic Party of Madagascar - a secessionist-successor party of the aforementioned PADESM - and it was the SPM led by Philibert Tsiranana that succesfully lobbied for the maintenance of extensive ties to France at the referendum that was held in 1956.
    Thus Madagascar became an autonomous de facto department of France within the newly-constituted French Community - in its own way a continuation of the French colonial empire - with SPM leader Philibert Tsiranana as its prime minister and, since June 26 1960, following a renegotiation of Madagascar's status within the French Communty which made it a de jure independent country, its first president.


    Currently the main opposition to Tsiranana's rule exists in the form of the Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar, or AKFM for short, a Marxist-Nationalist formation that expresses above all the interests of the Merina upper class who push for complete detachment from the French Community.
    Tsiranana has big plans for the country, including the creation of a Western-like liberal democracy and significant socioeconomic growth driven by an agrarian mixed and cooperative economy, but the SPM's corruption and the Malagasy Republic's own scarce sovereignty (as part of the French Community the young state's foreign policy, defense, currency, economic policies and raw resources are all virtually controlled by France) may prove Tsiranana's expectations to be overly-optimistic, and this may on the long run play in the AKFM's bid for power.


    Philibert Tsiranana, President of the Malagasy Republic    ​


    ​
     

    King Idris and the three guarantees of his rule;
    The newfound Oil field at Zaltan, the Senussi order and the American Air Force at Wheelus Air Base


    Entering the new decade, we hope to depend much less on the money gained from the Americans in exchange for the Air Base and gain much from our oil riches. Before the end of 1961, the first oilfield and its piplines should be completed and our flow of funds secure.
    ​
     
    The Revolution is Over
    ​
    Colonel Guillaume "Guy" Logiest declares the Rwandan revolution to be over after an overwhelming PARMEHUTU (Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement) victory in the communal elections held in June and July. The elections were rescheduled from January due to intense lobbying of PARMEHUTU officials who claimed the Hutu needed more time to become "sufficiently emancipated to defend their rights effectively". This was deemed necessary by Guy himself as well, since the Tutsi coup against the Hutu counter-elite and the Belgians casued the Tutsi to fall out of grace. Guy arguably views PARMEHUTU as the means to stabilize the civil order he and his soldiers re-established in late 1959 - which resulted in the consignment of King Kigeli V to a figurehead status.​


    Colonel Guillaume "Guy" Logiest​

    Belgian authorities went ahead with the elections despite a United Nations delegation having declared it unworkable in March. Nevertheless, PARMEHUTU took 160 of 229 seats while the eviscerated Tutsi parties control a mere 19. This marks a historical juncture in Rwuanda-Urundi and we are yet to see what it brings.​
     
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    Estado de Angola​
    Long a state of the Portuguese Empire, Angola has seen great upheaval in recent years. The continued excesses of the far-right Estado Novo, the New State of the Portuguese Second Republic, oppresses and tightly controls what remains of its African territories. Opposed to leftist, liberalism and anti-colonialism of any kind, the New State has shipped many, many soldiers to Angola in an attempt to protect its current social and economic building projects, projects that only benefit a white minority at the expense of the African majority. These projects are constructed through the remuneration system, which forces Africans from their homes to perform backbreaking hard labor for little to no pay. This system, grossly unfairy and oppressive, could no stand without major armed resistance for long.
    ​

    ​
    Starting in the 1950s the National Front for the Liberation of Angola, also known as the Uniao das Populacões de Angola has fought a bloody insurgency against the Portuguese authorities. Claiming to wish to create a separatist kingdom for the Bakongo people, the FNLA has championed the popular Holden Roberto. A right-wing, conservative movement the FNLA has been forced to make an alliance with the large and powerful People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola. The MPLA is a Marxist-Leninst insurgent group that was formed in 1956 when the small Communist Party of Angola merged with the much larger Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola. With a core group consisting of the Ambundu people and a large part of the intelligentsia class of the capital of Luanda. With ties to Soviet and other European communist countries, the MPLA stands to take a leading role in the Angolan conflict as the 60s begin.​
     
    Côte française des Somalis
    ​
    French Somaliland, centred on the port city of Djibouti, was a territory of relatively low importance. It served as a small trading hub and bastion of French influence on the East Coast of Africa, an area largely controlled by the British, previously the Italians. Besides its importance to Ethiopia as its main link to the outside world; it had only a small number of advantages going for it. Still, that did not discourage those who hoped to make the colony independent. A referendum had been held in 1958 on the question of independence, though it did not go through. This was largely on the worry of locals and Europeans that the sizeable Somali population, led by calls from Mahmoud Harbi, would seek to join the soon to be formed Somalia. With Harbi's recent death however; the two main ethnic groups would tentatively agree to work together in unity on creating a separate state out of the lands they had, rather than join another.

    Of course, such a path would have to be, if not permitted, then not opposed by the French Republic. With the surprise announcement that Charles De Gaulle would be visiting soon, tension in the city was running high as various interests scrambled to prepare for whatever was to come...​
     

    The Khartorum Daily
    ​
    "The General, having deemed it wise to show off the great advancement of the Sudanese economy beyond simple cotton farming, has decided to go on a pan-continental visitation of progressive nations of all stripes. Among the General's targets are Zagreb, Bonn, Paris, London, and Washington, in the hopes of securing international legitimacy since the fall of the corrupt earlier regime. Under the General, life is fantastic in the Sudan, as growers no longer have to rely on petty Egyptian hydropolitics in which to use the plentiful waters of the Nile. Now, the General has ensured that the taxman, postman, and worker can all reach their destinations with only the minimal amount of bribes. The General is excited to visit these nations, meeting with foreign leaders, and ensuring that the decrepit caricatures of the ancien regime are demolished before the light which is the General."

    Muhammod Abdul Wahood, Correspondent
     
    Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea

    Spanish Guinea

    ​

    ><><><
    Form of Government:     Colonial administration
    Head of State: His Excellency Francisco Franco
    Governor: VACANT
    Seat of Government: Santa Isabel, Fernando Po
    Language of Government: Spanish
    State Religion: Roman Catholicism
    Population: ~470,000
    Major Cities: San Antonio de Palé, Benito, Sevilla de Niefang, San Carlos
    ><><><

    The Spanish Empire of the late twentieth century has been reduced to only her few remaining possessions lying along the western coast of Africa: Spanish Sahara, straddling some of the worst lands on the continent, and the Guinea colony on the Bight of Biafra. Due to Spanish Sahara's meager population and resources, it has almost no real developmental potential. So by default, Spanish Guinea remains the only legitimate claimant to the status of una colonia ultramar.


    Arriba

    GOVENOR OF GUINEA GUNNED DOWN!​

    Santa Isabel, Fernando Po, February 28 -- A state of emergency was declared in the Territories of the Gulf of Guinea today. This comes in the wake of the murders last night of both Admiral Faustino Ruíz González, the Governor of the aforementioned regions, and Bolívar Vega, an assistant to the Governor.

    The state of emergency, essentially martial law, was declared by the Acting Governor, Fito Ramón Trujillo, as his first official act after being sworn in this afternoon. Before this, he had been only Chief Secretary as the territories lack a sub-governor.

    In a statement this afternoon, Mr. Trujillo said: "I must ask anyone who knows anything about this crime to think most seriously about the implications for themselves and the community as a whole."

    Due to the nature of the situation authorities on both the islands and the mainland have been given the power to detain any persons, for up to 72 hours, without charge. Additionally, there have been reports from the island that at least three individuals have already been detained by the police this evening. Furthermore, these reports state that all three in custody have connections to the National Liberation Movement of Equatorial Guinea (Movimiento Nacional de Liberación de Guinea Ecuatorial -- MONALIGE).

    The Governor who was 60 years old, was out walking his greyhound, Adalberto, when he met his end sometime around 11:00 PM Saturday. Prior to this, he had just finished hosting a dinner party at which at least 11 friends had been in attendance. He had begun his nightly walk with his dog only a few paces outside of his residence on the island, Mr. Vega, who was 25, was accompanying the Governor. Gunfire rang out -- authorities did not disclose exactly how many shots were fired -- and a sentry on duty inside the building rushed out to find the two men and dog dead… -- Continue on Page 3​
     
    POLITICS OF THE FEDERATION
    ​
    Politics in Rhodesia are, thanks to the status of the Federation with relying on two parliaments, three governors and two prime ministers are atypically viewed as separate, but the powerful alliance of the current ruling party of the two largest polities in the Federation has made it so that the leadership, while intended to be apart, are inherently linked and influenced heavily by local elections rather than the federal elections. ​


    United Federal Party, known for using the arms of the Federation. Their standard banner colors are WHITE and BLUE. Also the current ruling party of Rhodesia through Prime Ministers Welensky and Whitehead.



    Central African Party, the primary independence movement in what is known by native blacks as Zambia, with a similar movement existing in what is known as Zimbabwe by the African Congress, or Southern Rhodesia. Their main banners tend to be RED or GREEN. Largely also regarded as a communist party thanks to its heavily influence from the USSR and People's Republic of China.

    Dominion Party, also known as the Rhodesian party. The main maker of noise in regards to (southern) Rhodesian independence and the widespread belief that being 'Rhodesian' applies to all living in the colony, implying that they are not settlers, rather fully fledged natives. Their main colors tend to be RED, WHITE, BLUE (the Union Jack) and GREEN and WHITE. In addition, some have begin using PURPLE banners to invoke the royal family, and to distance it from the UFP.
    ​

    The 1962 Elections are guaranteed to be unique as the United Federal Party has begun to show signs of cracking, and promises of a boycott by the CAP in favor of militant action against the current government, citing it as undemocratic and prone to meddling in electoral results to assure white dominance in parliament. Controversially, Prime Minister Welensky is quoted as to having said that there couldn't be any rigging if blacks aren't even allowed to vote in the first place, though the press has been assured this is merely an outburst from one of the incredibly conservative party members which was attributed to the PM due to his firm leadership.     ​
     
    Afrique Occidentale Francaise
    ​

    With the French government scrambling to find ways to maintain their power in l'Afrique the administration of the AOF attempts to hold together its rapidly disintegrating territory. With Guinea having achieved it's independence during the dissolution of the 4th Republic and internal tensions running high there was much to be done if there was to be any hope of holding l'AOF together.

    The first step in the plan that was sent from Dakar was for the reorganization of the internal divisions. The country would be separated into several constituent parts whom would all send representatives to a grand council.​
    • East
      • Consisting of all land south of the river Niger and east of Guinea
      • 3 representatives of the council
    • West
      • Consisting of all land south of the river Senegal and east of the river Baule
      • 2 representative on the council
    • North
      • Consisting of all lands that do not fall under the other districts
      • 2 representatives on the council
    These districts would have major control over their own internal matters including how they choose their representatives.
    Reading his newspaper in a café in Conakry, Jacques sipped at his coffee and angrily muttered at the political section. Ces africains pense qu'ils peuvent faire qu'est qu'ils veulent avec le pays, nous francais sommes la raisons ils ne sont pas des sauvage etpeut parle un langue actuelle et pas leur babillage. As his coffee was finally finished the newspaper was folded back up and returned to the waiter he stood up and retrieved his hat and cane before beginning his walk home in this slowly going to the dogs, or negros, country.

    Et la phrochaine fois ce sera ma femme pense que notre fille peut travail comme elle est un des sauvages. Truly he was far from home and the minute his company offered a transfer back to France he would take it.
    Meet Jacques, our racist random viewpoint character for today.
    Ces africains pense qu'ils peuvent faire qu'est qu'ils veulent avec le pays, nous francais sommes la raisons ils ne sont pas des sauvage et peut parle un langue actuelle et pas leur babillage.​
    These africans think they can do what they want with the country, we french are the reason they aren't savages and can speak and actual language and not their babbling.

    Et la phrochaine fois ce sera ma femme pense que notre fille peut travail comme elle est un des sauvages​
    .
    And next time it will be my wife thinking our daughter can work like she is one of these savages.

    Charming, isn't he?
     

    THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA, 1960
    The process of independence has been long and arduous, but history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well built upon firm foundations.
    -Prime Minister Alhaji Tafawa Balewa's Independence Speech


    ​

    The October Declaration of Independence of the Federation of Nigeria was vastly celebrated by the local population, as the culmination of a near-century of struggle and reform. Yet many worries remained: increasing ethnic divisions, regionalization, growing rural-urban divide, underdevelopment; and as the preeminent historian Toyin Falola would write decades later, the fact that "the working class and peasants had reason to fear that they had simply traded wealthy, elite British leadership for a Nigerian bourgeoisie that did not share their values or views on future prosperity".

    The ruling government had been elected in 1959, a final election that was called to determine the make-up of Nigeria's first independent government, and had resulted in a Northern People's Congress- National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons coalition government, with Alhaji Tafawa Balewa re-elected as prime minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe chosen to be the first indigenous Governor-General in a largely ceremonial post, while Elizabeth II would remain Queen of Nigeria.

    The Northern People's Congress (NPC) had been formed as a cultural association, and developed into a political party largely out of fear by the more populous North that the more educated South, which had seen far more investment by colonial authorities, would be able to exert a stranglehold on the nation. Indeed, the majority of bureaucrats were Southern-born, and so were the vast majority of the officer class. The NPC has been a successful attempt to unify Northern regionalism during the 1950s, critical to political development. Currently led by Prime Minister Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, it holds a plurality in the federal legislature, but is somewhat internally divided.

    The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by Nnamdi Azikiwe, the "father of Nigerian nationalism" (usually known as Zik) is a socialistic pan-Nigerian party, that emerged in prominence due to its enthusiastic support of the successful 1945 General Strike. Basing itself upon modern media propaganda techniques and a proportionally massive newspaper readership, it holds great prestige, but tends to have trouble in the polls.
     
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    Turn One Close
  • Threadmarks
    • Turn One
    1960

    ​

    A tide of independence washes over the African continent as the Winds of Change arrive for its inhabitants. The newly independent nations of Somalia, Madagascar, and Nigeria follow the lead of Ghana and its leader, Kwame Nkrumah, in their pursuit of self-determination, while others, such as Rhodesia, Angola, and Tanganyika, pursue their own paths.

    Liberia sees its continued growth under the leadership of President Tubman, who receives an immediate care package from the Eisenhower administration following the formal announcement of President-elect Richard Nixon's victory. The money and resources are evenly distributed across transport, educational, and health infrastructure. The transportation investment results in new plans for rail lines to connect the country's coastal ports to its more remote settlements, with a focus on mineral extraction and other natural resources located out in the hinterlands. As a result, these sources of wealth for the nation receive a production boom from their newfound accessibility, as well as from US corporate investment in these sources. Some see this increased closeness with the US as beneficial, while others see this simply as a new kind of imperialism. All the same, many of the results are seen almost immediately, increasing the investment people have in the Liberian government and strengthening its local economy.

    The Kingdom of Libya's economic indicators grows substantially following the discovery of a series of oil fields outside of Sarir. Searching for foreign investors to assist them in their extraction and privatization, a partnership is made with the United States, prompting an economic boom and a cementing of friendly relations with the US. However, much of the proceeds of the sale of oil, especially following the completion of its new pipeline, go directly to the government, and through that, directly to the King. Many of the people of Libya are poor, and their position in Libyan society has not improved, even though the economy of the Kingdom has, causing rumblings at the lowest levels of society.


    Charles de Gaulle, President of France and Hero of the Resistance, Martyr of the French Colonial Empire​

    In Djibouti, a strange series of unfortunate events take place, stemming from the decision of French President Charles de Gaulle to travel to Djibouti to shore up support for the French Union. His arrival was met with lackluster support at best, and open hostility at worst. In the colonial capital, de Gaulle is approached by local administrators about the situation on the ground, with some saying that many French Somalians wish for another referendum. However, instead of asking to federate with Somalia, a motion for independence is pursued. Initially hesitant, de Gaulle decided he would sleep on the decision. The following morning, de Gaulle had sent his formal grant of permission to the local colonial administration, allowing them to proceed with the referendum, but those of a more enraged disposition among the local population were unaware of this decision, and on his departure to the airport, he was gunned down by a radical. The President would not survive his trip to the hospital, but his last order would be followed through on by an increasingly fearful colonial administration. The Hero of the Resistance had died for naught, the ignorant and flippant revolutionary youth acting on passionate whims instead of giving diplomacy a chance. This event would cause a chain reaction whose effects would be felt all the way back to the metropole and beyond, the first of these coming in the form of a successful French Somalian referendum for independence, with a vote of 89% for and 10% against, resulting in the creation of the Republic of Djibouti.


    Gaston Monnerville, President of the Senate and Acting President of France​

    The situation in North Africa grows dire, as now Morocco finds itself embroiled in the tragic state of affairs that persists in Algeria. This was due primarily to the shift of momentum on the ground in Algeria in regards to the French participation in the Algerian War. The loss of General de Gaulle prompted a change of tone in the French perspective on Algeria, and now it was seen as a war that had to be won. The FAF is given full support by the French Government, under Prime Minister Michel Debré and Acting President Gaston Monnerville, who has essentially bowed entirely to the extremist Debré's reactionary policy. With support from the mainland, the FAF's numbers soar, and the Algerian National Movement (MNA), long since believed to be supported by the cosmopolitaine in an attempt to validate the claim that the FLN was not the sole source of representation for Algerians, shifts its allegiance to the FAF. This was almost entirely due to Said Boualam's call for a "Third Way," an independent French Algeria. To further complicate things, the Organisation de algériens sympathiques, or OAS, is formed, which is tasked with community outreach and charity service to bridge the gap between Pied-Noirs and natives by helping rebuild damaged communities and general humanitarian aid under the umbrella of the FAF. The French army in Algeria now finds itself in a unique position, with both local support and a resurgence of aid from the continent. A reorganization on the ground following the death of de Gaulle leads to Raoul Salan taking the helm, aided by Maurice Challe, Edmond Jouhaud, and Andre Zeller, all of whom attempt to utilize the pacification of the FLN as a means to secure local French rule. To make matters even worse for the freedom fighters, a dispute between the FLN and the Algerian Communist Party over discrimination against the communists by the FLN and an active policy of purposely assigning Communist partisans in more dangerous positions results in a total break between the two parties and the withdraw of the PCA from the Revolution, further weakening their resolve. And yet, the straw that inevitably broke the camel's back came in the form of a border raid near Morocco, where FLN partisans, either knowingly or through ignorance, advanced across the border, right into prepared Moroccan lines. While both forces were poorly equipped, the Moroccans were in a heightened state of preparedness and effectively repulsed the raiders. The official report from the field declared this an act of open aggression against the Moroccan Armed Forces, leaving the Moroccan Army along the border to wait for word from Rabat on how to proceed. Due to this, an unofficial offer has been made by the French Army in Algeria to support the Moroccans in efforts to improve their military, through weapons deals and military advisers, in exchange for open support in the Algerian War.

    The repercussions of the tragedy in Djibouti were felt far and wide. On the other side of the African continent, the colonial body of French West Africa puts a halt to its independence project and instead doubles back into making administrative reforms, devolving the federation into a much more loose connection between the states and allowing local administrative autonomy to the newly created regional divisions. This restricts the central French colonial administration to control of the military, law enforcement, foreign policy, currency control, and regulation of the major rivers that run across the three regions, devolving all other matters to local governments. This decision is decidedly upsetting to the African population, to say the least, but it does offer them substantial concessions in the form of self-rule. Many radicals use this as a means to further strengthen their attempts at violent reaction, and their numbers do in fact grow as a result, but for now, the situation is stagnant. Many of these radicals relocate to recently independent Guinea to plan operations away from the prying eyes of the French West African gendarmerie. To the south, French Madagascar's independence is finally completed, as the last vestiges of French presence, in the form of foreign military police, are replaced with a nascent gendarmerie, albeit initially formed and led by French advisers. In addition to this, an agricultural reform is achieved due to the conclusion of a trade deal with the metropole regarding the import of modern agricultural equipment, to shift from the archaic slash-and-burn methods that plague the island to newer, more efficient agricultural methods, to increase output and preserve the environment.


    Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, President of the Republic of the Congo and Armed Forces Chief of General Staff of the FAC​

    Central Africa finds itself in a most interesting position as the arrival of UN support to Ruanda-Urundi in addition to Belgian armed forces assists in the quelling of the local hostilities and a conclusive end to the civil war. A temporary administration is installed by the UN, effectively taking control of their mandate physically, in an unofficial experiment in creating local rule by an extra-national organization. The situation across the border in the Congo is equally eventful, as the Congo sees itself as a beacon of democratic fairness and stability following the Great Concession and the independence of the Republic of the Congo from Belgium. The first elections are held, after all of the Congolese demands are met and the Belgian colonial administration all but vacates from the nascent nation. The results were quite interesting, as Patrice Lumumba and Antoine Gizenga form a political alliance through a coalition between the Parit Solidaire Africaine (PSA) and the Mouvement National Congolais, which takes a more publicly leftist democratic position. Joseph Kasa-Vubu and his Alliance of Bakongo (ABAKO) are left to twist in the wind after a meager showing due to their reliance on ethno-nationalist positions, a similar issue to that which plagues the smaller, localized parties. This results in Patrice Lumumba becoming the First Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, leading a coalition government with Gizenga. In reaction to this, Kasa-Vubu and his ABAKO, being literally isolated from the government, looking to long-ignored secessionists such as Albert Kalonji for support, and laying the foundations for what would later be known as the Congo Crisis. In this period of instability and in the absence of a President, the desperate government invites Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to serve as President. It is hoped that this will be an effective means of limiting his power, as the weak executive within the parliamentary system. Serving as both President and Chief of Staff, an unusual accrual of titles but similar to the position of, say, the President of the United States and his position as Commander-in-Chief of their Armed Forces. This move is seen as one that reaches for stability during a time of great upheaval in the Congo.


    Roberto Holden, O Rei Bandido "The Bandit King"​

    The further from Europe one gets, the darker it casts a shadow, and this is most true in the Portuguese colony of Angola. The colonial government moves to crack down harshly on the unrest in the north of the country through the imposition of strict curfew laws, checkpoints, and restricting the movement of native Africans. In addition to this, Lisbon issues new laws to strip Bakongo landowners of their property and further expands and entrenches the remuneration system, This incenses the African populace, setting off a chain reaction that leads to disaster for Portuguese colonial rule. The departure of a majority of Portuguese colonial troops into the northern highlands in an attempt to search for and kill Holden Roberto, through the use of scorched earth and terror tactics, results in disaster, turning the locals against them and making their task completely futile. Luanda reacts with mass demonstrations, which are unable to be suppressed due to the absence of most of the colonial forces, while Bakongo landholders in the north enter into open rebellion, effectively joining with Roberto's movement and allowing him a strong base to move into in Cabinda and Ambrizete. The value of air and naval strikes is limited due to the lack of information on the ground about partisans, who are indistinguishable from local non-combatants, and the pursuit of them regardless of this comes in the form of countless civilian casualties. The Angolan War of Independence officially begins, carried out by an emboldened FNLA under the command of Holden Roberto, who earns the nickname "the Bandit King" for the swift highland tactics used against the Portuguese. After a subsequent investigation by Portuguese diplomatic channels, it is discovered that Holden's success is due in part to financial and material support from Ghana via Kwame Nkrumah.

    Sierra Leone and Nigeria each see their desire for independence sated following conferences on the matter, concluded in their favor, with Westminster. Sierra Leone forms a unitary state with a strong central government, while Nigeria struggles to unify its increasingly diverse and divided areas. The latter attempts to apply a pro-Northern strategy designed to improve the impoverished south without causing Southern resentment, pushed by the NCNC, but resistance from the Igbo is notable. In exchange, the quota system is abolished, satisfying the south, and justifying expenses spent on improving the education of the north to compensate. These attempts to balance both the north and the south seem to work, but the Igbo people of Enugu and Aba in the south participate in minor demonstrations across the entirety of Igboland.


    Ian Smith, Leader of the newly formed Rhodesian Front​

    The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland sees its progress continued unabated this year, with the economic growth programmes of Prime Minister Edgar Whitehead in Southern Rhodesia, the success of the agricultural programme in Nyasaland, and the expansion of roads through the federation into northern Rhodesia. However, all was not well in the most successful colony in Africa. Whitehead and his United Federal Party, for all their success in pursuing beneficial policies for the development of the federation, find fierce resistance to their racial discrimination abolition laws. The white settlers, who served as the backbone of the federation, stand firmly against the progress of time in this regard, and due to this, a fracture in the UFP begins to show between those who wish to pull back from social progressivism and those who wish to persevere. The main opposition to the Dominion Party, however, continued to languish in the UFP's shadow, and in an attempt to avert a party split, a reformation was decided upon, transforming the Dominion Party into the Rhodesian Front under the new leadership of the young and charismatic Ian Smith, hoping to use the momentum from this shift to challenge the UFP in the upcoming federal elections in 1962. News from Westminster comes at a favorable time when reports of Prime Minister Macmillan's correspondence with PM Whitehead regarding the former's more aggressive withdrawal from Africa to result in the possibility of the stewardship of the Bechuanaland Protectorate being passed to the Federation. In working towards this potential outcome, new equipment is sent to the Federation to increase its ability to keep the peace domestically without reliance on British forces from the home islands. The most visible of these developments come in the form of helicopters for use in anti-personnel use for domestic policing.

    The boldest and most brazen cry of independence in Africa this year came from Tanganyika, where the TANU tore apart the old chains of colonialism in a tidal wave of change. The Governor's Executive Council and the Provincial Commissioners were utterly dismantled and replaced by a newly elected Council of Ministers, and democratic District Councils would come to replace the archaic National Authorities made up of tribal chiefs, with the European District commissioners serving merely as "consultants" to the budding new bureaucratic class of Africans. Treaties of ratification and recognition from London and New York came immediately, and the end of the Tanganyika mandate harkened to a new and brighter future for the people of a free Africa.


    Sultan Abdullah bin Khalifa of Zanzibar​


    Just off the coast in Zanzibar, however, colonial rule continues unabated and, in some cases, descends further into the horrors of what imperialism can truly be. Through the authority of local governors, the Sultan of Zanzibar, Abdullah bin Khalifa, continues to rule in excessive fashion, to the dismay of his people. Considering the policy of the United Kingdom in regards to Africa, the protectorate may very well end in a return to an absolute monarchy like those that riddle the Arabian Peninsula.

    The birth of Somalia was an event of great jubilation for the Somalian people, yet it did not come without its costs. A significant portion of what was considered Somalian territory, the Northern Frontier District, was transferred to Kenya despite its inhabitants being overwhelmingly Somalian as well as the results of an informal plebiscite showing support for union with Somalia. Naturally, the Somalians that were now ruled by Kenya were not satisfied with this result, and, following outside sources of funding, formed the Northern Frontier District Liberation Movement. A peaceful organization, the NFDLM campaigns for the secession of the Northern Frontier District from Kenya and union with the Somali Republic, and which finds great support among the people there. However, this issue has caught the eye of the quickly vacating British, who have found that, in their hasty retreat from the continent, they may have overlooked some issues. An initially harsh reaction from the Kenyans against the Somalian people in the Northern Frontier District was met with an equally harsh demand from Westminster; peace will be had through diplomacy, in this case through a formal referendum by the inhabitants of the Northern Frontier district to determine their own future, much like all the other colonies had been granted. The referendum itself is to be overseen by what remains of the British administration of Kenya, and the results are expected sometime next year.

    Strangely enough, in opposite proportion to its size, Spanish Guinea is seen as a confluence of great upheaval in Africa. General Daniel Donat Dionisia Calvo is appointed as the new military governor of the colony, working with the former acting governor, Fito Ramón Trujillo, to bring law and order through the continued policy of martial law. Attempts to bring the Emancipados into the government seem to work initially, as do attempts to integrate the Creoles into the government. However, the arrival of more military divisions seems only to exacerbate the issues of unrest in the colony. Clamoring for independence, much like those given to the French and British colonies across the continent, becomes louder in Spanish Guinea, and open violence is seen, albeit in small numbers and few occurrences, on the mainland. While legal limitations were planned to be stripped away for immigration to the island, it is barely enforced as Fernando Po is seen as a safe haven for the Spanish presence in the colony, with the mainland increasingly devolving into violence between the Africans and the Spanish military presence imposed there. Spanish military intelligence believes that there is outside support for these protesters, who seem to be organizing as a rapid rate, but they are unable to determine from where it originates.



    News From Around the Globe​
    • General Abboud, leader of Sudan, finds success in his world tour to secure a foreign power's patronage, which comes in the form of the United States, which prepares itself for a continuation of the Eisenhower Administration's foreign policy through the incoming Nixon Administration. Sudan gains Foreign Support from the United States.
    • Richard Nixon is elected as the 35th President of the United States of America.
    • The USS Enterprise makes a trip around the cape of South Africa to demonstrate the effectiveness of its nuclear engine for future bombing runs, further deteriorating relations between the US and the USSR. [Tensions rise between the US and the USSR]
    Africa, 1961




    1961 Stats​

    Economic size: Pathetic/Small/Medium/Large/Overwhelming
    Economic indicator: Collapsing/Depression/Recession/Stagnant/Growing/Booming
    Stability: Collapsing/Critical/Troubled/Stable/High/Zen
    Manpower: Exhausted/Critical/Low/Medium/High/Endless
    Military size: Token/Small/Medium/Large/Huge
    Military quality: Awful/Poor/Medium/High/Elite
    Military equipment: Obsolete/Dated/Adequate/Modern/Cutting Edge

    Republic of Liberia: @RedDragon2000
    Leader(s): William Tubman
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Small/Growing
    Status: Stable/Low
    Foreign Support: USA
    Army: Small/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Libya: @Orwelans III
    Leader(s): Idris I
    Ideology: Independent
    Economy: Small/Growing
    Status: Troubled/Low
    Foreign Support: USA
    Army: Small/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Sudan: @Dadarian
    Leader(s): Ibrahim Abboud
    Ideology: Independent
    Economy: Small/Recession
    Status: Troubled/Medium
    Foreign Support: United States
    Army: Small/Poor/Obsolete
    Air Force: None

    Morocco: @SteelWriter77
    Leader(s): Mohammed V
    Ideology: Independent
    Economy: Medium/Stagnant
    Status: Stable/Low
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Small/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Madagascar: @Altzek
    Leader(s):
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Small/Growing
    Status: Stable/Low
    Foreign Support: France
    Army: Small/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Republic of the Congo: @RobespierreLives
    Leader(s): Patrice Lumumba
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Large/Recession
    Status: Troubled/Medium
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Medium/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland: @Kerensky
    Leader(s): Edgar Whitehead
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Large/Growing
    Status: Troubled/Medium
    Foreign Support: United Kingdom
    Army: Small/Medium/Adequate
    Air Force: Token/Medium/Adequate

    Tanganyika: @Carol
    Leader(s): Julius Kambarage Nyerere
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Large/Growing
    Status: Stable/Medium
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Small/Medium/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Nigeria: @DanBaque
    Leader(s): Nnamdi Azikiwe
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Large/Stagnant
    Status: Troubled/Medium
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Token/Awful/Obsolete
    Air Force: None

    Somalia: @Noco
    Leader(s): Aden Adde
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Medium/Stagnant
    Status: Stable/Low
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Small/Poor/Dated
    Air Force: None

    Sierra Leone: @AsdfeZxcas
    Leader(s): Milton Margai
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Small/Stagnant
    Status: Troubled/Low
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: Token/Poor/Outdated
    Air Force: None

    Djbouti: @Duzzit
    Leader(s): Mahmoud Harbi
    Ideology: Capitalist Democracy
    Economy: Small/Stagnant
    Status: Troubled/Critical
    Foreign Support: None
    Army: None
    Air Force: None
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • The Birth of a Republic

    The 1960 Coat of Arms
    ​
    Unlike some African states like South Africa or Rhodesia, the majority of settlers in Sierra Leone were blacks. Specifically, these were slaves the British had freed, the first settlement coming in 1787. The initial settlers were black loyalists who had fought alongside the British in the American revolution. They kept many of the customs they had learned in the American South, such as Methodism. A rebellion in 1799 led to crown to bring in roughly 500 Jamaican Maroons (who had been exiled from Jamaica after a rebellion there) to help put down the revolting settlers in Sierra Leone.

    After the abolition of the slave trade, the British would drop off liberated slaves by the thousands. These "recaptives" were sold as "apprentices" for $20 a head to earlier settlers such as the black loyalists, white settlers, and Maroons. These would either escape or assimilate into the hybrid culture of the settlers, collectively known as the Krio (or Creole) people. This new ethnicity was one of many inside the modern day borders of Sierra Leone and was centered around Freetown and other coastal settlements.

    Ethnic Map of Sierra Leone​
    Until the late 1800s, British settlements where limited to the coast but after the Berlin Conference the British expanded their influence inland, establishing a protectorate over the inland tribes and groups in 1896. The British began to bring more white settlers and administrators in, which led to tensions with the chiefs, who had been sovereign entities. Things came to a head when Colonel Frederic Cardew, who was appointed governor, demanded a tax from the tribes based on the size of their huts to pay for the new administration of the protectorate. Between that and the ill-advised command regarding road building and maintenance, tensions rose.
    ​
    In 1898, the Hut Tax War began. Bai Bureh led his forces in a campaign using tactics somewhat similar to contemporary guerrilla forces. Violence against the administration, whites, and krio was common, such as the death of Johnny Taylor. Accused of espionage, Taylor (a krio) was cut into pieces by Bureh's fighters. In the end the revolt was only put down once the British embarked on a scorched earth campaign, burning villages and farmland. Resistance to the British broke down after that, with the region remaining quiet until labor disputes led to large riots in the mid 1950s.

    Bai Bureh after his surrender. He would be exiled but would return in 1905.​
    The divide between the krio and the tribal groups was emphasized by the 1924 division of Sierra Leone into the Colony of Sierra Leone, centered on Freetown, and the Protectorate of Sierra Leone, governing the rest of the region. After WW2 though, the political winds around the world turned in favor of decolonization and self-governance. A new constitution united the colony and protectorate was wrote up and the first elections for the Sierra Leone parliament were held in 1957, resulting in a landslide for the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), which was supported by many tribes.

    In 1960 the parliament sent a delegation to the United Kingdom to negotiate independence, which was successful. People celebrated independence and liberty, but only time would tell how long the new republic would last. Already members of the opposition All People's Congress (APC) such as Siaka Stevens and Isaac Wallace-Johnson, have been arrested. For now, though, there is peace.
     


    "United We Stand Strong"
    Gamal Abdel Nasser
    ​
    As tensions grow and as nations struggle to rise up from the oppression of their former masters the United Arab Republic has shown what is possible when people unify. To survive one must adapt and overcome. It was for this reason that Gamal Abdel Nasser called for the United Arab Conference to be held in 1961 in Damascus to discuss with Syrian politicians, military leaders and prominent businessmen how best to unify their two countries in a way that would leave all happy.

    While the conference is underway diplomats will also be busy. If the United Arab Republic was to live up to its name it would have to work to entice the other Arab states into joining its ranks. Diplomatic missions would be sent off far and wide with the intent of speaking to these brother nations. The nations of Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Iraq would soon be enjoying the company of diplomats from the United Arab Republic with gestures of kindness but also of potential.

    @SteelWriter77 @Dadarian @Orwelans III @kızıl sultan
     
    The Times They Are A-Changin'


    Richard Nixon, 35th President of the United States of America
    ​
    In America, Nixon rides the wave of Republican popularity from the post-war golden decade into the White House. The results of the elections in President were no the only to stick to predictions, as the Senate remains securely in Democratic control, while in the House their majority stands on a small but concrete 10%+ margin. This, however, does not dissuade the President, as he begins his plan to reach across the aisle to push for one of his most important and radical policy positions: the institution of Universal Health Care. Many members of Congress are for this measure as much as they are against it, but Nixon seeks to pry out support from the old New Dealer democrats that remain to push his legislation through. In addition to this, Nixon plans a summit with Khrushchev to come to an agreement on some outstanding diplomatic discrepancies between the USA and the USSR, hoping to work towards some semblance of detente over the next years of his term as President. In the Red Hetman, Nixon sees a man of similar tenacity and drive, and he hopes that in this, the two can work together to achieve their domestic goals by mitigating any further domestic issue.​




    "The Hetman's Men": Nikolai Podgorny (L) and Alexei Kosygin (R)
    ​
    Seeing the writing on the wall, flanks are formed and factionalization once again takes root within the political makeup of the Soviet Union. Anastas Mikoyan is approached by hardliners in an attempt to cater to his once high esteem that filled the halls of the Union as one of Stalin's most trusted men, but this desperate attempt by hardliners within the military, like Brezhnev, simply serves as the impetus for those on opposing sides of the destalinization debate to form ranks across from one another. To the left, on the side of Khrushchev and his deputy, Mikoyan, are men like Podgorny and Kosygin, who serve as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine and First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers respectively, two positions held in high esteem and holding great power on their own. To the right, on the side of Leonid Brezhnev in his position as Second Secretary of the Central Committee and First Deputy head of the political directorate of the Army and Navy, stood the hardliners who stood firmly in the face of reform. The tipping point was approaching swiftly, and the latter was waiting for the Red Hetman's first mistake as the opportunity to strike him down in a political coup that was simply waiting to occur. However, the reformists did not stand idle, and instead presenting the Seventh-Five Year Plan of 1961, stemming from the ideas of Podgorny and Kosygin to shift to a focus away from heavy industry into chemicals, consumer goods, and natural resources. The logic behind such a move was to end the inevitably incoming stagnation with a new awakening of the Soviet economy that focused on export and quality of life development instead of the military growth that the hardliners expected. The next year would see the initial effects of the plan, with the reformists hoping that it does not fail for their positions and perhaps even their lives depend upon it.
    ​



    News From Around the Globe​
    • In the United States, at the National Reactor Testing Station near Idaho Falls, atomic reactor SL-1 explodes, killing three military technicians.​
    • British authorities announce they have uncovered a large Soviet spy ring, the Portland Spy Ring, in London.​
    • President Dwight Eisenhower gives his final State of the Union Address to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warns of the increasing power of a "military-industrial complex."
    • Acting to halt 'leftist excesses', a junta composed of two army officers and four civilians takes over El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months.
    • In Washington, D.C., President Richard Nixon delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union has agreed to a diplomatic summit to be held in Turkey by the end of the year.​
    • President Nixon delivers his first State of the Union address, delivering a particularly progressive platform to the nation.​
    • Ham the Chimp, a 37-pound (17-kg) male, is rocketed into space aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, in a test of the Project Mercury spacecraft, designed to carry United States astronauts into space.​
     
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