Question

Explain how Africa’s colonial legacy has influenced post-independence conflict in the Sub-Saharan region. Use specific details and examples. Your response should be a paragraph in length.

Answer 1

Answer:

The colonial legacy that had the biggest influence in the conflicts of post-independence sub-Saharan Africa was the creation of boundaries that don't correspond with the interests and cultural traits of the people.

Explanation:

Several European countries managed to colonize Africa, some occupying larger territories while some smaller. All of them had a very similar effect on the aftermath though, with the majority of the colonized areas having conflicts after they gained independence. The biggest problem was the legacy of the colonizers in the form of setting up boundaries in accordance with the territories they had in sub-Saharan Africa.

Setting up artificial boundaries that don't correspond with the situation on the ground was disastrous. In almost all newly created sub-Saharan countries there were several ethnic and religious groups put in one border, and these were groups that had historically a lot of bad blood between them. Not being satisfied from the situation where one group usually took the leadership, or the majority suppressed or even committed genocide, resulted in a lot of violence and conflicts, so the countries were not and still aren't able to move forward.