MODEL ESSAY

MODEL ESSAY

Prepared by Innocent K. Gondwe

The following document points out at key components of an academic essay. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE ROLE PLAYED BY TRADE UNIONISM IN THE PHASING OUT OF COLONIALISM IN AFRICA Nationalism as a driving force in the struggle for African political independence manifested itself through activities of several African groupings. These groupings were formed by Africans to fight against common hardships that their members faced under the colonial regime. They included independent African Churches, Native Associations, pan- Africanist and Negritude writers who formed the African diasporic cultural groupings and trade unions. African trade unions, to which the focus of this essay is particularly paid, were mass movements formed by discontented African urban workers to obtain improved wages and better working conditions, though they soon started adding political demands. Like any of the groups mentioned above, trade unionism shaped nationalism in different ways which this essay attempts to highlight. Such ways range from being modesty formal outlets of African grievances, providing an important training ground for future nationalist leaders, being communication networks where new ideas as well as those forbidden could be discussed to pioneering techniques of direct action which the political elite adopted later on in the nationalists movement. This is achieved through the provision of examples fro m the case studies of Kenya and the Rhodesias (Zambia and Zimbabwe). To begin with, legalization of formation of trade unions and professional associations in British colonies in 1945 gave Africans a modesty form outlet of grievances (Henderson, 1973, p. 292; Crowder, 1968, p. 442). This proposition comes from the background that Africans – workers and non- workers faced a number of hardships in the hands of Europeans as their colonial masters and employers. Under a European as a colonial master Africans became discontented with a system of taxation imposed on them not only because it was unpopular but also because it was proved faulty. For instance, African labour migrants in urban areas were required to go back to their rural homes in order to pay tax. Africans were also against exploitation on their farms. To cite an example, in 1925 Kenyans were reduced to “tenants-atwill-of-the-Crown” in their own land by the colonial Supreme Court (Singh, 1969, p. 26). Under the European as an employer, African workers in industries like mining and railway became disgruntled with the meager wages and exploitative practices in the industries. Low wages became the hub of industrial disputes especially during the world economic depression and war periods which came along with both the dramatic rise in the cost of living and continued decline in African wages (Phimister & van Onselen, 1997, p. 51). In addition, African trade union strikes tended to address a number of African general grievances like freedom for their territories. This far one can see that trade unionism helped to phase out colonialism for by being 1

Comment [IG1]: Start your essay with a suitable title within two lines.

Comment [IG2]: This is a General Statement of the introduction. It acts as a good opening sentence for this essay. Two sentences have followed to connect this general statement to the thesis statement.

Comment [IG3]: Here is the Thesis Statement which announces the position taken in the essay on the topic of discussion. This position will dictate the direction of the discussion in the essay. Comment [IG4]: Immediately following the thesis is a statement of contents. This informs the reader of the approach to be taken in the remainder (or the body) of the essay. Comment [IG5]: This is a topic sentence for this paragraph. It contains the point at the center of discussion in the paragraph. What follow after it are supporting sentences.

Comment [IG6]: Have your paragraphs left-aligned or justified as is the case here.

one of the formal ways through which Africans agitations were channeled to the colonial government it permitted the earliest cries for nationalism to be heard. Secondly, trade unions helped in the phasing out of colonialism in Africa by pioneering the techniques of direct action later used by political elite. Usually, these took forms of mass meetings and confrontations, chanted slogans and a broad appeal to the people (Henderson, 1973, p. 292). This is true especially considering that other nationalists groups never took direct action in their dealings with the colonizers. If anything they took an isolated direct action that did not involve the masses as was the case with the trade unions. Independent churches confined themselves to the portrayal of subtle defiance. Native associations were no better. These engaged themselves in writing polite “protest” memoranda usually ending by “Your always obedient servant…” which did little to change the stance of colonialists in their resistance to forces of African nationalism (Mulwafu, 2008). But as Ian Henderson (1973) portrays it was from the Industrial and Commercial workers’ Union of Africa (ICU) that nationalists in Rhodesia in the 1950s got techniques they later used in their political movement. Indisputably, those trade unions’ techniques adopted by nationalists speeded up the process on African nationalism, hence phasing out colonialism on the continent.

Comment [IG7]: Here is an example of a transition device. Notice that throughout the essay these work to connect ideas under discussion.

In the third place, African trade unions helped the phasing out of colonialism by acting as communication networks for nationalists. Michael Crowder (1968) proposes that this as a role of an association allowed new ideas including the forbidden ones to circulate amongst its members. A good example in support of this point may be drawn from Southern Rhodesia. The March, 1961 meeting of Trade Union Congress in Gwelo discussed issues that included the demand for wage increase, release of political detainees and the rejection of constitutional proposals (Raftopoulos, 1997, p. 77). In a normal setting, the colonial government could never have allowed these people to discuss such issues as they were politically sensitive, however it was trade unionism which provided a platform for such discussions to occur. As seen here, one can comfortably say that trade unionism accelerated the phasing out of colonialism by providing the network of communication to Africans with a nationalistic cause.

Comment [IG9]: The norm in academic writing (as in all books and journals) is to start each paragraph with an indent, and not to separate paragraphs with blank lines. The first paragraph after a heading is usually not indented.

Lastly and most important of them all, trade unions in Africa helped in the phasing out of colonialism by proving an important training ground for the future nationalists leaders. Forms of organization and mobilization which the future African leaders developed in their mass parties were learnt through their participation in trade union movements (Raftopoulos, 1997, p. 88). To illustrate, Zimbabwe then Southern Rhodesia had a nationalist leader in the name of Joshua Mkomo. Raftopoulos (1997) gives a detailed account showing how Mkomo increasingly moved from trade union organization to nationalist politics. Before assuming a nationalist leadership position in 1957 as president of African National Congress, Mkomo held various key positions in trade unions. In 1951, he was the general secretary of Rhodesia railway Workers’ of east Africa, and in 1954, he was president of Southern Rhodesia Trade Union Congress. Arguably, Mkomo gained the popularity and leadership skills from his previous roles in the trade unions which later on helped him in his political career in which he rose to the level of forming Zimbabwe African 2

Comment [IG8]: What are offered here are supporting sentences. These contain explanation and interpretation of the paragraph’s main idea presented in the topic sentence.

Comment [IG10]: Here is an example illustrating the explanation made in the paragraph so far.

Comment [IG11]: Note that every time information taken from another source is presented, a proper citation is made in the APA style. Check out the difference in the format of in-text-citation used in the essay.

People’s Union (ZAPU) in 1952. Kenyan nationalist leader, Jomo Kenyatta, is no exceptional. His role in Kikuyu Central Association and as Kenyan emissary to London where he represented Kenya’s national and trade union movements helped to form a leader in him (Singh, 1969, p. 136). Kenyatta later led Kenya to political independence in 1993 (Hargreaves, 1988, p. 195). Other notable individuals include Kenyan Tom Mboya of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and Zambian Wilson Chakulya who rose to the rank of cabinet ministers in their respective countries (Henderson, 1973, p. 291). By providing a breeding ground for the future African leaders, African trade unionism helped to phase out colonialism in that the leaders did not only learn the skills to use later in their political movements but also to demonstrate before the colonial government the support they could garner among significant segments in the native population. By way of conclusion, this essay has attempted to paint a picture of the role played by trade unionism in the phasing out of colonialism in Africa. With provision of examples drawn from colonial Kenya and the Rhodesias, it has been established that trade union movement facilitated the growth of African Nationalism in various ways. Among the ways are the pioneering of techniques which the nationalists later used in their movement and the provision of a breeding ground where future nationalists leaders developed their skills. However, it is important to note that trade unionism alone could not have achieved the phasing out of colonialism in Africa. Other forces like independent churches and native associations had to play their role as well which only reflects the true complexity of the process of African decolonization.

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Comment [IG12]: A closing statement like this one is supposed to be made part of every complete paragraph.

Comment [IG13]: In this conclusion, the thesis statement has been restated using different words. Comment [IG14]: A brief summary of the points discussed in the essay is provided here as well.

Comment [IG15]: In closing, a personal statement about the topic has been given in these two sentences. This can take the form of a conviction, a general reflection or a remark.

REFERENCES Crowder, M. (1968). West Africa under colonial rule. London: Hutchison University Library. Hargreaves, J. D. (1988). Decolonization in Africa. London: Longman Group Ltd. Henderson, I. (1973). Wage-earners and p olitical p rotest in colonial Africa: The case of the Copp erbelt. African affairs: Journal of the royal African society 72 (288), 288-299. Mulwafu, W. O. (2008, June 5). Class lecture. Raftop oulos, B. & Phimister, I. (1997). (Eds.) Keep on knocking, a history of the labor movement in Zimbabwe, 1900-1997. Harare: Baobab books. Singh, M. (1969). History of Kenya’s trade union movement to 1952. Nairobi: East African Publishing House.

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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS The following are the general guidelines with respect to how an academic paper should be formatted:   

Paper size: Margins: Line spacing:

A4 2.5 all round 1.5

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Font size:

12points

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Font Name:

Times New Roman

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Spelling:

English UK (colour, honour, etc.), but maintain the z in words like apologize, and evangelize)

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Page numbers:

Bottom centre or Top right

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Comment [IG16]: The list of reference materials, in APA style, is presented on a fresh page at the end. References can be in the same font size as the main text, or slightly smaller. A common formatting is ‘hanging’ paragraphs, where the second and sub-sequent lines are indented and it is easy to follow the alphabet down the author names.