I concur, plus nobody invades & conquers Afghanistan. Except for Mongols & Mughals to name two.
Stars and Sickles - An Alternative Cold War
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I concur, plus nobody invades & conquers Afghanistan. Except for Mongols & Mughals to name two.
guinazacity
Banned
Just read the whole thing.
It's a pity that now i have only four hours to sleep before i wake up.
Great tl, subscribed.
It's a pity that now i have only four hours to sleep before i wake up.
Great tl, subscribed.
Great to have a new reader and happy you enjoyed it! Hopefully a coffee gets you through
Chapter 55: The Rising Sun's Golden Sixties - Japan (1960s)
The Rising Sun: Japan's Golden Sixties
For more information about post-war Japan, see: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=9461874&postcount=198
===
The economic miracle of Japan's post-war reconstruction brought prosperity back to the Japanese people in the late 1950s and through the 1960s. In 1954, Hayato Ikeda, who would become Japan's Prime Minister in the early '60s, pursued a policy of heavy industrialisation as Minister of Finance in 1954. This lead to the emergence of 'over-loaning', in which the Bank of Japan issued loans to city banks, whom in turn issued loans to industrial conglomerates to compensate for Japan's lack of native capital.
Hayato Ikeda, architect of Japan's economic boom
In this environment the conglomerates known as keiretsu emerged. Built from the ashes of the former zaibatsu corporations such as Nissan, Mitsubishi and Matsui, the keiretsu were horizontally-integrated enterprises, as opposed to the vertically-integrated zaibatsu models. The keiretsu were further enabled by a relaxation of the anti-monopoly laws which had been instituted in the occupation period. By investing in diverse portfolios, these companies not only gained robustness, but were forced to cooperate to lock out foreign companies from their domestic market. In this they were aided by the Foreign Exchange Allocation Policy, a system of impact controls designed to prevent the saturation of the Japanese market with foreign goods. They had a strong relationship with the Japanese government, which allocated 83% of the Japan Development Bank's finances to defined "strategic industries" (including, but not limited to, shipbuilding, electrical power, coal and steel production). The lending system in Japan also fostered a change in the management culture of the keiretsu, forcing them to tolerate low profits in the short-run because they were less concerned with maximising stock dividends and more concerned with interest payments. This encourage long-term strategic planning rather than short-term profits.
In 1960, Hayato Ikeda was elected Prime Minister and implemented his long-advocated "income-doubling plan" and "politics of patience and reconciliation", attempting to maximise economic development whilst minimising social discord. Ikeda predicted a 7.2% growth rate, but growth exceeded all expectations with a growth rate of 11.6% by the second half of the 1960s. The average personal income had doubled in seven years. In 1959, a year before Ikeda's election, statutory minimum wages were introduced. In 1961, a universal pension scheme was introduced together with a system of universal health insurance. The "Golden Sixties" saw government-dictated reduction of interest rates and taxes to motivate spending. Japan's government also rapidly expanded investment in infrastructure, building highways, high-speed railways, airports, port facilities and dams. For the first time, the long-neglected communications sector in Japan saw significant investment. Ikeda's government also pushed trade liberalisation. By April 1960, imports had been 41% liberalised, compared to 22% in 1956. Trade liberalisation was met by suspicion both from the public and the keiretsu, but continued due to general satisfaction with the Liberal-Democratic Party's overall economic performance.
In 1962, Kaname Akamatsu published an article in the Journal of Developing Economies introducing his Flying Geese Paradigm, which postulated that "Free Asian" nations would catch up with the West within a regional hierarchy where the production of commoditised goods would move from the more advanced states (headed by Japan) to less advanced nations (such as Malaysia or Thailand). Japan was therefore imagined in this model as the main driver of Asian development. The force conceived as necessitating commodity production shifts was an increase in labour costs tied intrinsically to economic development. This economic model would become the most influential in the region, challenged only with the rise of the Bharati economy in the 1980s and 1990s and the gradual divergence of South-East Asian economic interests from that of Japan.
Yoshinori Sakai, born in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, climbs the stairs to light the Olympic flame
1964 was a major year for Japan. The Summer Olympics that year were held in Tokyo. The United States won the top ranking in 1964, with 35 gold medals, although the Soviet Union got the most medals at 97 (but only 31 gold medals [148]. Amongst the most dramatic events of the 1964 Olympics was the battle between American heavyweight representative Buster Mathis and the Russian Vadim Yemelyanov. The two enormous men, measuring 6'3 and 6'4 respectively, traded stiff jabs throughout the first round before throwing haymakers throughout the second and third rounds. The more agile man, Buster Mathis performed increasingly well in the third round and seemed to outbox Yemelyanov, but was knocked down when he slipped and caught a right cross to the dome of the head. In the end, Yemelyanov won by a controversial split-decision.
Meanwhile, Ikeda had contracted laryngeal cancer and became increasingly removed from government. Waiting until after the Olympics to resign, he finally quit on the 25th October 1964. He designated Eisaku Sato as his successor. Sato continued the economic programme set out by Ikeda and was re-elected on 9th November 1964, 17th February 1967 and the 14th January 1970. Sato had a strongly anti-PRC foreign policy and was highly-accommodating of stationing US nuclear-tipped missiles in Okinawa. He largely blamed Mao for the increase in radical leftist student sentiment. Sato participated in the creation of the Asian Development Bank in 1966 and held a ministerial-level conference on Southeast Asian economic development.
Students charge police positions (outside of frame)
The student movement became of increasing concern to the Japanese establishment during the 1960s. Students in Japan were first organised with the emergence in 1948 of the Zen Nippon Gakusei Jichikai Rengo (National Federation of Student Government Associations), more commonly known as the Zengakuren. The first chairman of the Zengakuren was Akio Iwai, a member of the Japanese Communist Party. Although initially having close ties with the communists, during the 1960 US-Japan military alliance controversies, the Zengakuren broke the the Communist Party and the arrest of many members of the Zengakuren Executive Committee led to the creation of a powerful Central Secretariat. Within the organisation, three major factions existed: Minsei, the largest faction (comprising 70% of the membership) and comprised of pro-JCP groups; The Sampa Rengo (Three-Faction Alliance) which portrayed itself as both anti-imperialist and anti-JCP, whilst maintaining a strong Maoist tendency; and the Marugaku (Japan Marxist Student League), which was also anti-JCP but non-Maoist. The Sampa Rengo was the most militant of the organisations, receiving significant media attention for their subversive activities.
The anti-establishment nature of the Zengakuren movement in the sixties was the result of a reassertion of gyaku ("reactionary") presence in Japanese politics with the onset of the Cold War. These gyaku, whilst weakened by the newly-established rights of labourers and the expansion of the middle class and counter-elites, were still considered unacceptable by the student radicals. The Zengakuren have also been characterised as a revival of the Japanese ideal of michi ("morality", "righteousness") against 'secular' or 'worldly' power. The Zengakuren succeeded in preventing the 1960 proposed visit of US President Eisenhower and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Kishi. In October 1968, Japan saw it's worst post-war riot. The Tokyo police department invoked the controversial Anti-Riot Act, clashing with student demonstrators in and around Shinjuku Station. Around 6,000 Zengakuren students attended the "Anti-War International Unified Action Day". Several groups staged violent demonstrations, whilst others stormed the Parliament grounds and unsuccessfully attempted to break into the compounds of the Defense Agency Headquarters near Roppongi. Simultaneous demonstrations took place in Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Kobe. They were put down severely by police, who utilised armoured cars, water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Hundreds of arrests took place. Activity by extreme elements of the Zengakuren would only increase in the 1970s.
Zengakuren-occupied building, University of Tokyo
===
[148] IOTL, The USA won 36 gold medals and the USSR 30, but ITTL Buster Mathis wasn't injured in training and represented the United States instead of Joe Frazier.
For more information about post-war Japan, see: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=9461874&postcount=198
===
The economic miracle of Japan's post-war reconstruction brought prosperity back to the Japanese people in the late 1950s and through the 1960s. In 1954, Hayato Ikeda, who would become Japan's Prime Minister in the early '60s, pursued a policy of heavy industrialisation as Minister of Finance in 1954. This lead to the emergence of 'over-loaning', in which the Bank of Japan issued loans to city banks, whom in turn issued loans to industrial conglomerates to compensate for Japan's lack of native capital.
Hayato Ikeda, architect of Japan's economic boom
In this environment the conglomerates known as keiretsu emerged. Built from the ashes of the former zaibatsu corporations such as Nissan, Mitsubishi and Matsui, the keiretsu were horizontally-integrated enterprises, as opposed to the vertically-integrated zaibatsu models. The keiretsu were further enabled by a relaxation of the anti-monopoly laws which had been instituted in the occupation period. By investing in diverse portfolios, these companies not only gained robustness, but were forced to cooperate to lock out foreign companies from their domestic market. In this they were aided by the Foreign Exchange Allocation Policy, a system of impact controls designed to prevent the saturation of the Japanese market with foreign goods. They had a strong relationship with the Japanese government, which allocated 83% of the Japan Development Bank's finances to defined "strategic industries" (including, but not limited to, shipbuilding, electrical power, coal and steel production). The lending system in Japan also fostered a change in the management culture of the keiretsu, forcing them to tolerate low profits in the short-run because they were less concerned with maximising stock dividends and more concerned with interest payments. This encourage long-term strategic planning rather than short-term profits.
In 1960, Hayato Ikeda was elected Prime Minister and implemented his long-advocated "income-doubling plan" and "politics of patience and reconciliation", attempting to maximise economic development whilst minimising social discord. Ikeda predicted a 7.2% growth rate, but growth exceeded all expectations with a growth rate of 11.6% by the second half of the 1960s. The average personal income had doubled in seven years. In 1959, a year before Ikeda's election, statutory minimum wages were introduced. In 1961, a universal pension scheme was introduced together with a system of universal health insurance. The "Golden Sixties" saw government-dictated reduction of interest rates and taxes to motivate spending. Japan's government also rapidly expanded investment in infrastructure, building highways, high-speed railways, airports, port facilities and dams. For the first time, the long-neglected communications sector in Japan saw significant investment. Ikeda's government also pushed trade liberalisation. By April 1960, imports had been 41% liberalised, compared to 22% in 1956. Trade liberalisation was met by suspicion both from the public and the keiretsu, but continued due to general satisfaction with the Liberal-Democratic Party's overall economic performance.
In 1962, Kaname Akamatsu published an article in the Journal of Developing Economies introducing his Flying Geese Paradigm, which postulated that "Free Asian" nations would catch up with the West within a regional hierarchy where the production of commoditised goods would move from the more advanced states (headed by Japan) to less advanced nations (such as Malaysia or Thailand). Japan was therefore imagined in this model as the main driver of Asian development. The force conceived as necessitating commodity production shifts was an increase in labour costs tied intrinsically to economic development. This economic model would become the most influential in the region, challenged only with the rise of the Bharati economy in the 1980s and 1990s and the gradual divergence of South-East Asian economic interests from that of Japan.
Yoshinori Sakai, born in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, climbs the stairs to light the Olympic flame
1964 was a major year for Japan. The Summer Olympics that year were held in Tokyo. The United States won the top ranking in 1964, with 35 gold medals, although the Soviet Union got the most medals at 97 (but only 31 gold medals [148]. Amongst the most dramatic events of the 1964 Olympics was the battle between American heavyweight representative Buster Mathis and the Russian Vadim Yemelyanov. The two enormous men, measuring 6'3 and 6'4 respectively, traded stiff jabs throughout the first round before throwing haymakers throughout the second and third rounds. The more agile man, Buster Mathis performed increasingly well in the third round and seemed to outbox Yemelyanov, but was knocked down when he slipped and caught a right cross to the dome of the head. In the end, Yemelyanov won by a controversial split-decision.
Meanwhile, Ikeda had contracted laryngeal cancer and became increasingly removed from government. Waiting until after the Olympics to resign, he finally quit on the 25th October 1964. He designated Eisaku Sato as his successor. Sato continued the economic programme set out by Ikeda and was re-elected on 9th November 1964, 17th February 1967 and the 14th January 1970. Sato had a strongly anti-PRC foreign policy and was highly-accommodating of stationing US nuclear-tipped missiles in Okinawa. He largely blamed Mao for the increase in radical leftist student sentiment. Sato participated in the creation of the Asian Development Bank in 1966 and held a ministerial-level conference on Southeast Asian economic development.
Students charge police positions (outside of frame)
The student movement became of increasing concern to the Japanese establishment during the 1960s. Students in Japan were first organised with the emergence in 1948 of the Zen Nippon Gakusei Jichikai Rengo (National Federation of Student Government Associations), more commonly known as the Zengakuren. The first chairman of the Zengakuren was Akio Iwai, a member of the Japanese Communist Party. Although initially having close ties with the communists, during the 1960 US-Japan military alliance controversies, the Zengakuren broke the the Communist Party and the arrest of many members of the Zengakuren Executive Committee led to the creation of a powerful Central Secretariat. Within the organisation, three major factions existed: Minsei, the largest faction (comprising 70% of the membership) and comprised of pro-JCP groups; The Sampa Rengo (Three-Faction Alliance) which portrayed itself as both anti-imperialist and anti-JCP, whilst maintaining a strong Maoist tendency; and the Marugaku (Japan Marxist Student League), which was also anti-JCP but non-Maoist. The Sampa Rengo was the most militant of the organisations, receiving significant media attention for their subversive activities.
The anti-establishment nature of the Zengakuren movement in the sixties was the result of a reassertion of gyaku ("reactionary") presence in Japanese politics with the onset of the Cold War. These gyaku, whilst weakened by the newly-established rights of labourers and the expansion of the middle class and counter-elites, were still considered unacceptable by the student radicals. The Zengakuren have also been characterised as a revival of the Japanese ideal of michi ("morality", "righteousness") against 'secular' or 'worldly' power. The Zengakuren succeeded in preventing the 1960 proposed visit of US President Eisenhower and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Kishi. In October 1968, Japan saw it's worst post-war riot. The Tokyo police department invoked the controversial Anti-Riot Act, clashing with student demonstrators in and around Shinjuku Station. Around 6,000 Zengakuren students attended the "Anti-War International Unified Action Day". Several groups staged violent demonstrations, whilst others stormed the Parliament grounds and unsuccessfully attempted to break into the compounds of the Defense Agency Headquarters near Roppongi. Simultaneous demonstrations took place in Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Kobe. They were put down severely by police, who utilised armoured cars, water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Hundreds of arrests took place. Activity by extreme elements of the Zengakuren would only increase in the 1970s.
Zengakuren-occupied building, University of Tokyo
===
[148] IOTL, The USA won 36 gold medals and the USSR 30, but ITTL Buster Mathis wasn't injured in training and represented the United States instead of Joe Frazier.
Last edited:
Deleted member 67076
Fascinating updates. The world seems to be going in a much more leftist direction.
Whats up next? Africa?
Whats up next? Africa?
Yup, there's a few things to throw in regarding Africa before the 60s are done and dusted. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do the requisite research for a while because of personal stuff that has needed taking care of, but will try to get something up next week.
Chapter 56: A Place of Transition - The Sahel States (1960s)
A Place of Transition: The Sixties in the Sahel
The Grand Mosque of Agadez
1960 saw the completion of the transition to independence for French West Africa, including the Sahelian colonies of Senegal, French Soudan, Upper Volta, Niger and Tchad. These colonies had already experienced limited self-government since 1958, but many difficulties remained as these states made the choice between continued association with France or full independence, whilst attempting to both modernise and placate traditional social powerbases.
Postage stamps from the Mali Federation
Two major parties dominated French West Africa through their local wings. The Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) was the governing party in Ivory Coast, Soudan, Senegal and Guinea (the latter of which had already achieved full independence in 1958); whilst the Parti Regroupement Africain (PRA) was involved in the governing coalitions of Upper Volta, Niger and Dahomey. Whilst they often competed, there were on occasion disagreements within the groups and agreement across groups. For example, Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Ivory Coast opposed attempts at West African federation, despite affiliation with the RDA. On April 4th, 1959, the Fédération du Mali was established between Senegal and Soudan.
The idea for the Federation had been raised at the 15 November 1958 RDA Congress. Modibo Keïta, who dominated Soudanais politics, argued for primary federation, and was supported by Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal. Whilst the Ivory Coast representatives made clear their lack of interest, Voltaic and Dahoméen representatives declared formal support, with Upper Volta even approving the Mali Federation Constitution on 28 January 1959, but pressure from Ivory Coast and France prevented either of these states from ratifying the constitution. Elections in March 1959 cemented the power of the major parties pushing for federation in Soudan and Senegal. Keïta's Union Soudanaise-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (US-RDA) party won 76% of the popular vote and every seat in the territorial assembly, whilst Senghor's Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS) won 81% of the vote and all of the seats in Senegal's territories. Although Senghor won by a larger margin in Senegal than Keïta had in Soudan, his position was in fact less secure. He governed with the assent of a number of political associates and some conservative Islamist marabouts (spiritual leaders) supported the candidacy of Cheikh Tidjane Sy. Sy was arrested on election day as a result of some rioting which would be blamed on his party.
Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal, poet and cultural theorist
The union between Soudan and Senegal was based upon the principle of parity. One of the most controversial policies in pursuit of this object was the equal sharing of import and export duties raised in the port of Dakar (which was designated the capital of the Federation). Almost 1/3 of Soudan's budget was provided by these dues. To tie the two countries closer together, Malien leaders sought to unite labour and youth movements within the two constituent states. The most ambitious of these projects was the unification of the UPS and US-RDA into the Parti de la Fédération Africain (PFA). Senghor was designated PFA President, whilst Keïta took the seat of Secretary-General. The PFA was intended to incorporate members from other nations outside the Federation who it was hoped would eventually join the union. To this end, the Vice Presidents of the PFA were named as Djibo Bakary of Niger and Emile Zinson of Dahomey. No political parties were permitted in the Federation aside from the PFA.
Disagreements remained manageable until April 1960, after negotiations with France for recognition of independence had been finished. Soudan sought a single, powerful executive for the Federation, whilst Senegal preferred the maintenance of the parity principle and restraint on presidential powers. The PFA congress ended in a deadlock, so PFA members from outside Soudan and Senegal were called in to mediate. They recommended the creation of a single executive to be appointed by an equal number of representatives from Senegal and Soudan, but that dues from the port of Dakar would no longer be split, instead going entirely to Senegal. Tensions hit a high-point in August 1960 during the lead-up to the election of the President of the Mali Federation. Sy had been released from prison and had pledged his political allegiance to Senghor. He appointed Senghor and told him he had been approached by Soudanais representatives who preferred to seek a Muslim president, rather than the Catholic Senghor. Senghor called in political favours with his allies, who uncovered that Soudanais emissaries had also visited Sy's uncle, a Muslim political leader, although no hard evidence of attempts to undermine Senghor had been found. Senghor's perception of the situation was not comforted by Keïta's formal meetings with many Muslim political leaders in Senegal.
On 15th August, the Vice President who held the national defence portfolio, Mamadou Dia, began surveying the readiness of various military units in case the political situation devolved into violence. Reports of Mamadou meeting with officers alarmed the Soudanais political establishment. Four days later, reports of Senegalese peasants arming in Dakar caused Keïta to dismiss Dia as Defence Minister, declare a state of emergency and mobilise the army. Senghor and Dia were able to turn an influential military ally to their side, arranging for the demobilisation of the army. They also had the gendarmerie surround Keïta's house and government offices. At midnight, Senegal declared independence. There was little violence, and realising their impotence to change the situation, Soudanais officials cooperated and boarded a sealed train back to Bamako on August 22nd. Keïta was angered by the experience of being sent back to Soudan on a sealed train in the middle of Summer, rather than on a plane. Out of spite, he had the railroad between Bamako and Dakar destroyed when the Soudanais delegation arrived back in Bamako. Most countries recognised the two countries' respective independences on 12th September 1960. By late September, both states were members of the United Nations. On the 22nd, Soudan adopted the name Mali as a symbol that they had not given up on West African federalism and the Malian project.
Modibo Keïta, President of Mali
Keïta severed ties with Senegal and continued to push his ideology more assertively. He socialised the economy, starting with agriculture and trade, establishing in October 1960 the SOMIEX, or Malian Import and Export Company. SOMIEX monopolised exports as well as manufactured and food imports. Severe inflation and dissatisfaction resulted from Keïta's economic policies, culminating in riots in 1962 opposing the creation of the Malian Franc (different from the CFA Franc used by other countries in the region). Fily Dabo Sissoko, a long-time conservative opponent of Keïta, was accused of instigating the riots as a pretext for his arrest, but he was spirited away last-minute to the Ivory Coast, where he was hosted by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny [149]. Between 1963 and 1966, Keïta normalised relations with Upper Volta and Senegal. This included the reopening of the Dakar-Bamako railway on 22 June 1963. Senghor and Keïta embraced at the border, symbolising the rapprochement between the two countries. The first post-independence elections in 1964 saw all 80 candidates of the ruling party return to power, possibly the result of electoral rigging. From 1967, Keïta started the "revolution active" and suspended the constitution by creating the National Committee for the Defence of the Revolution. The exactions of his "milice populaire" militia and the devaluation of the Malian franc in 1967 brought general unrest, but an attempted coup by Major General Moussa Traoré failed to topple Keïta's regime [150].
In Senegal, having achieved independence from Mali, Senghor and Dia began to turn on each other. Concerned that Dia was going to mount a coup and establish a radical Marxist state, Senghor had him arrested in 1962, leaving the position of Prime Minister (which Dia had held) empty until 1970. Senegal remained relatively prosperous within the region, but was concerned by persistent violations of Senegal's borders by the Portuguese military operating against guerrillas in Guinea-Bissau. Senegal petitioned the UNSC on the issue three times during the decade, in 1963, 1965 and 1969.
President Maurice Yaméogo of Upper Volta
Upper Volta achieved independence from France on 5 August 1960 under President Maurice Yaméogo, leader of the Union Démocratique Voltaïque. Although Yaméogo initially supported West African federalism, he would adopt the anti-federalist ideas of his close friend Félix Houphouët-Boigny. One of Yaméogo's major projects was an attempt at creating a system of dual nationality between Ivory Coast and Haute-Volta. On December 1965, when Yaméogo was in Ivory Coast to negotiate the project, Voltaic syndicates, having heard about serious decreases in salaries and budget, drove a nationwide strike. The army decided to take advantage of the situation, and Yaméogo was forced to resign in order to avoid civil war. The government was then in the hands of Major General Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana, who was named President and headed the Provisional Military Government until transition to civilian rule in 1970.
Djibo Bakary, leader of Sawaba and President of Niger from 1965
On 11 July 1960, Niger left the French Community, opting for full independence. The two main forces in Nigerien politics were the Parti Progressiste Nigerien (PPN), a regional branch of the RDA and lead by Hamani Diori; and Djibo Bakary's Mouvement Socialiste Africain, also known as Sawaba. Diori was elected as Niger's first President and almost immediately made the PPN the only legal party, crushing Sawaba and forcing his cousin Bakary out of politics. Sawaba guerrillas sought refuge in Mali, where they were supported by Malian President Modibo Keïta. Attacks by Sawaba fighters began in 1964, receiving indirect Soviet support in the forms of arms, advisors and supplies via Mali. In 1965, Diori was assassinated [1951] and Bakary seized power. He would continue to hold power in the country for a long time, forging links with other socialist African regimes, such as those in Mali and Congo.
François Tombalbaye, President of Tchad
Further east, in Tchad, the political sphere was also divided between two major parties, the Parti Progressiste Tchadienne led by François Tombalbaye; and the Union Démocratique Tchadienne representing French commercial interests and the traditional Muslim and the Ouaddaïenne nobility. In essence, the PPT represented the Christian/Animist south, whilst the UDT championed the causes of the Muslim north and east. On 11 August 1960, Tchad became independent under the Presidency of Tombalbaye. In January 1962 he banned all non-PPT parties and instituted a very harsh rule which systematically discriminated against Muslims. Typical of Tombalbaye's attitude towards opposition was the government reaction to a tax revolt on November 1, 1965. Tchadien security forces opened fire on protestors, resulting in 500 deaths. As a response to Tombalbaye's draconian measures, the National Liberation Front of Tchad (FROLINAT) was established in Libya [152] to oust Tombalbaye, who resorted to calling in French troops to secure his regime. Whilst the French were partially successful, preventing FROLINAT from becoming an immediate threat, they were not capable of completely eliminating the freedom fighters.
===
[149] IOTL, Fily Dabo Sissoko was arrested and condemned to death for an "attempt to destabilise the state". His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but he died under still controversial circumstances in Kidal in 1964. Presumably he was killed by agents of the state.
[150] IOTL, the coup was successful, and Traoré remained in power until 1991.
[151] IOTL, this assassination was unsuccessful.
[152] It was established in Sudan ITTL.
The Grand Mosque of Agadez
1960 saw the completion of the transition to independence for French West Africa, including the Sahelian colonies of Senegal, French Soudan, Upper Volta, Niger and Tchad. These colonies had already experienced limited self-government since 1958, but many difficulties remained as these states made the choice between continued association with France or full independence, whilst attempting to both modernise and placate traditional social powerbases.
Postage stamps from the Mali Federation
Two major parties dominated French West Africa through their local wings. The Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) was the governing party in Ivory Coast, Soudan, Senegal and Guinea (the latter of which had already achieved full independence in 1958); whilst the Parti Regroupement Africain (PRA) was involved in the governing coalitions of Upper Volta, Niger and Dahomey. Whilst they often competed, there were on occasion disagreements within the groups and agreement across groups. For example, Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Ivory Coast opposed attempts at West African federation, despite affiliation with the RDA. On April 4th, 1959, the Fédération du Mali was established between Senegal and Soudan.
The idea for the Federation had been raised at the 15 November 1958 RDA Congress. Modibo Keïta, who dominated Soudanais politics, argued for primary federation, and was supported by Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal. Whilst the Ivory Coast representatives made clear their lack of interest, Voltaic and Dahoméen representatives declared formal support, with Upper Volta even approving the Mali Federation Constitution on 28 January 1959, but pressure from Ivory Coast and France prevented either of these states from ratifying the constitution. Elections in March 1959 cemented the power of the major parties pushing for federation in Soudan and Senegal. Keïta's Union Soudanaise-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (US-RDA) party won 76% of the popular vote and every seat in the territorial assembly, whilst Senghor's Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS) won 81% of the vote and all of the seats in Senegal's territories. Although Senghor won by a larger margin in Senegal than Keïta had in Soudan, his position was in fact less secure. He governed with the assent of a number of political associates and some conservative Islamist marabouts (spiritual leaders) supported the candidacy of Cheikh Tidjane Sy. Sy was arrested on election day as a result of some rioting which would be blamed on his party.
Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal, poet and cultural theorist
The union between Soudan and Senegal was based upon the principle of parity. One of the most controversial policies in pursuit of this object was the equal sharing of import and export duties raised in the port of Dakar (which was designated the capital of the Federation). Almost 1/3 of Soudan's budget was provided by these dues. To tie the two countries closer together, Malien leaders sought to unite labour and youth movements within the two constituent states. The most ambitious of these projects was the unification of the UPS and US-RDA into the Parti de la Fédération Africain (PFA). Senghor was designated PFA President, whilst Keïta took the seat of Secretary-General. The PFA was intended to incorporate members from other nations outside the Federation who it was hoped would eventually join the union. To this end, the Vice Presidents of the PFA were named as Djibo Bakary of Niger and Emile Zinson of Dahomey. No political parties were permitted in the Federation aside from the PFA.
Disagreements remained manageable until April 1960, after negotiations with France for recognition of independence had been finished. Soudan sought a single, powerful executive for the Federation, whilst Senegal preferred the maintenance of the parity principle and restraint on presidential powers. The PFA congress ended in a deadlock, so PFA members from outside Soudan and Senegal were called in to mediate. They recommended the creation of a single executive to be appointed by an equal number of representatives from Senegal and Soudan, but that dues from the port of Dakar would no longer be split, instead going entirely to Senegal. Tensions hit a high-point in August 1960 during the lead-up to the election of the President of the Mali Federation. Sy had been released from prison and had pledged his political allegiance to Senghor. He appointed Senghor and told him he had been approached by Soudanais representatives who preferred to seek a Muslim president, rather than the Catholic Senghor. Senghor called in political favours with his allies, who uncovered that Soudanais emissaries had also visited Sy's uncle, a Muslim political leader, although no hard evidence of attempts to undermine Senghor had been found. Senghor's perception of the situation was not comforted by Keïta's formal meetings with many Muslim political leaders in Senegal.
On 15th August, the Vice President who held the national defence portfolio, Mamadou Dia, began surveying the readiness of various military units in case the political situation devolved into violence. Reports of Mamadou meeting with officers alarmed the Soudanais political establishment. Four days later, reports of Senegalese peasants arming in Dakar caused Keïta to dismiss Dia as Defence Minister, declare a state of emergency and mobilise the army. Senghor and Dia were able to turn an influential military ally to their side, arranging for the demobilisation of the army. They also had the gendarmerie surround Keïta's house and government offices. At midnight, Senegal declared independence. There was little violence, and realising their impotence to change the situation, Soudanais officials cooperated and boarded a sealed train back to Bamako on August 22nd. Keïta was angered by the experience of being sent back to Soudan on a sealed train in the middle of Summer, rather than on a plane. Out of spite, he had the railroad between Bamako and Dakar destroyed when the Soudanais delegation arrived back in Bamako. Most countries recognised the two countries' respective independences on 12th September 1960. By late September, both states were members of the United Nations. On the 22nd, Soudan adopted the name Mali as a symbol that they had not given up on West African federalism and the Malian project.
Modibo Keïta, President of Mali
Keïta severed ties with Senegal and continued to push his ideology more assertively. He socialised the economy, starting with agriculture and trade, establishing in October 1960 the SOMIEX, or Malian Import and Export Company. SOMIEX monopolised exports as well as manufactured and food imports. Severe inflation and dissatisfaction resulted from Keïta's economic policies, culminating in riots in 1962 opposing the creation of the Malian Franc (different from the CFA Franc used by other countries in the region). Fily Dabo Sissoko, a long-time conservative opponent of Keïta, was accused of instigating the riots as a pretext for his arrest, but he was spirited away last-minute to the Ivory Coast, where he was hosted by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny [149]. Between 1963 and 1966, Keïta normalised relations with Upper Volta and Senegal. This included the reopening of the Dakar-Bamako railway on 22 June 1963. Senghor and Keïta embraced at the border, symbolising the rapprochement between the two countries. The first post-independence elections in 1964 saw all 80 candidates of the ruling party return to power, possibly the result of electoral rigging. From 1967, Keïta started the "revolution active" and suspended the constitution by creating the National Committee for the Defence of the Revolution. The exactions of his "milice populaire" militia and the devaluation of the Malian franc in 1967 brought general unrest, but an attempted coup by Major General Moussa Traoré failed to topple Keïta's regime [150].
In Senegal, having achieved independence from Mali, Senghor and Dia began to turn on each other. Concerned that Dia was going to mount a coup and establish a radical Marxist state, Senghor had him arrested in 1962, leaving the position of Prime Minister (which Dia had held) empty until 1970. Senegal remained relatively prosperous within the region, but was concerned by persistent violations of Senegal's borders by the Portuguese military operating against guerrillas in Guinea-Bissau. Senegal petitioned the UNSC on the issue three times during the decade, in 1963, 1965 and 1969.
President Maurice Yaméogo of Upper Volta
Upper Volta achieved independence from France on 5 August 1960 under President Maurice Yaméogo, leader of the Union Démocratique Voltaïque. Although Yaméogo initially supported West African federalism, he would adopt the anti-federalist ideas of his close friend Félix Houphouët-Boigny. One of Yaméogo's major projects was an attempt at creating a system of dual nationality between Ivory Coast and Haute-Volta. On December 1965, when Yaméogo was in Ivory Coast to negotiate the project, Voltaic syndicates, having heard about serious decreases in salaries and budget, drove a nationwide strike. The army decided to take advantage of the situation, and Yaméogo was forced to resign in order to avoid civil war. The government was then in the hands of Major General Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana, who was named President and headed the Provisional Military Government until transition to civilian rule in 1970.
Djibo Bakary, leader of Sawaba and President of Niger from 1965
On 11 July 1960, Niger left the French Community, opting for full independence. The two main forces in Nigerien politics were the Parti Progressiste Nigerien (PPN), a regional branch of the RDA and lead by Hamani Diori; and Djibo Bakary's Mouvement Socialiste Africain, also known as Sawaba. Diori was elected as Niger's first President and almost immediately made the PPN the only legal party, crushing Sawaba and forcing his cousin Bakary out of politics. Sawaba guerrillas sought refuge in Mali, where they were supported by Malian President Modibo Keïta. Attacks by Sawaba fighters began in 1964, receiving indirect Soviet support in the forms of arms, advisors and supplies via Mali. In 1965, Diori was assassinated [1951] and Bakary seized power. He would continue to hold power in the country for a long time, forging links with other socialist African regimes, such as those in Mali and Congo.
François Tombalbaye, President of Tchad
Further east, in Tchad, the political sphere was also divided between two major parties, the Parti Progressiste Tchadienne led by François Tombalbaye; and the Union Démocratique Tchadienne representing French commercial interests and the traditional Muslim and the Ouaddaïenne nobility. In essence, the PPT represented the Christian/Animist south, whilst the UDT championed the causes of the Muslim north and east. On 11 August 1960, Tchad became independent under the Presidency of Tombalbaye. In January 1962 he banned all non-PPT parties and instituted a very harsh rule which systematically discriminated against Muslims. Typical of Tombalbaye's attitude towards opposition was the government reaction to a tax revolt on November 1, 1965. Tchadien security forces opened fire on protestors, resulting in 500 deaths. As a response to Tombalbaye's draconian measures, the National Liberation Front of Tchad (FROLINAT) was established in Libya [152] to oust Tombalbaye, who resorted to calling in French troops to secure his regime. Whilst the French were partially successful, preventing FROLINAT from becoming an immediate threat, they were not capable of completely eliminating the freedom fighters.
===
[149] IOTL, Fily Dabo Sissoko was arrested and condemned to death for an "attempt to destabilise the state". His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but he died under still controversial circumstances in Kidal in 1964. Presumably he was killed by agents of the state.
[150] IOTL, the coup was successful, and Traoré remained in power until 1991.
[151] IOTL, this assassination was unsuccessful.
[152] It was established in Sudan ITTL.
At least until the 17th, then it will be at least a month until I get back onto this because I'll be going to China!
So whilst I'm still here in Aotearoa I'll do my best to knock Africa out of the way so we can get to the 70s.
*generates hype* new update coming up tonight, thanks everyone for the enthusiasm. As a reward it includes an actual conflict
Chapter 57: Where the Gulf Laps the Shore - Coastal Francophone West Africa (1970s)
Where the Gulf Laps the Shore: Coastal Francophone West Africa
The Grand Mosque at Conakry, Guinea
Like much of the rest of Africa, the former French colonies on the Gulf of Guinea faced uncertainty upon independence. A lack of economic diversification and development, tensions between pan-Africanists and regionalism, clashing personalities and the continued presence of France behind the scenes challenged the vision of prosperity many West Africans expected after independence.
Ahmed Sékou Touré (left), first President of Guinea
Guinea was the first of these states, gaining independence in 1958 as the only colony to choose full sovereignty over internal autonomy within the French Community after the founding of the French Fifth Republic. From the country's beginning, it was dominated by the Parti Démocratique de Guinée-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (PDG-RDA) of Ahmed Sékou Touré. The PDG-RDA won 56 of the 60 seats in the territorial assembly in elections held on independence, and Sékou Touré became Guinea's first President. In 1960 Sékou Touré declared the PDG-RDA the only legal party in Guinea, introducing a system of single-party rule. A strong opponent of European colonialism and exploitation of the developing world, Sékou Touré aligned himself with the Eastern Bloc and the Non-Aligned Movement championed by Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, he was still willing to receive aid and other assistance from the United States and other capitalist powers.
Sékou Touré shook off the French influence that remained in many of the other states in the region, nationalising land, removing French-appointed and traditional chiefs from power and breaking ties with the French government and companies. All of this was made possible through increasingly autocratic methods of government, with democracy in Guinea only a mere shadow of its former-self. Voters were presented a single list of PDG-RDA candidates for the assembly, having essentially no real input into the political system. Sékou Touré was intolerant of dissent, imprisoning or exiling hundreds of political opponents and exerting control over all media outlets. Sékou Touré's anti-colonialism became increasingly virulent, and along with it his paranoia that his enemies were plotting his overthrow. In 1966 he expelled the US Peace Corps, believing they were working with the CIA to overthrow him. Sékou Touré's only real allies remained Nkrumah in Ghana and Keïta in Mali. He supported the PAIGC rebels in Guinea-Bissau, leading to Operation Green Sea in 1970, an amphibious attack on Conakry by the Portuguese military, seeking to overthrow Sékou Touré, release Portuguese POWs and cut off Guinean support for the Bissau-Guinean rebels. The POWs were rescued but the rest of the objectives weren't achieved. A number of other African states pledged their support to Sékou Touré and the USSR sent a force of warships, the West Africa Patrol to the Gulf of Guinea to discourage other similar operations.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, or Côte d'Ivoire, historically by far the most economically-developed of France's West African colonies, performed relatively well upon independence. Led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who had rised to prominence after forming the first agricultural trade union for African cocoa farmers during the colonial period, had pioneered both self-sufficiency and economic viability, encouraging cocoa farmers to establish their own farms on smallholdings. A year after Houphouët-Boigny's mobilisation of labour, the French abolished forced labour in West Africa. Houphouët-Boigny is credited with leading the so-called "economic miracle" which kept Côte d'Ivoire's growth rate at almost 10% p.a. throughout the 1960s.
Although Houphouët-Boigny faced no opposition from rival parties, his Parti Démocratique de Côte d'Ivoire becoming the de facto party of the state in 1957, he was soon faced with internal challengers within his party. Radical nationalists, led by Jean-Baptiste Mockey, openly opposed the government's Francophile policies. Mockey was exiled in September 1959, accused of attempting to assassinate Houphouët-Boigny with vodun (West African form of voodoo) in what the latter called the complot du chat noir, or "the black cat conspiracy". 1963 was marked by a series of alleged plots that played a decisive role in enabling Houphouët-Boigny to consolidate power into his hands. Between 120 and 200 secret trials were held in Yamoussoukro, away from the capital Abidjan and in the area of strongest support for the President, himself a local of the area. Houphouët-Boigny experienced a close shave when major figures in the military grew restive following the arrest of Defence Minister Jean Konan Banny, but the personal intervention of the President managed to pacify them, preventing another military coup, which by then was already becoming all too common in Africa.
As a result of these internal fissures, all adult citizens were required to be PDCI members, all other parties were banned, the media was tightly controlled and a new constitution was introduced minimising the power of the legislature whilst giving sweeping powers to the presidency. Houphouët-Boigny's particular brand of authoritarianism was more paternalistic than in states such as Guinea and Mali, and his choice of methods reflected this. In 1967 he freed political prisoners and offered government positions to many critics in order to entice them to his cause. To weaken the army, he placed national defence in the hands of the French armed forces, who intervened against Sanni monarchist-secessionists (who were supported by Ghana) in a major campaign in 1959 and low-level fighting throughout the 1960s. Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny opposed attempts at full West African federation, forming in 1959 the Conseil de l'Entente with Hamani Diori of Niger, Yaméogo of Upper Volta and Maga of Dahomey in order to hamper the expansion of the Mali Federation, allowing shared management of certain public services and providing funding for development projects through low-interest loans (70%) of which were supplied by Côte d'Ivoire. If there was one thing Houphouët-Boigny knew well, it was how to buy friends. In 1966, he offered to grant dual citizenship to members of this regional organisation, but had to abandon that scheme following popular protests against the idea. Houphouët-Boigny also headed several Francophone continent-wide associations which sought to oppose the primarily-Anglophone Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most significant of these was l'Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache (OCAM). He also sought to undermine pan-Africanist regimes, especially those of Ahmed Sékou Touré in Guinea and Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. Houphouët-Boigny cooperated with French intelligence agency SDECE in their efforts to overthrow Sékou Touré, including delivering small arms to Guinean rebels sheltered by Côte d'Ivoire in January 1960. In 1967 he promoted the creation of a more centralised opposition to Sékou Touré, the Front National Libération de la Guinée (FNLG). In response, Sékou Touré convinced Nkrumah to aid Sanni secessionists. Furious, Houphouët-Boigny accused Nkrumah of trying to destabilise Côte d'Ivoire in 1963, calling for Francophone states to boycott the upcoming OAU conference in Accra. Côte d'Ivoire also supported the Biafran and Yoruba secessionists in Nigeria and sought ties with South Africa.
Sylvanus Olympio
The small republic of Togo achieved independence in 1960 under President Sylvanus Olympio. A pan-Africanist, Olympio made his ally and friend Ahmed Sékou Touré conseiller special to his government. In the presidential elections upon independence, Olympio defeated his main opponent, Nicolas Grunitzky, acquiring over 90% of the popular vote. Despite his good relationship with the Guinean president, relations with Ghana were more strained, with the main stumbling bloc being the fate of what had been British Togoland. A plebiscite in 1956 decided the area's incorporation into the British Gold Coast, with 63.9% support for integration, whilst most of the remainder, including the dominant Ewe people (represented by the Togoland Congress Party) , sought unification with French Togoland, where many other Ewe lived. Olympio loudly promoted the view that that region should have been incorporated into Togo, and Nkrumah provoked Olympio further by claiming that all of Togo should become part of Ghana. Multiple assassination attempts on the leaders were blamed on the other. These tensions would boil over later in the decade.
The French distrusted Olympio due to his association with British mercantile interests, which had been cultivated during the Second World War. Olympio tried to rely on little foreign aid, distrustful of the intentions of the French in particular, and sought German aid where possible as a neutral source. Olympio fostered relations with the US and former British colonies such as Nigeria, although these were largely tossed aside with the successful secession of Yorubaland and Biafra, leaving Togo politically-isolated in the area, with the exception of positive relations with Côte d'Ivoire. An anti-militarist, Olympio ensured that Togo had a military of only 250 soldiers, despite pleas to increase funding and enlist ex-French troops returning to their Togolese homeland. On 24th September 1962, Olympio rejected the personal plea by Sgt. Étienne Eyadéma to join the Togolese military. On 7th January 1963, Col. Kléber Dadjo, head of the Togolese army, presented a written request for enlisting ex-French troops. Frustrated by his persistence, Olympio tore up the request.
By this time, Togo had become largely a one-party state. Opposition had been outlawed after a 1961 attempt on Olympio's life, in which Nicolas Grunitzky's Parti Togolais du Progrès and the Juvento movement of Antoine Meatchi were implicated. Meatchi was imprisoned for a brief time until being exiled, taking up residence in Paris. Shortly after midnight on 13 January 1963, Olympio and his wife were awakened by the sounds of the military breaking into the presidential palace. Olympio's body was later found by US ambassador Leon B. Poullada mere feet from the door of the US embassy in Lomé. Sylvanus Olympio had the dubious honour of being the first national president to be assassinated during a military coup in Africa. A new government was formed by the military with Grunitzky as President and Meatchi as Vice-President. In order to promote national reconciliation, Grunitzky formed a government with representation from all parties. On 21st November 1966, an attempt to overthrow Grunitzky by civilian opponents in the UT party was unsuccessful. Concerned, the President did what he could to lessen reliance on the military. Hearing word of an impending coup, Grunitzky had Lt. Col. Eyadéma arrested on January 6th[153].
Nicolas Grunitzky on a Togolese stamp
Tensions with Ghana continued to flare up, prompting Grunitzky to increase military spending and recruitment. With a ready pool of Togolese men who had been in French employ as soldiers, the national recruitment drive was met with success. Armaments were also easy to come by, provided by France and subsidised by Côte d'Ivoire. Houphouët-Boigny, determined to utilise Togo as a proxy in his rivalry against Nkrumah, mobilised the Forces Republicaines de Cote d'Ivoire and moved them to the border with Ghana. Crossing the border in force, the Ivoirian army claimed to be pursuing Sanni fighters across the border, destroying a number of villagers they accused of harbouring the separatists. Simultaneously, Togolese troops crossed the eastern border of Ghana, facing minimal resistance and advancing to Lake Volta. Advancing further north was more of a slog, but within five weeks the whole of former British Togoland was under the control of Lomé. On the other side of the country, the Ivoirians had pushed back the Ghanaian army and was marching on Accra. Internally, a coup against Nkrumah led to his flight to Guinea, with Lt. Gen. Joseph Arthur Ankrah taking control of the Ghanaian government. Peace accords were signed with between Ghana and the Togolese-Ivoirian alliance in Monrovia, with Ghana ceding the Togolese occupied areas to Togo and committing to combating Sanni fighters in Ghanaian territory. In the event, this would only be the beginning of the balkanisation of Ghana.
Whilst most states in West Africa were dominated by a single major personality in the first few years after independence, Dahomey's political landscape was notable for fractures along regional lines, underscored by different historical experiences. The first president of the country was Coutoucou Hubert Maga, a northerner. The first few years of independence weren't successful for the country. It experienced an economic collapse as the miniscule pool of foreign investment dried up. As the least economically-developed of France's African colonies, it was reliant on French subsidies which ceased with independence. Unemployment skyrocketed, and the political situation was further destabilised by an assassination attempt on the President in May 1961, orchestrated by the main opposition leader Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin.
Hubert Maga, who virtually ruled the north of Dahomey as his personal fief
Maga's attempts at turning the economy around turned out to be ham-fisted and ineffectual. He launched a four-year plan in January 1962, intended to increase agricultural production by forcing youths to work the land. By November, he had established a single-party state and restriction of opposition press had become commonplace. The country had not had a favourable trade balance since 1924 and the economic strain introduced by independence proved too much for Maga to turn around. Despite investment in infrastructure, Dahomey had an average annual GDP growth rate of only 1.4% between 1957 and 1965. Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin convinced the trade unions under his influence to begin another strike in protest against Maga's inability to promote national development. The demonstrations lasted two days in Porto Novo and Cotonou and became so serious that the police used tear gas to disperse them. The riots finally ended when Maga sent south loyalists armed with bows to patrol the streets at night. Members of Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin's UDD party organised a motion of censure in the National Assembly. Maga relied on Sourou-Migan Apithy's assistance in opposing the motion, and they were able to defeat it. UDD deputies began to resign, and the PRD (Apithy) and RDD (Maga) merged to form the PDU, led by Maga.
On August 1st, 1961, Dahoméen forces captured the Portuguese enclave of Ajuda (Ouidah). On May 26th, Albert Teveodjré notified Maga that Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin had plotted to assassinate him. A trial began in December, with Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin and 11 other dissidents put on the stand. The trial was unusual in Dahomey, being conducted in public. The dissidents were released on November 3rd, 1962. Despite the economic vice the country found itself gripped in, Maga commissioned the architect Chomette to build a $3 million presidential palace in Porto Novo. January 1962 saw the poisoning of Dessou, an official of the Sakete sub-prefecture. Christophe Bokhari, deputy from his constituency was accused and arrested, but was released under parliamentary-immunity clauses in the Dahoméen constitution.
Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin, a direct descendant of the kings of Abomey and representative of the southwest of Dahomey
Maga was in Paris at the time, and tribal clashes broke out in Dahomey between the major tribal groupings of the north, southeast and southwest in the summer of 1963. Demonstrations in Porto Novo on October 21st soon spread to Cotonou. Trade unionists got involved and made the issue about their interests. They criticised what they called Maga's "squander-mania", such as the construction of a presidential palace. Six trade unionists were arrested on the second day of the demonstrations, causing the unions to call a general strike. By the end of the 2nd day, protesters forced the National Assembly to put Bokhiri back in jail, and the assembly enforced a curfew. Maga cancelled a planned trip to the United States and returned to Dahomey immediately. A special National Assembly session was convened, but the protesters reacted with indifference to his attempts at reconciliation. When Maga agreed with their demands and replaced his government with a provisional one in which Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin had equal standing with him, the protestors organised to protest this new order. Armed northerners came down to Cotonou to support Maga and clashed with dissenters, killing two. The demonstrators refused to go back to their jobs until Maga quit his.
On October 28, Christophe Soglo took control of the country through a military coup in order to prevent a civil war and break the political impasse. He dismissed the cabinet, dissolved the assembly, suspended the constitution and banned any type of demonstrations. He made the three regional leaders, Maga, Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin Ministers of State. This provisional government dissolved the PDU and replaced it with the Parti Démocratique de Dahomey (PDD). A committee was established to investigate alleged wrongdoings by the Maga administration. In late November it began prosecuting members of Maga's cabinet, including the Minister of National Economy and the Finance Minister for misuse of public funds. Despite a generally friendly relationship, Soglo held Maga responsible for an assassination plot against him that was discovered in early December. Maga resigned his position on December 4th, shortly before being placed under house arrest. Eventually, the conspiracy charge was dropped, but Maga was found guilty of corruption. In May 1964, Chabi Mama and a devoted group of Maga supporters from the north tried to remove him from house arrest and reinstate him into power. The military was called in to quell their murderous rampage. After a retrial, Maga was released from house arrest in March 1965. He went into exile in Togo before moving to Paris. Maga formed a new party in exile, the Union Nationale Dahoméenne on December 9th, 1965. Maya and Apithy banded together to protest a special session of the National Assembly on December 21st 1965, that would vote on a new constitution for Dahomey. As a result of their resistance, the session was never held. The new constitution was intended to abolish the Vice-Presidential positions, strengthening executive authority.
Sourou-Migan Apithy, descendant of a Goun royal family and representative of the southeast of Dahomey
Apithy was installed into the presidency by Soglo in January 1964, but due to a lack of political dialogue, Soglo against overthrew the government in November 1965 and served as President until December 1967, when he was himself overthrown by younger officers, led by Maj. Jean-Baptiste Hachème, Maurice Kouandété and politician Alphonse Alley. The former two each held the presidency for a single day, until Alphonse Alley came into power on 21st December 1967. His administration introduced a new constitution and attempted to hold a presidential election, although it was annulled because of a boycott that prevented almost 3/4 of the country from voting. Alley angered the military by suggesting that they retreat from politics. He was reined in and reduced to little more than a mouthpiece for Kouandété. On 17th July 1968, Kouandété forced Alley to resign and handed power to Dr. Emile Derlin Zinsou to improve relations with the French. Zinsou was ousted by Kouandété on 10th December 1969, who had discovered that Zinsou planned to replace him and cut the size of the armed forces. When Zinsou arrived back at the presidential palace that day, soldiers opened fire on his convoy with automatic weapons. Zinsou escaped, but two of his bodyguards were killed. Kouandété justified the coup by stating that Zinsou had failed to reconcile the various factions in the country. This time, however, the rest of the military failed to recognise Kouandété as the man in charge. A military directorate was established with Paul Emile de Souza as its chairman, Kouandété as another member and Col. Benoit Sinzogan (of the gendarmerie) as the third member in their triumvirate. An election was held on 28th March 1970 to determine the president. The veteran politicians were allowed to campaign, and their rallies were accompanied by violent outbursts. The elections were later annulled and a presidential council consisting of Maga, Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was set up on May 7th with a revolving presidency which changed every two years. Maga was inaugurated as the first president under this new system.
A bas-relief at the Royal Palaces at Abomey. Also a rather fitting representation of the politics of Dahomey
===
[153] IOTL, Eyadéma overthrew Grunitzky in a bloodless coup on the 13th of January.
The Grand Mosque at Conakry, Guinea
Like much of the rest of Africa, the former French colonies on the Gulf of Guinea faced uncertainty upon independence. A lack of economic diversification and development, tensions between pan-Africanists and regionalism, clashing personalities and the continued presence of France behind the scenes challenged the vision of prosperity many West Africans expected after independence.
Ahmed Sékou Touré (left), first President of Guinea
Guinea was the first of these states, gaining independence in 1958 as the only colony to choose full sovereignty over internal autonomy within the French Community after the founding of the French Fifth Republic. From the country's beginning, it was dominated by the Parti Démocratique de Guinée-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (PDG-RDA) of Ahmed Sékou Touré. The PDG-RDA won 56 of the 60 seats in the territorial assembly in elections held on independence, and Sékou Touré became Guinea's first President. In 1960 Sékou Touré declared the PDG-RDA the only legal party in Guinea, introducing a system of single-party rule. A strong opponent of European colonialism and exploitation of the developing world, Sékou Touré aligned himself with the Eastern Bloc and the Non-Aligned Movement championed by Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, he was still willing to receive aid and other assistance from the United States and other capitalist powers.
Sékou Touré shook off the French influence that remained in many of the other states in the region, nationalising land, removing French-appointed and traditional chiefs from power and breaking ties with the French government and companies. All of this was made possible through increasingly autocratic methods of government, with democracy in Guinea only a mere shadow of its former-self. Voters were presented a single list of PDG-RDA candidates for the assembly, having essentially no real input into the political system. Sékou Touré was intolerant of dissent, imprisoning or exiling hundreds of political opponents and exerting control over all media outlets. Sékou Touré's anti-colonialism became increasingly virulent, and along with it his paranoia that his enemies were plotting his overthrow. In 1966 he expelled the US Peace Corps, believing they were working with the CIA to overthrow him. Sékou Touré's only real allies remained Nkrumah in Ghana and Keïta in Mali. He supported the PAIGC rebels in Guinea-Bissau, leading to Operation Green Sea in 1970, an amphibious attack on Conakry by the Portuguese military, seeking to overthrow Sékou Touré, release Portuguese POWs and cut off Guinean support for the Bissau-Guinean rebels. The POWs were rescued but the rest of the objectives weren't achieved. A number of other African states pledged their support to Sékou Touré and the USSR sent a force of warships, the West Africa Patrol to the Gulf of Guinea to discourage other similar operations.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, or Côte d'Ivoire, historically by far the most economically-developed of France's West African colonies, performed relatively well upon independence. Led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who had rised to prominence after forming the first agricultural trade union for African cocoa farmers during the colonial period, had pioneered both self-sufficiency and economic viability, encouraging cocoa farmers to establish their own farms on smallholdings. A year after Houphouët-Boigny's mobilisation of labour, the French abolished forced labour in West Africa. Houphouët-Boigny is credited with leading the so-called "economic miracle" which kept Côte d'Ivoire's growth rate at almost 10% p.a. throughout the 1960s.
Although Houphouët-Boigny faced no opposition from rival parties, his Parti Démocratique de Côte d'Ivoire becoming the de facto party of the state in 1957, he was soon faced with internal challengers within his party. Radical nationalists, led by Jean-Baptiste Mockey, openly opposed the government's Francophile policies. Mockey was exiled in September 1959, accused of attempting to assassinate Houphouët-Boigny with vodun (West African form of voodoo) in what the latter called the complot du chat noir, or "the black cat conspiracy". 1963 was marked by a series of alleged plots that played a decisive role in enabling Houphouët-Boigny to consolidate power into his hands. Between 120 and 200 secret trials were held in Yamoussoukro, away from the capital Abidjan and in the area of strongest support for the President, himself a local of the area. Houphouët-Boigny experienced a close shave when major figures in the military grew restive following the arrest of Defence Minister Jean Konan Banny, but the personal intervention of the President managed to pacify them, preventing another military coup, which by then was already becoming all too common in Africa.
As a result of these internal fissures, all adult citizens were required to be PDCI members, all other parties were banned, the media was tightly controlled and a new constitution was introduced minimising the power of the legislature whilst giving sweeping powers to the presidency. Houphouët-Boigny's particular brand of authoritarianism was more paternalistic than in states such as Guinea and Mali, and his choice of methods reflected this. In 1967 he freed political prisoners and offered government positions to many critics in order to entice them to his cause. To weaken the army, he placed national defence in the hands of the French armed forces, who intervened against Sanni monarchist-secessionists (who were supported by Ghana) in a major campaign in 1959 and low-level fighting throughout the 1960s. Throughout his presidency, Houphouët-Boigny opposed attempts at full West African federation, forming in 1959 the Conseil de l'Entente with Hamani Diori of Niger, Yaméogo of Upper Volta and Maga of Dahomey in order to hamper the expansion of the Mali Federation, allowing shared management of certain public services and providing funding for development projects through low-interest loans (70%) of which were supplied by Côte d'Ivoire. If there was one thing Houphouët-Boigny knew well, it was how to buy friends. In 1966, he offered to grant dual citizenship to members of this regional organisation, but had to abandon that scheme following popular protests against the idea. Houphouët-Boigny also headed several Francophone continent-wide associations which sought to oppose the primarily-Anglophone Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most significant of these was l'Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache (OCAM). He also sought to undermine pan-Africanist regimes, especially those of Ahmed Sékou Touré in Guinea and Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. Houphouët-Boigny cooperated with French intelligence agency SDECE in their efforts to overthrow Sékou Touré, including delivering small arms to Guinean rebels sheltered by Côte d'Ivoire in January 1960. In 1967 he promoted the creation of a more centralised opposition to Sékou Touré, the Front National Libération de la Guinée (FNLG). In response, Sékou Touré convinced Nkrumah to aid Sanni secessionists. Furious, Houphouët-Boigny accused Nkrumah of trying to destabilise Côte d'Ivoire in 1963, calling for Francophone states to boycott the upcoming OAU conference in Accra. Côte d'Ivoire also supported the Biafran and Yoruba secessionists in Nigeria and sought ties with South Africa.
Sylvanus Olympio
The small republic of Togo achieved independence in 1960 under President Sylvanus Olympio. A pan-Africanist, Olympio made his ally and friend Ahmed Sékou Touré conseiller special to his government. In the presidential elections upon independence, Olympio defeated his main opponent, Nicolas Grunitzky, acquiring over 90% of the popular vote. Despite his good relationship with the Guinean president, relations with Ghana were more strained, with the main stumbling bloc being the fate of what had been British Togoland. A plebiscite in 1956 decided the area's incorporation into the British Gold Coast, with 63.9% support for integration, whilst most of the remainder, including the dominant Ewe people (represented by the Togoland Congress Party) , sought unification with French Togoland, where many other Ewe lived. Olympio loudly promoted the view that that region should have been incorporated into Togo, and Nkrumah provoked Olympio further by claiming that all of Togo should become part of Ghana. Multiple assassination attempts on the leaders were blamed on the other. These tensions would boil over later in the decade.
The French distrusted Olympio due to his association with British mercantile interests, which had been cultivated during the Second World War. Olympio tried to rely on little foreign aid, distrustful of the intentions of the French in particular, and sought German aid where possible as a neutral source. Olympio fostered relations with the US and former British colonies such as Nigeria, although these were largely tossed aside with the successful secession of Yorubaland and Biafra, leaving Togo politically-isolated in the area, with the exception of positive relations with Côte d'Ivoire. An anti-militarist, Olympio ensured that Togo had a military of only 250 soldiers, despite pleas to increase funding and enlist ex-French troops returning to their Togolese homeland. On 24th September 1962, Olympio rejected the personal plea by Sgt. Étienne Eyadéma to join the Togolese military. On 7th January 1963, Col. Kléber Dadjo, head of the Togolese army, presented a written request for enlisting ex-French troops. Frustrated by his persistence, Olympio tore up the request.
By this time, Togo had become largely a one-party state. Opposition had been outlawed after a 1961 attempt on Olympio's life, in which Nicolas Grunitzky's Parti Togolais du Progrès and the Juvento movement of Antoine Meatchi were implicated. Meatchi was imprisoned for a brief time until being exiled, taking up residence in Paris. Shortly after midnight on 13 January 1963, Olympio and his wife were awakened by the sounds of the military breaking into the presidential palace. Olympio's body was later found by US ambassador Leon B. Poullada mere feet from the door of the US embassy in Lomé. Sylvanus Olympio had the dubious honour of being the first national president to be assassinated during a military coup in Africa. A new government was formed by the military with Grunitzky as President and Meatchi as Vice-President. In order to promote national reconciliation, Grunitzky formed a government with representation from all parties. On 21st November 1966, an attempt to overthrow Grunitzky by civilian opponents in the UT party was unsuccessful. Concerned, the President did what he could to lessen reliance on the military. Hearing word of an impending coup, Grunitzky had Lt. Col. Eyadéma arrested on January 6th[153].
Nicolas Grunitzky on a Togolese stamp
Tensions with Ghana continued to flare up, prompting Grunitzky to increase military spending and recruitment. With a ready pool of Togolese men who had been in French employ as soldiers, the national recruitment drive was met with success. Armaments were also easy to come by, provided by France and subsidised by Côte d'Ivoire. Houphouët-Boigny, determined to utilise Togo as a proxy in his rivalry against Nkrumah, mobilised the Forces Republicaines de Cote d'Ivoire and moved them to the border with Ghana. Crossing the border in force, the Ivoirian army claimed to be pursuing Sanni fighters across the border, destroying a number of villagers they accused of harbouring the separatists. Simultaneously, Togolese troops crossed the eastern border of Ghana, facing minimal resistance and advancing to Lake Volta. Advancing further north was more of a slog, but within five weeks the whole of former British Togoland was under the control of Lomé. On the other side of the country, the Ivoirians had pushed back the Ghanaian army and was marching on Accra. Internally, a coup against Nkrumah led to his flight to Guinea, with Lt. Gen. Joseph Arthur Ankrah taking control of the Ghanaian government. Peace accords were signed with between Ghana and the Togolese-Ivoirian alliance in Monrovia, with Ghana ceding the Togolese occupied areas to Togo and committing to combating Sanni fighters in Ghanaian territory. In the event, this would only be the beginning of the balkanisation of Ghana.
Whilst most states in West Africa were dominated by a single major personality in the first few years after independence, Dahomey's political landscape was notable for fractures along regional lines, underscored by different historical experiences. The first president of the country was Coutoucou Hubert Maga, a northerner. The first few years of independence weren't successful for the country. It experienced an economic collapse as the miniscule pool of foreign investment dried up. As the least economically-developed of France's African colonies, it was reliant on French subsidies which ceased with independence. Unemployment skyrocketed, and the political situation was further destabilised by an assassination attempt on the President in May 1961, orchestrated by the main opposition leader Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin.
Hubert Maga, who virtually ruled the north of Dahomey as his personal fief
Maga's attempts at turning the economy around turned out to be ham-fisted and ineffectual. He launched a four-year plan in January 1962, intended to increase agricultural production by forcing youths to work the land. By November, he had established a single-party state and restriction of opposition press had become commonplace. The country had not had a favourable trade balance since 1924 and the economic strain introduced by independence proved too much for Maga to turn around. Despite investment in infrastructure, Dahomey had an average annual GDP growth rate of only 1.4% between 1957 and 1965. Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin convinced the trade unions under his influence to begin another strike in protest against Maga's inability to promote national development. The demonstrations lasted two days in Porto Novo and Cotonou and became so serious that the police used tear gas to disperse them. The riots finally ended when Maga sent south loyalists armed with bows to patrol the streets at night. Members of Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin's UDD party organised a motion of censure in the National Assembly. Maga relied on Sourou-Migan Apithy's assistance in opposing the motion, and they were able to defeat it. UDD deputies began to resign, and the PRD (Apithy) and RDD (Maga) merged to form the PDU, led by Maga.
On August 1st, 1961, Dahoméen forces captured the Portuguese enclave of Ajuda (Ouidah). On May 26th, Albert Teveodjré notified Maga that Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin had plotted to assassinate him. A trial began in December, with Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin and 11 other dissidents put on the stand. The trial was unusual in Dahomey, being conducted in public. The dissidents were released on November 3rd, 1962. Despite the economic vice the country found itself gripped in, Maga commissioned the architect Chomette to build a $3 million presidential palace in Porto Novo. January 1962 saw the poisoning of Dessou, an official of the Sakete sub-prefecture. Christophe Bokhari, deputy from his constituency was accused and arrested, but was released under parliamentary-immunity clauses in the Dahoméen constitution.
Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin, a direct descendant of the kings of Abomey and representative of the southwest of Dahomey
Maga was in Paris at the time, and tribal clashes broke out in Dahomey between the major tribal groupings of the north, southeast and southwest in the summer of 1963. Demonstrations in Porto Novo on October 21st soon spread to Cotonou. Trade unionists got involved and made the issue about their interests. They criticised what they called Maga's "squander-mania", such as the construction of a presidential palace. Six trade unionists were arrested on the second day of the demonstrations, causing the unions to call a general strike. By the end of the 2nd day, protesters forced the National Assembly to put Bokhiri back in jail, and the assembly enforced a curfew. Maga cancelled a planned trip to the United States and returned to Dahomey immediately. A special National Assembly session was convened, but the protesters reacted with indifference to his attempts at reconciliation. When Maga agreed with their demands and replaced his government with a provisional one in which Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin had equal standing with him, the protestors organised to protest this new order. Armed northerners came down to Cotonou to support Maga and clashed with dissenters, killing two. The demonstrators refused to go back to their jobs until Maga quit his.
On October 28, Christophe Soglo took control of the country through a military coup in order to prevent a civil war and break the political impasse. He dismissed the cabinet, dissolved the assembly, suspended the constitution and banned any type of demonstrations. He made the three regional leaders, Maga, Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin Ministers of State. This provisional government dissolved the PDU and replaced it with the Parti Démocratique de Dahomey (PDD). A committee was established to investigate alleged wrongdoings by the Maga administration. In late November it began prosecuting members of Maga's cabinet, including the Minister of National Economy and the Finance Minister for misuse of public funds. Despite a generally friendly relationship, Soglo held Maga responsible for an assassination plot against him that was discovered in early December. Maga resigned his position on December 4th, shortly before being placed under house arrest. Eventually, the conspiracy charge was dropped, but Maga was found guilty of corruption. In May 1964, Chabi Mama and a devoted group of Maga supporters from the north tried to remove him from house arrest and reinstate him into power. The military was called in to quell their murderous rampage. After a retrial, Maga was released from house arrest in March 1965. He went into exile in Togo before moving to Paris. Maga formed a new party in exile, the Union Nationale Dahoméenne on December 9th, 1965. Maya and Apithy banded together to protest a special session of the National Assembly on December 21st 1965, that would vote on a new constitution for Dahomey. As a result of their resistance, the session was never held. The new constitution was intended to abolish the Vice-Presidential positions, strengthening executive authority.
Sourou-Migan Apithy, descendant of a Goun royal family and representative of the southeast of Dahomey
Apithy was installed into the presidency by Soglo in January 1964, but due to a lack of political dialogue, Soglo against overthrew the government in November 1965 and served as President until December 1967, when he was himself overthrown by younger officers, led by Maj. Jean-Baptiste Hachème, Maurice Kouandété and politician Alphonse Alley. The former two each held the presidency for a single day, until Alphonse Alley came into power on 21st December 1967. His administration introduced a new constitution and attempted to hold a presidential election, although it was annulled because of a boycott that prevented almost 3/4 of the country from voting. Alley angered the military by suggesting that they retreat from politics. He was reined in and reduced to little more than a mouthpiece for Kouandété. On 17th July 1968, Kouandété forced Alley to resign and handed power to Dr. Emile Derlin Zinsou to improve relations with the French. Zinsou was ousted by Kouandété on 10th December 1969, who had discovered that Zinsou planned to replace him and cut the size of the armed forces. When Zinsou arrived back at the presidential palace that day, soldiers opened fire on his convoy with automatic weapons. Zinsou escaped, but two of his bodyguards were killed. Kouandété justified the coup by stating that Zinsou had failed to reconcile the various factions in the country. This time, however, the rest of the military failed to recognise Kouandété as the man in charge. A military directorate was established with Paul Emile de Souza as its chairman, Kouandété as another member and Col. Benoit Sinzogan (of the gendarmerie) as the third member in their triumvirate. An election was held on 28th March 1970 to determine the president. The veteran politicians were allowed to campaign, and their rallies were accompanied by violent outbursts. The elections were later annulled and a presidential council consisting of Maga, Apithy and Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was set up on May 7th with a revolving presidency which changed every two years. Maga was inaugurated as the first president under this new system.
A bas-relief at the Royal Palaces at Abomey. Also a rather fitting representation of the politics of Dahomey
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[153] IOTL, Eyadéma overthrew Grunitzky in a bloodless coup on the 13th of January.
Bump because I'm going to China in 18 hours and won't be updating for a while. Yes, I am shameless.