The anti-colonial struggles in West Africa were led by the new elite of Western-educated Africans. Examine. (200 words)

Western-educated Africans supplied much of the early nationalist leadership, but anti-colonial struggles also depended on workers, farmers, veterans, women and traditional authorities.

Leadership and ideas

• Educated Africans used constitutional politics, newspapers, associations and legislative councils to demand equality.
• They adapted liberalism, Pan-Africanism and self-determination to colonial conditions.
• Nkrumah, Azikiwe and Senghor converted elite politics into mass nationalism in different ways.

Broader social base

• Trade unions, cocoa farmers, ex-servicemen, urban youth and religious networks organised strikes and protests.
• Colonial taxation, land alienation and forced labour generated popular resistance beyond the educated class.

Keywords: nationalism, Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah, trade unions, self-determination, Gold Coast.