Achievement of Freedom by African Nations

Achievement of Freedom by African Nations

• After World War II, the collapse of colonial rule in Africa began.

• Countries in southern Africa started gaining independence from the mid-1950s onward. Within two decades, nearly all African nations, except South Africa and South-West Africa (now Namibia), had achieved independence.

• Ghana was the first country in West Africa to gain independence. The British had previously controlled this region, known as the Gold Coast. On March 6, 1957, the newly independent nation adopted the name Ghana.

• The part of Togoland under British control also became part of Ghana.

• The next country to gain independence was Guinea, a former French colony in West Africa.

• The year 1960 is widely recognized as the “Year of Africa,” as seventeen African countries gained independence that year.

• These included all the French colonies in French West Africa and Equatorial Africa, as well as Nigeria and Congo (formerly the Belgian Congo, now known as Zaire).

• Between 1961 and 1964, several countries in East and Central Africa also became independent.

• ->These included Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, Rwanda, and Burundi. Additionally, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lesotho (formerly Basutoland), and Botswana(formerly Bechuanaland) gained independenceduring this period.

• By 1975, all former Portuguese colonies in Africa had become independent. The last African country to gain independence was Namibia