Decolonisation of Africa

The decolonisation of Africa was a series of political developments in Africa between the mid-1950s to 1976, during the Cold War. Colonial governments formed during the Scramble for Africa collapsed, giving way to sovereign states in a process characterised by violence, political upheaval, civil unrest, and organised revolts. Major events during the decolonisation of Africa include the Mau Mau rebellion, the Algerian War, the Congo Crisis, the Angolan War of Independence, the Zanzibar Revolution, and the events leading to the Nigerian Civil War.

Background

The Scramble for Africa between 1870 and 1914 was a significant period of European imperialism in Africa that ended with almost all of Africa, and its natural resources, claimed as colonies by European powers, who raced to secure as much land as possible while avoiding conflict amongst themselves. The partition of Africa was confirmed at the Berlin Conference of 1885, without regard for the existing political and social structures.

Almost all the precolonial states of Africa lost their sovereignty with the exceptions of Liberia and the Ethiopian Empire. Liberia had been settled in the early 19th century by formerly enslaved African-Americans and was recognised as independent by the United States in 1862 but was viewed by European powers as being in the United States' sphere of influence, while the Ethiopian Empire won its independence at the Battle of Adwa but was later occupied by Italy in 1936. Britain and France had the largest holdings, but Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies.

By 1977, 50 African countries had gained independence from European colonial powers.

External causes

In the early 20th century, nationalism gained ground globally.