Title: Decolonisation of Africa - Wikipedia
Headings: Decolonisation of Africa
Decolonisation of Africa
Contents
Background
Causes
External causes
Internal causes
Economic legacy
Social legacy
Language
Law
Transition to independence
British Empire
Ghana
Winds of Change
French colonial empire
Conflict
Algeria
French Community
Timeline
Timeline notes
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Content: Decolonisation of Africa - Wikipedia
Decolonisation of Africa
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1950s–70s independence of African colonies from Western European powers
An animated map shows the order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011
The decolonisation of Africa took place in the mid-to-late 1950s to 1975, with sudden and radical regime changes on the continent as colonial governments made the transition to independent states. The process was often quite disorganised, and marred with violence, political turmoil, widespread unrest, and organised revolts in both northern and sub-Saharan countries including the Algerian War in French Algeria, the Angolan War of Independence in Portuguese Angola, the Congo Crisis in the Belgian Congo, the Mau Mau Uprising in British Kenya, and the Nigerian Civil War in the secessionist state of Biafra. Contents
1 Background
2 Causes
2.1 External causes
2.2 Internal causes
3 Economic legacy
4 Social legacy
4.1 Language
4.2 Law
5 Transition to independence
6 British Empire
6.1 Ghana
6.2 Winds of Change
7 French colonial empire
7.1 Conflict
7.2 Algeria
7.3 French Community
8 Timeline
8.1 Timeline notes
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Background
European control in 1939
Belgian
Italian
British
Portuguese
French
Spanish
Independent

The " Scramble for Africa " between 1870 and 1900 ended with almost all of Africa being controlled by a small number of European states. Racing to secure as much land as possible while avoiding conflict amongst themselves, the partition of Africa was confirmed in the Berlin Agreement of 1885, with little regard to local differences. By 1905, control of almost all African soil was claimed by Western European governments, with the only exceptions being Liberia (which had been settled by African-American former slaves) and Ethiopia (then occupied by Italy in 1936). Britain and France had the largest holdings, but Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of natural resources such as gold and rubber. The introduction of imperial policies surfacing around local economies led to the failing of local economies due to an exploitation of resources and cheap labor. Progress towards independence was slow up until the mid-20th century. By 1977, 54 African countries had seceded from European colonial rulers.