Colonization is defined as the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area. Nowhere is this more exemplified than by the Scramble for Africa—the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of African territory by European powers between 1881 and 1914. In this short period known to historians as the New Imperialism, over 90% of the continent fell under formal European control.
The struggle for independence gathered momentum after the Second World War. Over the next 30 years or so, 51 African nations won independence from their colonial rulers. The decolonization of the continent was often hopelessly unorganized and marred with violence and political turmoil, and only in 1980, with Zimbabwe's declaration of independence, was Africa finally freed from the iron grip of colonial imperialism.
Click through the following gallery and take a look at the countries that successfully shook off the shackles of colonialism, and find out when they celebrate their Independence Day.
Independence Day: July 5, 1962
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Algiers
Independence Day: November 11, 1975
Colonial ruler: Portugal
Capital city: Luanda
Independence Day: August 1, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Porto-Novo
Independence Day: September 30, 1966
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital City: Gaborone
Independence Day: August 5, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Ouagadougou
Independence Day: July 1, 1962
Colonial ruler: Belgium
Capital city: Gitega
Independence Day: January 1, 1960
Colonial ruler: French-administered UN trusteeship
Capital city: Yaoundé
Independence Day: July 5, 1975
Colonial ruler: Portugal
Capital city: Praia
Independence Day: August 13, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Bangui
Independence Day: August 11, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: N'Djamena
Independence Day: July 6, 1975
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Moroni
Independence Day: August 15, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Brazzaville
Independence Day: June 30, 1960
Colonial ruler: Belgium
Capital city: Kinshasa
Independence Day: August 7, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Abidjan (economic)
Independence Day: June 27, 1977
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Djibouti City
Independence Day: February 28, 1922
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Cairo
Independence Day: October 12, 1968
Colonial ruler: Spain
Capital city: Malabo
Independence Day: May 24, 1993
Colonial ruler: Ethiopia
Capital city: Asmara
Independence Day: August 17, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Libreville
Independence Day: February 18, 1965
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Banjul
Independence Day: March 6, 1957
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Accra
Independence Day: October 2, 1958
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Conakry
Independence Day: September 10, 1974
Colonial ruler: Portugal
Capital city: Bissau
Independence Day: December 12, 1963
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Nairobi
Independence Day: October 4, 1966
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Maseru
Independence Day: December 24, 1951
Colonial ruler: Italy
Capital city: Tripoli
Independence Day: June 26, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Antananarivo
Independence Day: July 6, 1964
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Lilongwe
Independence Day: September 22, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Bamako
Independence Day: November 28, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Nouakchott
Independence Day: March 12, 1968
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Port Louis
Independence Day: March 2, 1956
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Rabat
Independence Day: June 25, 1975
Colonial ruler: Portugal
Capital city: Maputo
Independence Day: March 21, 1990
Colonial ruler: South African mandate
Capital city: Windhoek
Independence Day: August 3, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Niamey
Independence Day: October 1, 1960
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Lagos
Independence Day: July 1, 1962
Colonial ruler: Belgium administered UN trusteeship
Capital city: Kigali
Independence Day: July 12, 1975
Colonial ruler: Portugal
capital city: São Tomé
Independence Day: April 4, 1960
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Dakar
Independence Day: June 29, 1976
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Victoria
Independence Day: April 27, 1961
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Freetown
Independence Day: July 1, 1960
Colonial rulers: Britain, Italy
Capital city: Mogadishu
Independence Day: December 11, 1931; April 1994 (end of apartheid)
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Johannesburg
Independence Day: January 1, 1956
Colonial rulers: Egypt, Britain
Capital city: Khartoum
Independence Day: September 6, 1968
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Lobamba (legislative)
Independence Day: April 26, 1964
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Dodoma
Independence Day: April 27, 1960
Colonial ruler: French administered UN trusteeship
Capital city: Lomé
Independence Day: March 20, 1956
Colonial ruler: France
Capital city: Tunis
Independence Day: October 9, 1962
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Kampala
Independence Day: October 24, 1964
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Lusaka
Independence Day: April 18, 1980
Colonial ruler: Britain
Capital city: Harare
Declaration of Independence: July 26, 1847
Colonial oversee: American colonization Society (never ruled from overseas)
Capital city: Monrovia
Never colonized
Capital city: Addis Ababa
See also: Defining moments in Black history
Can you guess which is the only African country to have never been colonized?
May 25 is African Liberation Day
LIFESTYLE Countries
Colonization is defined as the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area. Nowhere is this more exemplified than by the Scramble for Africa—the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of African territory by European powers between 1881 and 1914. In this short period known to historians as the New Imperialism, over 90% of the continent fell under formal European control.
The struggle for independence gathered momentum after the Second World War. Over the next 30 years or so, 51 African nations won independence from their colonial rulers. The decolonization of the continent was often hopelessly unorganized and marred with violence and political turmoil, and only in 1980, with Zimbabwe's declaration of independence, was Africa finally freed from the iron grip of colonial imperialism.
Click through the following gallery and take a look at the countries that successfully shook off the shackles of colonialism, and find out when they celebrate their Independence Day.