XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
A continent-wide process through which African territories ended European imperial control and acquired sovereign status. The passage presents it as a varied process shaped by the colonising power, colonial administrative structures, settler populations, nationalist movements, and international pressures. Its chronology runs from the independence of Ghana in 1957 and the major wave of 1960–66 to the independence of Djibouti in 1977.
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Le récit
African decolonisation unfolded through markedly different political routes rather than a single continental model. The passage stresses that outcomes depended chiefly on the colonising power and on the character of each colony, especially the presence or absence of a substantial white-settler population. In western Africa, British, French, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese territories were subject to distinct administrative arrangements that conditioned the transfer of power.
The year 1960 is described as “the year of Africa” because sixteen states became independent sovereign states, including Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Léopoldville, Dahomey, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Togo, and Upper Volta. Independence continued in rapid succession: Sierra Leone and Tanganyika followed in 1961; Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda in 1962; Kenya in 1963; Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia in 1964; The Gambia in 1965; and Bechuanaland and Basutoland in 1966.
The broader sequence began earlier with Liberia’s independence in 1847 and continued with Libya in 1951. Ethiopia remained effectively independent for most of the colonial era but was invaded by Italy in 1935 and incorporated into the Italian East African empire until Allied liberation in 1941. The dismantling of imperial rule extended to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas, which became the Republic of Djibouti in 1977, while Rhodesia, South Africa, and South West Africa remained white-dominated territories outside direct European imperial control.
XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
A continent-wide process through which African territories ended European imperial control and acquired sovereign status. The passage presents it as a varied process shaped by the colonising power, colonial administrative structures, settler populations, nationalist movements, and international pressures. Its chronology runs from the independence of Ghana in 1957 and the major wave of 1960–66 to the independence of Djibouti in 1977.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
African decolonisation unfolded through markedly different political routes rather than a single continental model. The passage stresses that outcomes depended chiefly on the colonising power and on the character of each colony, especially the presence or absence of a substantial white-settler population. In western Africa, British, French, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese territories were subject to distinct administrative arrangements that conditioned the transfer of power.
The year 1960 is described as “the year of Africa” because sixteen states became independent sovereign states, including Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Léopoldville, Dahomey, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Togo, and Upper Volta. Independence continued in rapid succession: Sierra Leone and Tanganyika followed in 1961; Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda in 1962; Kenya in 1963; Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia in 1964; The Gambia in 1965; and Bechuanaland and Basutoland in 1966.
The broader sequence began earlier with Liberia’s independence in 1847 and continued with Libya in 1951. Ethiopia remained effectively independent for most of the colonial era but was invaded by Italy in 1935 and incorporated into the Italian East African empire until Allied liberation in 1941. The dismantling of imperial rule extended to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas, which became the Republic of Djibouti in 1977, while Rhodesia, South Africa, and South West Africa remained white-dominated territories outside direct European imperial control.