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African Countries and their Independence Days.
Brief History of colonization:
In the 17th century AD, European countries scrambled for and partitioned Africa. This continued until around 1905, by which time all the lands and resources of the continent of Africa had been completely divided and colonized by European countries. The only country that couldn't
be colonized due to strong resistance by the indegines was Ethiopia, and Liberia which was a place for freed slaves from the Americas.
Independence:
The struggle for independence started after world war II. This led to the independence of the Union of South Africa in 1931 through negatiations with the British empire and Libya in 1951 from Italy; followed by others in the late 1950s. The road to African independence was very hard and tortuous often through bloody fights, revolts and assasinations. For example; Britain unilatearlly granted "The Kingdom of Egypt" independence on Feb. 22nd 1922 after a series of revolts, but continued to interfere in government. More violent revolts led to the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty in 1936 and a coupe detat tagged Egyptian Revolution in 1952 finally culminated in the Egyptian Republic declaration of June 18th; 1953.
The peak year for independence came in 1960 when about 17 countries gained independence. These independence days are now celebrated as national day holidays in most countries of Africa.
List of all African countries and their Independence Days, colonial names and former colonizers.
| COUNTRY | INDEPENDENCE DAY | COLONIAL NAME | COLONIAL RULERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | July 5th, 1962 | France | |
| Angola | November 11th; 1975 | Portugal | |
| Benin | August 1st; 1960 | French | |
| Botswana | September 30th, 1966 | Britain | |
| Burkina Faso | August 5; 1960 | France | |
| Burundi | July 1st; 1962 | Belgium | |
| Cameroon | January 1st; 1960 | French-administered UN trusteeship | |
| Cape Verde | July 5th; 1975 | Portugal | |
| C.A.R | August 13th; 1960 | France | |
| Chad | August 11th, 1960 | France | |
| Comoros | July 6th; 1975 | France | |
| Congo | August 15th; 1960 | France | |
| Congo DR | June 30th; 1960 | Belgium | |
| Cote d'Ivoire | August 7th; 1960 | France | |
| Djibouti | June 27th; 1977 | France | |
| Egypt | February 28th, 1922 | Britain | |
| Eq Guinea | October 12; 1968 | Spain | |
| Eritrea | May 24th; 1993 | Ethiopia | |
| Ethiopia | over 2000 years, Never colonized | (formerly) Kingdom of Aksum | -- |
| Gabon | August 17th; 1960 | France | |
| Gambia | February 18th; 1965 | Britain | |
| Ghana | 6 March 1957 | Gold Coast | Britain |
| Guinea | October 2nd; 1958 | France | |
| Guinea Bissau | 10 September 1974 24 September 1973 | Portugal | |
| Kenya | December 12th, 1963 | Britain | |
| Lesotho | October 4th; 1966 | Britain | |
| Liberia | July 26th; 1847 | American colonization Society | |
| Libya | December 24; 1951 | Italy | |
| Madagascar | June 26th; 1960 | France | |
| Malawi | July 6th; 1964 | Britain | |
| Mali | September 22nd; 1960 | France | |
| Mauritania | November 28th; 1960 | France | |
| Mauritius | March 12th, 1968 | Britain | |
| Morocco | March 2nd; 1956 | France | |
| Mozambique | June 25th; 1975 | Portugal | |
| Namibia | March 21st; 1990 | South African mandate | |
| Niger | August 3rd; 1960 | France | |
| Nigeria | October 1st, 1960 | Britain | |
| Rwanda | July 1st; 1962 | Belgium administered UN trusteeship | |
| SaoTomePrincipe | July 12th; 1975 | Portugal | |
| Senegal | April 4th; 1960 | France | |
| Seychelles | June 29th; 1976 | Britain | |
| Sierra Leone | April 27th; 1961 | Britain | |
| Somalia | July 1st; 1960 | British Somaliland Italian Somaliland | Britain Italy |
| South Africa | 11 December 1931, April 1994(end of apatheid) | Union of South Africa | Britain |
| Sudan | January 1st; 1956 | Egypt, Britain | |
| Swaziland | September 6th; 1968 | Britain | |
| Tanzania | April 26th, 1964 | Britain | |
| Togo | April 27th; 1960 | French administered UN trusteeship | |
| Tunisia | March 20th; 1956 | France | |
| Uganda | October 9th; 1962 | Britain | |
| Zambia | October 24th; 1964 | Britain | |
| Zimbabwe | April 18th; 1980 | Britain |