| East African Independence | |
[Gazetteer Index page]
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Burundi Official name: Republic of Burundi Independence in 1962 From the 16th century Urundi was ruled by the minority Tutsi with the majority Hutu as their serfs. It was merged with Rwanda and controlled by Germany from 1884 and then transferred to Belgium in 1919. In 1946 it became a UN trust territory, split from Rwanda in 1959 and gained full independence in 1962. |
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Djibouti Official name: Republic of Djibouti Independence from French: 1977 What was once the Islamic State of Adal was made the capital of French Somaliland in 1896. In 1946 the French gave it Overseas Territorial status and in 1967 it was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. Independence was achieved in 1977. |
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Eritrea Official name: State of Eritrea Independence from Ethiopia: 1991/93 Italian rule was replaced by British following the Second World War in 1944. In 1952 it was incorporated into Ethiopia. An armed struggle started in the 60's and after 30 years of war, independence was achieved in 1991. |
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Ethiopia Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Independence from Italy: 1941 Ethiopia developed as an isolated empire after defeating the Muslim invasion of 1523. In the 1850's incursions by Egypt and Sudan led to aggressive empire building, increasing the empire to the south and east. In 1896 an invasion by Italy was repulsed and its independence was recognized by Europe. In 1936 Ethiopia was occupied by the Italians -- no response was obtained from the rest of Europe. In 1941 Heile Selassie is restored to power by the Allies. |
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Kenya Official name: Republic of Kenya Independence from Britain: 1963 The coastal areas were amicably colonized by Arab coastal traders from the 10th century. The British created the British East African Protectorate along the coast in 1895 in order to gain access to Uganda. The interior became a British colony in 1920. From 1952 to 56 the Mau Mau waged a violent campaign against the British resulting in a State of Emergency. This was dropped in 1960 and full independence achieved in 1963. |
East Africa: [Burundi - Kenya], [Rwanda - Uganda]
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