An Atlas of African Independence

A map based chronology of colonization and independence.

By 1880 only a few intrepid European and American explorers had traveled deep into the heart of the African continent. Thirty years later, after a mad "Scramble for Africa", all but Liberia and Ethiopia had been annexed by the vast European empires.

From the early departure of the Germans under the Treaty of Versailles to the first-in-last-out stance of the Portuguese -- the struggle for independence was both long and bloody. But by the mid 60's the majority of African states were free from colonial rule. Read each country's story in the atlas below.

North Africa Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia Western Sahara

West Africa Benin Burkina Côte d'Ivoire Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo

Central Africa Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon

East Africa Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia Sudan Tanzania Uganda

Southern Africa Angola Botswana Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa Swaziland Zambia Zimbabwe

Islands of Africa Cape Verde Comoros Mauritius Madagascar Réunion São Tomé and Príncipe Seychelles