Question

Describe the struggle African nations went thru to

gain independence from European colonialists, starting from the Age of Exploration until the

Answer 1

Rescue timeline - 1962

African nations struggle for independence

Armed with a new, global mandate, the IRC came to the aid of a continent struggling to transition to independence.

July 27, 2016

Photo: Nick Erjavec/IRC

In just a few years on either side of 1960, a wave of struggles for independence was sweeping across Africa. Between March 1957, when Ghana declared independence from Great Britain, and July 1962, when Algeria wrested independence from France after a bloody war, 24 African nations freed themselves from their former colonial masters.

In most former English and French colonies, independence came relatively peacefully. But the transition from colonial governments did not always lead to peace. Internal conflicts within the newly independent countries and the continued resistance of the colonial powers in southern Africa often forced large numbers of innocent people to flee civil strife and repressive new regimes.