Colonization Timeline

  • 1400

    Europeans began to travel south around Africa by way of the sea

    Trying to get the silks and spices found in China and India
    Slavery was a big part of this settlement that they created
  • 1500

    Slave trade begins

    Trade black slaves in exchange for African guns and European- made goods
  • 1500

    Trading posts

    These came after the slave trades. (Slave trading was still happening though.)
  • Wheels of colonization start to turn

    This is the act of forcibly taking over another country for the resources it can provide.
  • Britain gains control of the Suez Canal

    Helped strongly with British trading
  • France took control of western North Africa

    They colonized it for themselves
  • Spain and Italy began to colonize

    They gained control of Morocco and Somalia
  • Europe continued to colonize

    By this time, they had grabbed almost all of West Africa
  • South Africa was handed independence from Gr. Br.

  • Kikuyu people in Kenya started a political organization

    They did this to fight for freedom from Great Britain
  • Ethiopia was invaded and finally taken by the country of Italy

    Before they were seized finally, they were the only country in Africa to remain independent
  • Africa begins to seriously rebel against colonization

    This was inspired by the events of WWII
  • Kwame Nkrumah introduces the thought of Pan-Africanisim

    This was the thought that all Black Africans around the globe were united as one
  • South Africans known as Afrikaners started up Apartheid

    This is legal separation based solely off of skin color
  • Sudan gained independence from England in '56

  • Period: to

    Southern Sudanians had the first of two civil wars

    A insane amount of people died
  • Ghana gained independence

    Hooray!!
  • Nigeria became independent

    This was after a hard fight with the Englishmen
  • Belgian Congo gained independence

    This should be good right? Well, kinda. They couldn't found a firm and sturdy government.
  • Kenya became independent in 1963

    Go Kenya!!
  • Nelson Mandela was arrested and given a life sentence in 1964

    He was the most famous leader of the African National Congress. This is probably what sparked the fire to make the feds angry at him
  • Good ol' Mandela continued to protest from prison

    He took a big stand against Apartheid
  • Joseph Mobutu gained power in the Congo

    He was a corrupt and violent leader who caused lots of suffering for the people
  • Igbo people tried to declare themselves independent form Nigeria

    This started a civil war in which 1,000,000ish people died
  • Period: to

    Sudan has a second civil war

  • FW de Klerk was elected president of SA

    de Klerk said apartheid was bad and tossed it out the window
  • FW de Klerk released Mandela from jail

  • Mandela and FW de Klerk were given the Nobel Peace Prize

    Given to them because they ended apartheid
  • SA held their first elections that were open to the public INCLUDING BLACKS!

    Nelson Mandela was elected as the new president
  • The Hutu people of Rwanda start up a genocide against the Tutsi

    About 900,000 Tutsi people were eventually murdered
  • People in Tunisia begin to pine for a democratic government

    This was called the Arab Spring
  • Sudan approves South Sudan's independence

    South Sudan is now a country of its own!
  • Prez Ben Ali resigned and the Tunisia people got a democratic government

    Similar things happened in Algeria and Morocco
  • Muammar Qaddafi was captured and murdered

    The new government has caused a whole new wave of violence though
  • Mohammed Morsi was put into office after Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign

    His term was cut short his government was overthrown by the military forces
  • Egypt was put under lots of rule by the police and military forces

    This is not very good. It is kind of an iron fisted rule