Imperialism in Africa

By enyeartors
  • 1400

    Golden Age

    Europeans began to sail south around the continent of Africa in an attempt to reach the wealth of silks and spices found in India and China.
  • 1500

    European Traders begin to Sell Africans Guns

    European made goods in exchange for slaves. Those slaves were then transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas to work on sugar, rice and cotton plantations.
  • 1500

    Europeans began to build trading posts in Africa

    By the early 1800s, they were colonizing or taking over another country for the resources it can provide.

  • Europe takes over nearly all of Africa

    The only country to remain uncolonized was Ethiopia

  • Africans begin to Rebel

    By the events of World War II Africans began to seriously rebel against colonization.

  • South Africa is granted independence from Great Britain.

    Although white people were a minority (smaller group) in South Africa, they controlled the government and businesses.

  • The Kikuyu people of Kenya become a Political Organization

    The Kikuyu people fight for freedom from Great Britain.

  • Italy Invades

    Italy invades in 190 and fails to do so

  • Kwame Nkrumah introduced the idea of Pan-Africanism

    which was a belief in the unity of all Black Africans worldwide.

  • White South Africans known as Afrikaners made apartheid law.

    Apartheid is a policy of legal separation based on race. Under apartheid, black South Africans were forced to live and work where whites demanded.

  • Sudan gaines its Independence from Great Britain

    In the northern part of the country most people were Muslim Arabs. In the south most people were not Arab. In addition, many religions were practiced in the south with Christianity being the most common.

  • Ghana gains Independence

    Pan-Africanism inspired Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya and Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria to agitate for freedom.

  • Nigeria became independent

    Nigeria became independent after a fierce struggle against the British.

  • Belgium Congo becomes independent

    The country was unable to create a stable, fair government.

  • Independence came to Rwanda

    In 1962 after which violence broke out and the Hutu took control.

  • Kenya becomes Independent

    Takes many years for Kenya to become Independent country

  • Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life in prison

    Mandela was arrested because of him speaking out against black rights.

  • Joseph Mobutu Seizes Power from Belgium Congo

    He renamed the country Zaire and ruled uninterrupted for 32 years.

  • Igbo people try to Declare Themselves Independent.

    They named their new country Biafra. The actions of the Igbo launched a civil war in which over one million people died before the Igbo agreed to remain part of Nigeria.

  • F.W. de Klerk was elected president of South Africa

    F. W de Klerk was elected president and later partnered up with Nelson Mandela

  • F.W. de Klerk announced the end of apratheid

    F.W Klerk announced the end of apratheid and released Nelson Mandela from prison.

  • Mandela and de Klerk awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

    Mandela and de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in ending apartheid.

  • South Africa holds its first open elections

    South Africa held its first open elections in which Nelson Mandela was elected the new president.

  • Hutu began to Engage in Genocide

    Between 800,000 to 1 million Tutsi people were murdered. Eventually the Tutsi came back into power and restored peace. Millions of Hutus escaped into the Democratic Republic of Congo where the Hutu and Tutsi continued to fight.

  • Tunisia begin to Agitate

    In Tunisia began to agitate for a more democratic government. This movement became known as the Arab Spring.

  • Sudan recognized South Sudan’s Independence

    In Darfur, an area west of Sudan, water is scarce which led to black farmers fighting with Arab herders for control of what water exists. The Sudanese government back the herders and overlooked the terrible acts of violence the herders were using against the farmers.

  • President Ben Ali resigned

    President Ben Ali resigned and a democratic government was elected. Similar victories occurred in Algeria and Morocco.

  • Qaddafi was captured and killed

    In Libya, dictator Muammar Qaddafi refused to step down. Instead, war broke out. Other countries, including the United States supported the rebels fighting against Qaddafi.

  • Hosni Mubarak Resigns

    At the beginning of the Arab Spring Egypt was under the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak was a dictator who had controlled Egypt for 30 years. He was forced to resign

  • Mubarak replaced

    Mubarak was replaced by an Islamic fundamentalist government led by Mohammed Morsi