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African countries and their Independence Days
Today is African Liberation Day
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Colonization is defined as the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area. Nowhere is this more exemplified than by the Scramble for Africa—the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of African territory by European powers between 1881 and 1914. In this short period known to historians as the New Imperialism, over 90% of the continent fell under formal European control. Only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia remained independent.
The struggle for independence gathered momentum after the Second World War. Over the next 30 years or so, 51 African nations won independence from their colonial rulers. The decolonization of the continent was often hopelessly unorganized and marred with violence and political turmoil, and only in 1980, with Zimbabwe's declaration of independence, was Africa finally freed from the iron grip of colonial imperialism.
Click through the following gallery and take a look at the countries that successfully shook off the shackles of colonialism, and find out when they celebrate their Independence Day.
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