Modern Sub-Saharan Africa (1945-present): Post-Colonial Independence

As part of the Visual Timeline series


1949: Apartheid introduced in South Africa

1960: Congo gains independence from Belgium

1964: Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment

1965: White settlers in Southern Rhodesia declares independence from UK

1967: Biafran/Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)

1974:
– Ethiopian Marxists outst Emperor Haile Selassie (r.1930-1974)
– (Nov) Lucy 3.2myo discovered

1975:
– (Jun) Mozambique independence from Portugal
– (Nov) Angola independence from Portugal, instant civil war (US-Soviet proxy cold war)

1976: Central African Empire proclaimed by Jean-Bedel Bokassa

1980:
– (Apr) Zimbabwe independence from UK (formerly Southern Rhodesia); Robert Mugabe takes power (r.1980-2017)

1989: UN intervention for Namibia independence

1990:
– (Feb) Mandela released after 27 years in prison

1993:
– (May) Eritrea independence from Ethiopia

1994
– (May) Mandela elected president in first democratic election, ending Apartheid in South Africa
– (Apr-Jul) Rwandan genocide of Tutsi minority; 800k killed in 100 days

1996:
– (Oct96-May97) Hutu Refugee Massacre; Tutsis revenge kill fleeing Hutus; 200k deaths

1998: Second Congo War (1998-2003); Democratic Republic of Congo: Rwandan Tutsi rebels attacked West

2004: Kenyan Wangari Maathai first African woman to Win Nobel Peace Prize

2011:
– (Jul) South Sudan gains independence from Sudan after Jan referendum; oil-rich Catholic South, Muslim North

2013:
– (Dec) South Sudan Civil War breaks out (til Dec16)

2017:
– Zimbabwe president Mugabe steps down (r.1980-2017)

2010-2020: China, with increasing appetite for Africa’s raw materials, ramps up infrastructure investments and overtakes post-colonial countries as largest importer.

China erodes post-colonial legacies. Source

2021: (Jul) Mass looting in South Africa


Additional reference:

Top 5 African economies 2018: Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco. ACFTA. Source
Source

See also:

Visual Timeline Series