Independence1945 CE – 1994 CEAfrica

Decolonization of Africa

The wave of African independence movements following WWII that transformed 50+ colonies into independent nations between 1945–1994.

Key Figures

Kwame Nkrumah Patrice Lumumba Nelson Mandela Julius Nyerere

Preceding Causes

WWII weakening European powers, African nationalism, UN Charter self-determination principles, Cold War US-Soviet competition for African allies.

War1939 CE

World War II

The deadliest conflict in human history, killing an estimated 70–85 million people. The war included the Holocaust — the genocide of 6 million Jews and millions of others — and ended in the Pacific theater with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Historical Consequences

Creation of 54 independent African states, ongoing legacy of colonial borders and institutions, and continued economic dependency.

Independence1910 CE

South African Independence

South Africa's journey from British dominion (1910) through the apartheid era (1948-1994) to democratic nation, culminating in Nelson Mandela's election as the first Black president in the country's first fully democratic elections (April 1994).

Genocide1994 CE

Rwandan Genocide

Over approximately 100 days beginning April 7, 1994, Hutu extremists and militia (Interahamwe) systematically slaughtered an estimated 500,000–800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu civilians.

Cause-Effect Graph

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