The Last Colonial Powers of Africa Quiz

Answer: United Kingdom

In pre-colonial times, on the west coast of Africa, near where Ghana is today, collectives of Akan-speaking peoples, and also the Kingdom of Ashanti, occupied the coastal area. The Portuguese arrived in the 1470 and King John II commissioned a fort to be built there to act as a trading point for gold. The Dutch arrived soon after and eventually overran the Portuguese settlement. The Swedes arrived and settled, as did the Germans and the Danes. Besides the gold, slave trading became even more lucrative for the Europeans. In 1874, the British began to take control, eventually overcoming the natives and the other Europeans.

In 1947, Kwame Nkrumah, a Ghanaian nationalist started the "self-government now" program forming the Convention People's party in 1949. The party initiated an affirmative action campaign including non-violent protests, general strikes and lack of cooperation with British authority.

In March 1957, the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were unified into one single independent dominion called Ghana. The country remained within the British Commonwealth. Kwame Nkrumah led from 1957 to 1966 as Ghana's first prime minister and president. Ghana was one of the first African nations to achieve independence from European rule.

This question was written into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: United Kingdom

The Republic of Kenya was previously a protectorate under the British Empire. They gained independence in 1963. The Imperial British East Africa Company established a British presence in Kenya in 1888 and accepted control from Germany. It became a colony in 1920 and was renamed Kenya after its highest mountain. Referendums regarding independence began to take place in 1962, with the UK ceding sovereignty and the Sultan of Zanzibar agreeing to the colony's independence. Jomo Kenyatta became the first president in 1964. Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic. They have remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

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Answer: United Kingdom

After the medieval times of Egypt, the country became part of the Ottoman Empire for a few centuries. Napoleon Bonaparte led a French invasion that lasted only a few years until the Ottomans retook control. Once the Ottomans regained control, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty began in 1805 and lasted until 1952. Muhammad was an Albanian commander that led the ousting of the French.

In the 1800s, one of the key strategies for Europe was land acquisition in Africa. A British goal was to maintain trade routes to India. There were plans for railways and later shipping routes via the Suez Canal to connect Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal shortened trips between Britain and India by over seven days! Egypt owned the canal, but after hardships during the build, parts of Europe, mainly England and France, owned shares of the canal's operating company. Because of this European control, Egyptian nationalists began an uprising. In 1882, the UK invaded to maintain control of the canal and keep the military revolts in check. At that time, the Khedive of Egypt was still recognized as a British protectorate under Ottoman rule.

When the Ottoman Empire joined WWI in 1914 on the side of Germany, the British removed the leader of Egypt, Khedive Abbas II. His brother Hussein Kamel was put in charge by the British, and he then, in turn, claimed independence from the Ottoman Empire, becoming the Sultan of Egypt. This only lasted until 1919, when Egyptian nationalists organized a revolt forcing the British to recognize Egypt as an independent country, not just a protectorate. Thus began the Kingdom of Egypt in 1922, with Fuad I becoming the King of Egypt. British troops remained in Egypt for canal protection until 1956. Into the next century, Egypt continued with various revolts and uprisings but remained a republic.

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Answer: Portugal

The first European to reach the area where Angola is now located was Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão during his first voyage (1482-1484). In the following decades, the Portuguese established trading posts along the Atlantic coast, and in 1575 São Paulo de Loanda - now Luanda, Angola's capital city - was founded. Angola became an important source of slaves for the Portuguese Empire: between 1580 and the 1820s, over a million people from the region were shipped to Brazil and other parts of the Americas. In 1836, although the slave trade was abolished, the Portuguese influence in the area grew steadily. However, even if the Portuguese had brought economic development to Angola (then known as Portuguese West Africa), their overbearing rule - which included discrimination against the native population - resulted in increasing unrest.

When, in 1951, Angola became an overseas province of Portugal, militant organizations such as the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola) and the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) were born. The ensuing War of Independence, which lasted from 1961 to 1974, turned into a multi-faction struggle that ravaged the country. The conflict formally ended after the right-wing government of Portugal was overthrown by the "Carnation Revolution" of April 1974. On 11 November 1975, Angola was finally granted independence; MPLA leader and poet Agostinho Neto became the first president of the country. The civil war, however, continued until 2002, fueled by the involvement of foreign nations such as the USA and the former Soviet Union. Sadly, Angola has not yet fully recovered from the damage done by so many years of conflict.

The country's name (originally "Reino de Angola" in Portuguese) comes from "ngola," the title held by the kings of Ndongo, a local kingdom that flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries.

This question was written by LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew.

Answer: Portugal

The Republic of Mozambique is a country in southern Africa. It is named after the Island of Mocambique, which lies off the northern coast in the Indian Ocean. It has borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and South Africa. In 1948 the Portuguese explorers, led by Vasco da Gama, began arriving and gradually settled and colonized the area, encouraged by potential gold prospecting. Mozambique's location within the monsoon trade winds made it an important trading position. After 400 years of being ruled by the Portuguese, Mozambique became independent as the People's Republic of Mozambique in 1975, but civil war broke out after two years. This continued for 15 years, ending in a stalemate. Peace had to be brokered and monitored by the peacekeeping force of the United Nations.

The country is divided into two regions by the Zambesi River and has highland and lowlands. Maputo, the capital city, is located near the southern end, on a large natural bay.

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Answer: Portugal

The Republic of Cabo Verde (the preferred name) came into being in 1975. Unlike other African colonies, the land was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. The ten volcanic islands were perfectly located to participate in the international shipping trade, especially the slave trade. This also meant that the fortunes of the country suffered when slavery was suppressed in the 19th century. The Portuguese had administered Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde as a joint colony, but in 1879 they became separate Portuguese territories. Then in 1951, the became overseas provinces. Under the leadership of Amicar Cabral, the two provinces agitated for independence, which led to a protracted, armed struggle in Guinea-Bissau from 1963 until 1974, when Cabral was assassinated. This event, and others, helped spark the military coup in Portugal. The new Portuguese government granted independence to both Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau. Initially, the Republic of Cabo Verde had a single-party government, but in 1990 this changed, and the country is felt to be a successful democracy.

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Answer: France

Inhabited since prehistory, Senegal was named after the Senegal River, whose etymology is uncertain. Its territory, part of a larger region that European traders called Upper Guinea, was occupied by various kingdoms and empires in the centuries that preceded colonization. The most prominent of these were the Mali Empire and the Jolof (or Wolof) Empire; the latter flourished between the mid-14th and the mid-16th centuries, and was at the height of its power when trade relations were established with the Portuguese in the late 15th century. In the 16th and 17th century, trading posts on the Senegal coast were also established by the Dutch and the British.

In 1677, France took possession of the island of Gorée, a departure point for the Atlantic slave trade located next to the country's present-day capital of Dakar. The French conquest, however, did not begin in earnest until the mid-19th century, when France waged war against a number of local kingdoms, and progressively took over their lands. In 1895, Senegal became one of the eight colonial territories that formed French West Africa. Dakar became the federation's capital in 1902; in 1905, slavery was abolished in most of the federation. Gorée was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

In 1958, Senegal became an autonomous republic within the French Community, which had replaced French West Africa. This association, however, was short-lived, as during 1960 most of its members declared their independence from France. Senegal became independent on 20 August 1960, on the same day as its neighbour Mali. Its first President was Léopold Sédar Senghor, internationally known as a poet in addition to his political activity.

LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew wrote this question.

Answer: France

Sitting in the north of Africa adjoining the Mediterranean Sea, the Republic of Tunisia shares borders with Algeria and Libya. There are lots of arable land fringed by the Atlas Mountains and the topmost bit of the Sahara Desert. The capital city of Tunis, where the country gets its name, is in the northeast. In 1881, the French, based in next-door Algeria, invaded and forced the bankrupted Bey of Tunis to accept a protectorate under the terms of the Treaty of Bardo. During WWII the Vichy Government - a collaborative government with Germany - ruled in Tunisia and enacted the Statute on Jews, and the subsequent persecution of African Jews is considered to be part of the Holocaust.

In 1956, Tunisia achieved independence from France and became a republic with an elected president. But, in 2011 there was civil resistance known as the Tunisian Revolution. Poor living conditions, high unemployment, and corruption creating civil unrest resulted in the president fleeing the country and the formation of a new government.

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Answer: France

Morocco borders the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, making it a strategic point of interest for trade. France invaded neighboring Algeria in 1830: it wanted to expand its territory into Morocco, and further wanted to link with Senegal. Britain, France, and Spain were monetarily invested in Morocco, and wanted to gain strongholds. France influenced the region more than it militarily occupied it until the assassination of a French doctor, Emile Mauchamp. This led to an invasion by the French into Oujda. Further revolts led to the French bombing of Casablanca in 1907. In 1912, the Treaty of Fes was signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid making Morocco a protectorate of France. Additionally, Spain also held Morocco as a protectorate with the Treaty in areas near Cape Juby in the south, the Strait of Gibraltar, and a northern strip on the Mediterranean Sea.

Decades of revolutions ensued, including two world wars. The French-Moroccan Agreement negotiated for Moroccan independence, which was fully recognized in April 1956 by France. Spain also recognized Moroccan independence and gave up control of the north zone, but was a little slower about relinquishing some areas. Morocco became a kingdom with a constitutional monarchy.

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Answer: Germany

The territory now known as Namibia has been inhabited by the indigenous San people since prehistory. Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão was the first European to set foot there, when in 1485 he stopped on the Skeleton Coast. Bartolomeu Dias also stopped on the Namibian coast in 1488, but was prevented from going further inland by the Namib Desert - one of the world's driest regions, after which the country is officially named.

Because of the inhospitable nature of much of Namibia's territory, European colonization came later than in other African countries. In 1793, the Dutch authority in the Cape Colony of present-day South Africa took control of the deep-water port of Walvis Bay, which was claimed by the British in 1878. However, it was during the so-called 'Scramble for Africa' of the late 19th century that other European powers became interested in Namibia - chiefly the recently-formed German Empire. The german Empire's chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, wanted to put a stop to British encroachment in Southern Africa.

In 1884, Namibia became a German colony with the name of German South-West Africa, though Walvis Bay remained a British enclave. When, in 1904-1908, two indigenous groups, the Nama and the Herero, took arms against the brutal German rule, they were nearly annihilated - in what has been called the first genocide of the 20th century. At the end of WWI, South-West Africa became a possession of South Africa, which imposed its system of racial segregation (apartheid) on the territory. It took armed insurgency to put an end to South African rule. The Namibian War of Independence lasted from 1966 to 1990. After years of struggle, Namibia finally became independent on 21 March 1990.

LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew wrote this question about a fascinating country.