There's a Place Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ghana

Ghana continues to be a major gold producer, and has also started to produce petroleum and natural gas in the 21st century. Mande is spoken by the Soninke people of West Africa, including some residents of Ghana, although they are primarily based in Mali. Although that language is the source foe Ghana's name, it is not one of the country's recognised national languages, which include Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonia,Kasem, Fante, Nzema, Talensi and Frafra. Ghana's official language is English.

Ghana actually was composed of four separate colonial entities: the Colony of the Gold Coast, the Colony of Ashanti, the Protectorate of the Northern Territories, and the portion of the Trust Territory of Togoland that was administered by the British. They were the first African regions to establish independence in the post-colonial rush of the mid-twentieth century.

Answer: Republic of the Congo

Prince Leopold II of Belgium was the personal owner of the colony of the Congo Free State from 1885 until 1908. It achieved notoriety for the practices described by Joseph Conrad In 'Heart of Darkness' (1899). In 1908 control was transferred to the Belgian government, and the colony was renamed as the Belgian Congo.

When independence was declared in 1960, its name was changed to the Republic of the Congo; this name was subsequently changed in 1964 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to avoid confusion with the neighboring country (formerly the French Congo) called Republic of the Congo.

While the country was a dictatorship under the control of Mobutu Sese Seko, the name was changed again to Zaire, the Portuguese name for the Congo River. Zaire existed from 1971 until 1997, when Mobutu lost power, at which time the name reverted to being the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Answer: French Sudan

While all four of these countries were colonial stakeholders, it was the French who took over the area, which became part of French West Africa. This federation included eight of France's colonial holdings: (using their names at that time) Cote d'Ivoire, Dahomey, French Guinea, French Sudan, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Upper Volta.

The colonies of French West Africa actually shifted boundaries and names a number of times. The area which eventually became the current Republic of Mali was called Upper Senegal until 1890, then French Sudan.

In 1899 French Sudan was divided - the southern part was incorporated into the southern colonies, the two northern regions became known as Middle Niger and Upper Senegal. In 1902 these two became a single colony, Senegambia and Niger, with a name change in 1904 to Upper Senegal and Niger. From 1920 until 1960, it was once again French Sudan. Confused yet?

Answer: Malawi

The name Malawi, assumed when Nyasaland gained full independence in 1964, is said to be derived from a word meaning "fire flames", given to the kingdom in the area under the control of the Mogale (later called Mwale) clan during the 16th century. Malawi contains part of the Great Rift Valley, to the east of which is Lake Malawi, southernmost of the African Great Lakes, which forms most of the eastern border of the country.

The Tanzanians refer to the lake as Lake Nyasa, and in Mozambique it is called Lago Niassa. Chambo, a popular fish in Malawi, is found only in and around Lake Malawi.

Answer: Zambia

Northern Rhodesia was formed when Northeastern Rhodesia and Northwestern Rhodesia joined together in 1911. Because of its extensive mineral resources, there was a lot of pressure from Southern Rhodesia to combine them all into a single region, but the British government kept them separate. There weren't many British settlers in Northern Rhodesia, but those who settled there worked earnestly for minority rule, and established the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. This was so unpopular that the movement for majority rule grew much stronger, and the independent Republic of Zambia was declared in 1964.

The territory attracted a relatively small number of European settlers, but from the time these first secured political representation, they agitated for white minority rule, either as a separate entity or associated with Southern Rhodesia and possibly Nyasaland. The mineral wealth of Northern Rhodesia made full amalgamation attractive to Southern Rhodesian politicians, but the British government preferred a looser association to include Nyasaland. This was intended to protect Africans in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland from discriminatory Southern Rhodesian laws. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland formed in 1953 was intensely unpopular among the African majority and its formation hastened calls for majority rule. As a result of this pressure, the country became independent in 1964 as Zambia.

Answer: Southern Rhodesia

'The Rhodesias', or just Rhodesia, was a term referring to the area of eastern Africa colonized by the United Kingdom, and named after Cecil Rhodes, who ran the British South Africa Company that was originally in charge of the area before the UK government took over administration of the colonies.

The region north of the Zambezi River was Northern Rhodesia, and the area south of the river was Southern Rhodesia. To make it more confusing, Southern Rhodesia was initially called Rhodesia on declaring independence; Northern Rhodesia had already changed its name to Zambia.

In 1979 the name was changed to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, and in 1980 the reference to Rhodes disappeared completely, when the name was changed to Zimbabwe.

Answer: Lesotho

The majority of the residents of Lesotho are members of the Sotho group, also called the Basotho and Basuto. A significant minority are members of the Tswana, or Barolong, tribe. In 1904, twenty years after the colony was established, there were nearly 900 European settlers, out of a total population of around 350,000.

The move to independence that swept through Afrtica in the middle of the 20th Century led to the declaration of the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966. The position of king is basically ceremonial - he is forbidden from being actively involved in domestic politics.

The Prime Minister has executive control of the country.

Answer: Botswana

Originally the Bechuanaland Protectorate was administered as two parts. The northern part was officially called the Bechuanaland Protectorate, while the southern part was British Bechuanaland. The southern part eventually became part of the Cape Colony, and is now part of South Africa.

The British had expected the northern part of the protectorate to join onto either Rhodesia or South Africa, but local opposition left them 'holding the bag', until independence was proclaimed in 1966.

Answer: Portuguese Guinea

Previously part of the Mali Empire, Portuguese Guinea was colonized in the 19th Century. Portuguese is still the official language, although fewer than one person in five speaks it as their daily language. The nation declared independence in September of 1973, but it wasn't recognized until September 1974.

When it declared independence, it added the name of its capital, Bissau, to the national name in order to distinguish itself from Guinea, formerly French Guinea, established in 1958. Guinea is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry, including its capital city in its name, to help make it clearly different from both Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, formerly Spanish Guinea.

Answer: Republic of Upper Volta

The name Upper Volta refers to the fact that the headwaters of the Volta River are found here. The three main rivers that join to form the Volta River (the Red Volta, the White Volta, and the Black Volta) all have their origins in Upper Volta. The colony of French Upper Volta was established in 1919 (separating the region from being part of the colonies in Niger and Upper Senegal), but was broken up in 1932, with portions joining the other French colonies of Cote d'Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger.

After World War II Upper Volta was established again, and decreed to be part of the French Union. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic within the French Union in 1958, and achieved full independence in 1960. It retained the name of Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning 'Land of the upright people'.