Are There Any European Colonies Left In Africa?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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There are

two African countries never colonized

: Liberia and Ethiopia. Yes, these African countries never colonized. But we live in 2020; this colonialism is still going on in some African countries. … Today, Somalia, one of the African countries colonized by France, is divided among Britain, France, and Italy.

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Are there European colonies in Africa today?

The principal powers involved in the modern colonisation of Africa are

Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy

. In nearly all African countries today, the language used in government and media is the one imposed by a recent colonial power, though most people speak their native African languages.

What was the last European colony in Africa?


Namibia

became the world’s newest nation when South Africa formally relinquished control shortly after midnight today (5 p.m. EST Tuesday). So ended an era of colonial rule on a continent once carved up and ruled by European powers hungry for imperial glory.

How many European colonies are in Africa?

At the Congress of Berlin in 1884,

15 European powers

divided Africa among them. By 1914, these imperial powers had fully colonized the continent, exploiting its people and resources. See full-sized image for analysis.

Are there any British colonies left in Africa?

The other colonies originally included in the jurisdiction were the Gambia and the British Gold Coast (modern Ghana). … Africa’s present makeup includes

Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Western Nigeria, Eastern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria

.

Which country is still Colonised?

The list, which was last updated on September 22, 2020, includes Montserrat, Saint Helena, Anguilla,

British Virgin Islands

, United States Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Turks and Caicos Islands, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Guam, Pitcairn, New Caledonia, Tokelau, etc.

Was any part of Africa not colonized?


Ethiopia and Liberia

are widely believed to be the only two African countries to have never been colonized. Their location, economic viability, and unity helped Ethiopia and Liberia avoid colonization.

Are there any colonies in Africa?

Britain had many colonies in Africa: in British West Africa there was

Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Southern Cameroon, and Sierra Leone

; in British East Africa there was Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar); and in British South Africa there was South Africa, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Southern …

Which country won independence last?

July 2011 –

South Sudan

. South Sudan declared independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, after a bloody civil war with the ethnically Arab north that had lasted decades. Almost 99 percent of voters had voted for independence in a referendum, and the new country was swiftly recognized by the international community.

Why was Africa so easily colonized?

Africa

was politically divided between warring tribes, underdeveloped, and often isolated

. This made it relatively easy to conquer.

Why didn’t Europe colonize Africa?

Simply put, until

the industrial revolution in Europe

, the European armies were equally matched with the African armies, so the Europeans were scared to attempt any invasion of African states. When Europeans started arriving on the West African coast around the 15th centuries, they did not think of any invasion.

Which two African countries remained independent?

By the end of “the scramble,” only two African states remained independent:

Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia

(although Liberia is often considered an informal colony of the United States).

Has Ethiopia been Colonised?

Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini’s Italy,

it has never been colonised

.

What were the Italian colonies in Africa?

Italy was one of the European countries with colonies in Africa during the modern period. Lasting from 1890 to 1941, Italian colonialism in Africa included the

presentday countries of Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia

.

Was Egypt Colonised?

The British occupied Egypt in

1882

, but they did not annex it: a nominally independent Egyptian government continued to operate. … But the country had already been colonized by the European powers whose influence had grown considerably since the mid-nineteenth century.

Is South Africa still under British rule?

The

country became a fully sovereign nation state within the British Empire

, in 1934 following enactment of the Status of the Union Act. The monarchy came to an end on 31 May 1961, replaced by a republic as the consequence of a 1960 referendum, which legitimised the country becoming the Republic of South Africa.

What countries did Britain colonize?

These include Antigua and Barbuda,

Barbados, the Bahamas, Australia

, Belize, Barbados, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Was Japan colonized?


Japan was not formally colonized by Western powers

, but was a colonizer itself. It has, however, experienced formal semicolonial situations, and modern Japan was profoundly influenced by Western colonialism in wide-ranging ways. … The Portuguese brought Catholicism and the new technology of gun and gunpowder into Japan.

Are there colonies today?


Today colonies are rare

, but still exist as non-self-governing territories, as categorized by the United Nations. Examples include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands, to name a few.

Do France still have colonies?

A full

72 countries

were part of France at one time or another. … But like other European colonial powers, the French empire never disappeared entirely. Today, you can find the vestiges of the French Empire in islands and territories located around the world.

Did China get colonized?

Yes,

China was partially colonized by Europeans

. The only countries that completely avoided European colonization are Nepal, Turkey, Bhutan, Mongolia, Thailand, Korea and Japan.

Was Thailand colonized?

Despite attempts at colonization,

Thailand was never colonized

. Known as the Kingdom of Siam, in the nineteenth century, it was surrounded by the colonized countries of French Indochina and British Burma.

How did Europe colonize Africa?

The European countries were able to colonise African countries

rapidly because there were rivalries between African leaders

. These kings and chiefs were competing with each other to be the richest and most powerful within their tribes.

How long was Kenya colonized?

The European and Arab presence in Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, but European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, from 1920 known as the Kenya Colony. The independent Republic of Kenya was formed in 1963.

Which country colonized the most?


England

had the most success of all the European countries colonizing other lands. King James I colonized Virginia in 1606. While England was also motivated by the route by sea and the riches of the New World, the country had different reasons for colonizing.

Which country first gained independence in Africa?

Rank Country Independence date 1

Liberia

26 July 1847 26 July 1961
2 South Africa 31 May 1910 3 Egypt 28 February 1922 4 Ethiopian Empire 31 January 1942 19 December 1944

What was Africa called before Colonisation?

According to experts that research the history of the African continent, the original ancient name of Africa was

Alkebulan

. This name translates to “mother of mankind,” or “the garden of Eden.” Alkebulan is an extremely old word, and its origins are indigenous.

Why Africa has no history?

It was argued at the time that Africa had no history

because history begins with writing and thus with the arrival of the Europeans

. Their presence in Africa was therefore justified, among other things, by their ability to place Africa in the ‘path of history’.

Why was Thailand never colonized?

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, only Thailand survived European colonial threat in Southeast Asia due to centralising reforms enacted by King Chulalongkorn and because

the French and the British

decided it would be a neutral territory to avoid conflicts between their colonies.

What is the last colony in the world?


The island of Puerto Rico

has a severely distressed economy, is one of the most densely populated places on earth, and enjoys only limited political freedom. As a United States commonwealth, it is still treated by Congress as one of the last remaining colonies in the world.

What’s Africa’s real name?

The Original name for Africa is :Alkebulan: Arabic for ” The Land Of The Blacks” Alkebulan is the oldest and the only name of indigenous origin. It was used by the Moors, Nubians, Numidians, Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians), and Ethiopians.

Who did Italy colonize?

Italy colonized

Libya, Somalia, and Eritrea

. Italy colonized in Africa the countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, and Somaliland.

Who colonized China?

From history, it can be known that China is a country which has been colonized by several nations such as

Britain and Germany

. Though there was a time with weakness and invasion of other countries, China recently became one of the countries that have the speediest development in the world.

Why didn’t Portugal colonize Africa?

The Portuguese didn’t colonize South Africa

because is wasn’t part of the plan of the 1944 meeting in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire at which the world’s most prominent socialists established the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank as mechanisms for eliminating gold from world finance

; the hidden agenda …

How long were Africans colonized?

(CNN) — The wave of Independence across Africa in the 1950s and 1960s brought to the end

around 75 years

of colonial rule by Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and — until World War I — Germany.

How long was Ghana colonized?

The Gold Coast was a British Crown Colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa

from 1821 until its independence in 1957

. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the administration of the Governor of the Gold Coast.

Which African country is still Colonised?

Today,

Somalia

, one of the African countries colonized by France, is divided among Britain, France, and Italy. Although Europe has assured that it will resolve the conflict, the conflict between Anglophone and Francophone forces in Cameroon is ongoing.

Is Africa the oldest continent?

Africa is sometimes nicknamed the “Mother Continent” due to its being

the oldest inhabited continent on Earth

. Humans and human ancestors have lived in Africa for more than 5 million years.

Which European country gained the most land in Africa?


The British Empire

controlled the most land in Africa.

Was Brazil colonized or a colonizer?

Colonial Brazil Brasil Colonial Status

Colony of the Kingdom of Portugal
Capital Salvador (1549–1763) Rio de Janeiro (1763–1822) Common languages Portuguese (official) Tupí Austral, Nheengatu, many indigenous languages Religion Roman Catholic (official) Afro-Brazilian religions, Judaism, indigenous practices

Which part of Africa did Spain colonize?

The effective Spanish colonization of Africa was finally established in the first third of the 20th century. North Morocco, Ifni, the Tarfaya region, Western Sahara, and the territories of early

-21st-century Equatorial Guinea

comprised what broadly could be defined as Spanish colonial Africa.

Did Germany colonize any country?

The German Colonial Empire encompassed parts of

several African countries

, including parts of present-day Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, New Guinea and numerous other West Pacific / Micronesian islands.

Timothy Chehowski
Author
Timothy Chehowski
Timothy Chehowski is a travel writer and photographer with over 10 years of experience exploring the world. He has visited over 50 countries and has a passion for discovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and hidden gems. Juan's writing and photography have been featured in various travel publications.