European Colonisation and Decolonisation of Africa

There have been few more remarkable events than the European colonisation and decolonisation of Africa. Often within a single lifespan countries were conquered, reorganised, settled and then granted independence. Colonial Africa (1984) examines the impact this had on the landscape of Africa. The period of colonial contact between Europe and Africa had been lengthy, beginning in the early fifteenth century; yet for much of the continent the colonial period was relatively short, from the 1880s to the 1960s. European intervention in the nineteenth century was motivated by new demands of the European economy, resulting in the conquest of virtually the entire continent. As a result various groups of colonists arrived in Africa and each tried to impose a particular imprint upon the landscape. The colonial powers each had their own styles which are most evident in the architecture bequeathed to independent Africa. This is a clear account of the way that historical attitudes have dictated the appearance and geography of modern Africa.