Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Frenchman René Caillié becomes the first European to reach the fabled city of Timbuktu and return
home alive. Two years earlier, the Scotsman Alexander Gordon Laing was murdered on the return
journey.
1870
The slave trade is officially abolished, but not before up to 20 million Africans were transported to
the Americas, never to return. Around half died en route.
1884-85
The Berlin Conference divides Africa. France is awarded one-third of the continent and 10 West
African countries in what becomes known as Afrique Occidentale Française (French West Africa).
1912
France begins colonial rule over much of modern-day Morocco, with Spain controlling a small area in
the north and what is now the Western Sahara. Berber opposition is constant.
1955-56
Morocco becomes the first West African country to gain independence, with the exiled nationalist
Mohammed V returning as king and ruler over the newly independent country.
1957
Ghana gains independence after a long campaign entitled 'Self Government Now'. The campaign's
leader, Kwame Nkrumah, becomes Ghana's post-independence leader and hero to millions of West
Africans.
1958
Guinea opts to go it alone, rejecting ongoing French rule in favour of immediate independence.
France takes revenge by withdrawing all assistance to the country.
1973
Guinea-Bissau becomes the last West African country to achieve independence. Unlike former
French and British colonies, Guinea-Bissau has to fight for its freedom in a bloody war that devast-
ates the country.
1982
Paul Biya takes power in Cameroon. At the time of writing, he is West Africa's longest-serving presid-
ent, with Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaoré (1987) waiting to claim the title.
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