Swaziland becomes independent

While Nkrumah was abroad, military and police officers overthrew his government. The coup weakened Ghana’s role as a hub for pan-African organizing and exposed the vulnerability of state-led unity...

Botswana became independent from Britain. Its new sovereignty joined a still-expanding set of African states, while the region remained structured by apartheid South Africa and colonial rule in...

Lesotho became independent from Britain. Its position as an enclave surrounded by apartheid South Africa shaped the material and political limits of sovereignty and later regional solidarity.

The OAU Council of Ministers adopted a resolution concerning the Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa. The document shows how continental diplomacy formalized support for national...

Mauritius became independent from Britain. The new state entered a continent-wide political landscape where sovereignty, labor rights and economic dependence remained intertwined; its multiethnic...

Equatorial Guinea became independent from Spain. Its transition expanded African self-rule beyond former British and French colonies and made visible the varied colonial languages and political...

At the close of the East and Central African summit in Lusaka, leaders issued the Manifesto on Southern Africa. It condemned racial domination and affirmed self-determination, while proposing dialogue...

The OAU adopted a regional convention addressing the specific causes and consequences of refugee displacement in Africa, including colonialism, racial conflict and liberation struggles. It asserted...

Nkrumah dies in Bucharest after his 1966 overthrow. His writing and advocacy for continental federation remained influential, while his rule and the limits of state-led unity are debated. Recording...

On the OAU’s tenth anniversary, heads of state endorsed an African declaration on cooperation, development and economic independence. It linked political liberation to collective economic...