Main content

Independence

How changing political forces in middle of the 20th Century made independence possible.

Episode twenty-two - how changing political forces made independence possible.

By the middle of the 20th Century the majority of African countries had achieved independence. Ghana, Kenya and Algeria all made this transition, but what do their dramatically different routes to independence reveal about the continent?

"It took me by surprise, how rapid the change was. In the mid-fifties we were in the middle of an anti-colonial war in Kenya - it seemed unlikely the Mau Mau would win against the might of the British Empire. They didn't win militarily, but they did win politically and the British decided it was time to quit." Professor Ali Mazrui Binghamton University, New York.

Presented by Hugh Quarshie.

Release date:

Available now

28 minutes

主播大秀 World Service Archive

This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project