| 1930 |
|
Heile Selassie becomes Emperor of Ethiopia |
| 1948 |
|
Afrikaaner National Party comes to power in South Africa - apartheid |
| 1953 |
|
Mau Mau Rebellion breaks out in Kenya |
| 1957 |
|
Ghana first African colony to gain independence from Britain |
| 1960 |
|
Congo gains independence from Belgium |
| 1961 |
|
South Africa declares republic and leaves British Commonwealth |
| 1964 |
|
Nelson Mandela jailed for campaigning against apartheid in South Africa |
| 1964 |
|
Kenya becomes republic under Jomo Kenyatta |
| 1965 |
|
White government declares independence in Southern Rhodesia |
| 1967 |
|
Nigerian Civil War - Biafra famine |
| 1967 |
|
First human heart transplant performed in South Africa |
| 1969 |
|
Moammar al-Qaddafi (Gadafi) leads military coup in Libya |
| 1971 |
|
Revolution in Ethiopia overthrows Haile Selassie |
| 1972 |
|
President Idi Amin expels Asians from Uganda |
| 1974 |
|
Portugal grants independence to Mozambique, Angola and other colonies |
| 1974 |
|
South Africa voted out of UN for apartheid policies |
| 1975 |
|
Civil war breaks out in Angola |
| 1977 |
|
Activist Steve Biko dies in custody in South Africa |
| 1979 |
|
Idi Amin forced out of Uganda |
| 1980 |
|
Robert Mugabe leads first black government in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) |
| 1983 |
|
Coloureds and Asians allowed vote in South Africa |
| 1984 |
|
Drought and famine in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan |
| 1990 |
|
Neslon Mandela released - end of apartheid in South Africa |
| 1991 |
|
Ethiopian Civil War ends - Eritrea becomes independent |
| 1994 |
|
Rwandan genocide of ethnic Tutsis by Hutus |
| 1994 |
|
Nelson Mandela becomes first black President of South Africa |
| 1999 |
|
Nelson Mandela retires as president of South Africa - succeeded by Thabo Mbeki |
