The colonial division of Africa was carried out in two ways; either division of the continent into small countries or division of the countries into small factions. The reasons for this have been articulated in Africa must unite, a book by Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. He stated:

“To ensure their continuous hegemony over this continent, they will use every and any device to halt and disrupt the growing will among the vast masses of African population for unity. Just as our strength lies in a unified policy, the strength of the imperialist lies in disunity.”

Invaders arrive

When the First World War began in 1914, nearly the entire African continent except Ethiopia and Liberia had already fallen under colonial rule, with France occupying most of West Africa, Britain dominating Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Portuguese and Belgians occupying some parts of Southern Africa and Congo, respectively.

Colonial powers used to depict the continent as an ...