Will African people ever be free from colonialism?

Technically, African nations which were once under European rule now have independence. This was decided during the Berlin Conference, also known as the Congo Conference and the West Africa Conference, of 1884-1885. At this meeting, the colonization of Africa was organized among European nations based on their economic interests.

Nearly every African nation was, at one time or another, under European rule. Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Liberia are exceptions. Ethiopia had successfully resisted Italy, but then went on to colonize Eritrea, which did not achieve its own independence until 1991 when soldiers from the People's Liberation Army seized the capital, Asmara, and defeated the Ethiopian military regime.

Liberia was formed in the mid-nineteenth century by former African-American slaves who had repatriated to West Africa. 

The last African nation to achieve independence was Zimbabwe. In 1980, the nation formerly known as Rhodesia, reclaimed its traditional name and made Robert Mugabe its Prime Minister. Rhodesia had been self-governing since 1923, but had been under the rule of white planters and still served the British crown.

Though African nations have achieved sovereignty, Western corporations maintain business interests in Africa. For several decades, there have been persistent concerns about economic and environmental exploitation on the African continent. The actions of companies as diverse as Royal Dutch Shell, which maintains interests on Nigeria's coastline, and the jeweler, DeBeers, have come under scrutiny over the years. 

More importantly, colonization is not only about the conquest of land, but also the conquest of people's minds. Colonizers worked to instill in African people a sense of their superiority over the presumed inferiority of African subjects. They created divisiveness among their subjects to help them retain power.

The bloodiest manifestation of this "divide and conquer" tactic occurred in Rwanda in 1993. The Hutus and the Tutsis are both tribes formed from the Bantu-speaking peoples of central and southern Africa. It is very possible that the Belgians created these groups, or drew significant distinctions between them, during their rule of the Congo, of which Rwanda was a part. 

The Belgians' better treatment of the Tutsi people created resentment among the Hutus. The Tutsis became associated with certain characteristics, such as lighter skin and tallness. When the Hutus began their massacre of the Tutsis, they sought out people with these traits. 

Though Rwanda is now a peaceful nation with a flourishing tourism industry, this facet of their history will remain, and it is linked to its colonial history.

It is impossible to know exactly how much wealth Africa has lost due to colonialism, and impossible to know how much the wealth of Europe and the Americas can be attributed to its exploitation of Africa, both during the Atlantic slave trade and the Age of Imperialism. The number is likely in the trillions.

Africa continues to feel the effects of hundreds of years of exploitation and will continue to feel those effects for some time. However, some African nations currently enjoy peace and are flourishing economically. Given what little time they have had to achieve this, their commendable efforts should not get lost in their dark history.